Soccer Spotlight: KiXX Defeat Cleveland, 7-6, in Double OT Philadelphia Earns Victory in Second-Longest Game n Franchise History Saturday, February 5, 2005 By David Deal Philadelphia KiXX Director of Communitions The Philadelphia KiXX (14-8) defeated the Cleveland Force (9-10) by a score of 7-6 in double overtime in front of 4,108 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum. KiXX midfielder Edgar Bartolomeu registered the game-winning goal at 7:13 of the second extra stanza. The 82 minutes and 13 seconds of action marked the second longest contest in KiXX franchise history. Peter Pappas (12-7) earned the victory between the posts for the KiXX, turning away 12 of the 18 shots he faced, while Jim Larkin () took the loss for Cleveland with 18 saves on 25 chances. Cleveland bolted to an early 1-0 lead, as forward Sipho Sibiya connected on a pass from teammate Rene Rivas for a restart goal just 39 seconds into the opening quarter of play. The remaining 14 minutes and 21 seconds of the period was scoreless. Sibiya registered his second tally of the evening, an unassisted goal to extend the Force advantage to two, 2-0, at 4:20 of the second quarter. KiXX player/coach Kevin Sloan finally broke the club onto the scoreboard with a big right-footed power-play goal on a dish from Philadelphia native Pat Morris at 6:42 of the stanza; the team received the one-man advantage courtesy of a two-minute tripping infraction called on Rene Rivas. Just 34 seconds later (7:16), rookie forward Damien Pottinger knocked-in a dish off the boards from teammate Edgar Bartolomeu to knot the score at 2-2. Sloan then provided Philadelphia with their first lead of the night, 3-2, with his second notch of the contest on a feed from player/coach Don D’Ambra at 10:21. Force forward Antonio Sutton registered a score on a pass from former KiXX midfielder Gary DePalma to retie the action, 3-3 at 3:26 of the third period, but Sloan responded with his third tally of the night at 4:23. The 38-year-old native of Columbia, Maryland added his fourth goal of the night, tying his high as member of the KiXX, to lengthen the club’s lead to two, 5-3, at7:36. Cleveland’s Kyt Selaidopoulos concluded the third stanza with an unassisted score (10:50) to cut the Force’s deficit back to one, 5-4. DePalma connected with teammate John Ball to again knot the score, 5-5, just under the 10-minute mark (9:58) of the final period of play. Selaidopoulos registered his second notch of the game to provide the Force with a one-point lead at 11:49, but Philadelphia’s Joel Shanker answered a mere 24 seconds later with a tally on a dish from Sloan and force the game into overtime. KiXX midfielder Edgar Bartolomeu registered an unassisted goal at 7:13 of double overtime to provide Philadelphia a 7-6 victory. The 82 minutes and 13 seconds of action marked the second longest contest in KiXX franchise history. The team’s longest game (83:04) occurred in Milwaukee on March 10, 2001. Notes: Tonight’s action marked the 400th career game for KiXX player/coach Don D’Ambra. Kevin Sloan tied his highest output as a member of the KiXX organization with five points tonight (three goals, two assists); he has now accounted for six of the team’s 14 total goals in the club’s last two contests. Philadelphia native Pat Morris failed to record a point, snapping his point streak at 12. Boxscore: Attendance: 4,108 Philadelphia: 0-3-2-1-1=7 Shots: 38 Goalkeepers: Pappas (W, 12 saves). Scorers: Sloan (four goals, assist), Bartolomeu (goal, assist), D’Ambra (assist), Fehrle (assist), Morris (assist), Pottinger (goal), Shanker (goal). Cleveland: 1-1-2-2-0=6 Shots: 34 Goalkeepers: Larkin (L, 18 saves) Scorers: Sibiya (two goals), DePalma (goal, assist), Selaidopoulos (two goals), Ball (assist), Rivas (assist), Sutton (goal). The KiXX next travel to the Kemper Arena to battle the Kansas City Comets on Wednesday, February 9. The School-Day game is slated to kick-off at 11:35 am ET. The team then returns to the City of Brotherly Love to entertain the Baltimore Blast on Saturday, February 12. Game-time at the Wachovia Spectrum is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET, with the doors opening at 6:00 pm ET. 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.