Soccer Spotlight: Philadelphia Kicks Out Tigres, 6-5 KiXX Improve to 5-1 Overall, 3-1 at the Wachovia Spectrum Saturday, November 20, 2004 By David Deal Philadelphia KiXX Director of Communitions The Philadelphia KiXX (5-1) defeated the visiting Monterrey Tigres (0-4) by a score of 6-5 in front of 4,932 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum tonight. Kevin Sloan registered the game winner with a penalty-kick goal at 13:22 of the fourth quarter. Peter Pappas (3-0) earned the victory between the posts for Philadelphia, turning away 18 saves on 23 chances, while Aurelio Portes (0-3) took the loss for the Tigres, stopping 12 of the 18 shots he faced. Philadelphia bolted out of the gates, connecting on three unanswered goals less than three minutes into the first quarter. Player/Coach Don D’Ambra led the attack with an unassisted breakaway goal just eight seconds into the action. Newcomer Gary Brooks followed with the first score of his professional career on an assist from fellow rookie John Barry Nusum at 1:35. D’Ambra then notched his second tally of the evening on a dish from Damien Pottinger at 2:03 of the period. Monterrey ended the scoring drought with a pair of goals just 14 seconds apart. Tigres defender Rodrigo Oliva knocked in a pass from teammate Marco Coria at 13:29, and then Victor Quiroz registered an unassisted goal at 13:43. Philadelphia held the 3-2 advantage after one full period of play. Nusum extended the club’s lead to two, on a feed from forward Goran Vasic at the 2:20 mark of the second stanza. With the assist, Vasic extended his point streak to six games and his assist streak to five. Kevin Sloan then buried a left-footer on a pass from Brooks across the field at 9:43 of the quarter. The KiXX took the three-point, 5-2, lead into the half. The Tigres cut the deficit to one, 5-4, with a pair of unanswered goals in the third period. Octavio Perez struck first with a restart goal from Genoni Martinez at 1:48, followed by a notch from Alejandro Moreno at 12:13 of the quarter. Quiroz recorded the assist on the play to Moreno. The 5-4 Philadelphia advantage held after three periods of action. Monterrey knotted the game, 5-5, as Perez notched his second tally of the contest at 12:07 of the fourth period, but Sloan regained the club’s one-point, 6-5, advantage with a penalty-kick goal at 13:22; the KiXX received the penalty kick after Marco Lopez was called for a two-minute tripping violation in the box. Philadelphia held on to earn a 6-5 victory. Notes: KiXX forward Goran Vasic notched a second-quarter assist to extend his point streak to six games and his assist streak to five. Newcomer Gary Brooks matched his career-high with a two-point (goal, assist) performance tonight; the native of Kingston, Jamaica tallied two points on a pair of assists in his first indoor action versus the Blast in Baltimore on November 5. Boxscore: Attendance: 4,632 Philadelphia: 3-2-0-0=5 Shots: 23 Goalkeepers: Pappas (W, 18 saves). Scorers: Brooks (goal, assist), D’Ambra (two goals), Sloan (two goals), Nusum (goal, assist), Pottinger (assist), Vasic (assist). Monterrey: 2-0-2-1=5 Shots: 42 Goalkeepers: Portes (L, 12 saves) Scorers: Coria (two assists), Perez (two goals), Quiroz (goal, assist), Oliva (goal), Martinez (assist), Moreno (goal). Following tonight’s contest, the KiXX will travel to Cleveland to battle Eastern Division foe, the Cleveland Force, on Friday, November 26. The contest can be heard live via webcast at www.thesportsking.com. Game-time at the Convocation Center at CSU is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET. For ticket information, fans can call the club’s Executive Office at 1-888-888-KiXX (5499) or log onto the team’s official website, www.kixxonline.com.