Soccer Spotlight: Philadelphia Edges Past Comets, 4-3 KiXX Improve to 10-6 in Front of Second-Largest Home Crowd of 2004-05 Saturday, January 8, 2005 By David Deal Philadelphia KiXX Director of Communitions The Philadelphia KiXX (10-6) defeated the Kansas City Comets (5-6) in front of 5,877 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum tonight. KiXX midfielder Ze Roberto recorded the game winner with an unassisted goal at 13:13 of the fourth quarter. Peter Pappas (8-5) earned the victory in net for Philadelphia, turning away four of the seven shots (season-low) he faced, while Sanaldo (1-2) took the loss for the Comets with 13 saves on 16 chances. Kansas City jumped to an early 1-0 lead after Comets midfielder Stefan Stokich broke through the Philadelphia defense to force Pappas out of the box and set up teammate Casey Stevens for the only goal of the opening quarter at 1:19. Philadelphia native Pat Morris knotted the score, 1-1, splitting the Comets’ defense and blasting a shot past Sanaldo and into the right corner of the net. Defender Edgar Bartolomeu recorded the assist on the play, as Morris extended his scoring streak to seven games. The 1-1 tie held entering the half. After 14 minutes of scoreless action in the third period, Roberto notched an unassisted goal to provide Philadelphia a 2-1 advantage entering the final period of play. Comets forward James Koehler connected on a dish from teammate Casey Barton to tie the score, 2-2 at 9:34 of the fourth stanza. KiXX player/coach Kevin Sloan drilled a restart goal into the top left corner to put Philadelphia back on top, 3-2, at 12:53 of the period. Roberto tallied his second notch of the night to lengthen the club’s lead to two, 4-2, at 13:13. Kansas City’s Justin Evans netted a score from Vlatko Andonovski to pull the Comets within one at the 14-minute mark, but the KiXX held on to earn a 4-3 victory. Notes: KiXX goalkeeper only faced seven shots tonight, a season-low. All-Star defender Pat Morris extended his scoring streak to seven games with a second-quarter goal. Forwards Goran Vasic and John Barry Nusum both failed to record a point, snapping their scoring streaks at six games. Tonight’s crowd of 5,877 fans is the second largest home crowd of the season, trailing only the home-opening crowd of 7,248. Boxscore: Attendance: 5,877 Philadelphia: 1-0-1-2=4 Shots: 25 Goalkeepers: Pappas (W, four saves). Scorers: Roberto (two goals), Bartolomeu (assist), Morris (goal), Sloan (goal). Kansas City: 1-0-0-2=3 Shots: 11 Goalkeepers: Sanaldo (L, 13 saves) Scorers: Andonovski (assist), Barton (assist), Evans (goal), Koehler (goal), Stevens (goal), Stokich (assist). Philadelphia concludes their doubleheader weekend with a visit to the Convocation Center at CSU to square-off versus former player/coach Omid Namazi and the Cleveland Force. Game-time is scheduled for 3:05 pm ET, with the all action available live via webcast at www.thesportsking.com. The KiXX remain on the road for a pair of contests, at Milwaukee on January 14 and in Baltimore on January 21, before returning to Philadelphia on Saturday, January 22 to entertain the St. Louis Steamers. The first 2,500 fans, 14 and under, will receive a complimentary Don D’Ambra Bobblehead Doll, courtesy of EwingCole. For additional information or to purchase tickets, please contact the club’s Executive Office at 1-888-888-KiXX (5499) or visit www.kixxonline.com.