Soccer Spotlight: Three KiXX Members Headline All-MISL First Team D'Ambra, Morris, and Pappas each Selected by a Panel of Voters from throughout the League Thursday, April 28, 2005 By David Deal Philadelphia KiXX Director of Communications The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) announced today that three members of the Philadelphia KiXX, player/coach Don D’Ambra, Philadelphia native Pat Morris and all-star goalkeeper Peter Pappas, have earned All-MISL First Team recognition. The trio is joined on the First Team by Cleveland’s John Ball and Genoni Martinez, and MISL Spalding Scoring Champion Greg Howes of the Milwaukee Wave. The selections are the results of voting conducted by a panel of team-level executives and media members from around the seven-team League. D’Ambra, who received All-MISL honors for the first time in his 11-year career with a Second Team selection last season, guided the KiXX to their ninth consecutive playoff appearance, while leading the team with 48 points on 32 goals and 15 assists in 34 games. The product of St. Joseph’s University finished 2004-05 tied for first on the MISL Leaderboard in game-winning goals (5), tied for second in first goals (6), tied for third in goals and restart goals (5) and in a sixth place tie in points. D’Ambra was named the League’s Offensive Player of the Week for the seven-day periods ending January 30 and February 13. One of the team’s most consistent scorers, the Philadelphia native recorded at least one point in 25 of his 34 appearances and notched multiple points in 14 of those outings. The 32-year-old forward also achieved numerous career milestones this season, including registering his 150th assist, 350th goal, 850th point, and his 250th block. A three-time all-star defender, Morris receives his fourth All-League honor and the second consecutive First Team selection of his six-year career. The Philadelphia native, who appeared on 94 percent of the ballots to lead all defenders, led the MISL in blocks (93) and finished among the League’s top-20 in points (43), goals (22) and assists (21). The Philadelphia University graduate recorded the 350th block of his career, his 100th career goal and appeared in his 200th career game this season. The 27-year-old product of Northeast Catholic enjoyed a 12-game point streak and received a League-high six MISL Defensive Player of the Week awards for the seven-day periods ending October 24, November 7, December 12, December 19, January 30, and April 3. A native of Toronto Ontario, Pappas receives his seventh All-League selection after posting a 19-15 overall record and finishing among the leaders in nearly every goalkeeping category including second in goals against average (4.34), minutes played (2,086), saves (449), and save percentage (.748). The Philadelphia University product was third in wins (19). In addition to his two MISL Goalkeeper of the Month (January and April) honors, the seven-time all-star also received six Goalkeeper of the Week accolades, the most among all netminders this season, for the seven-day periods ending November 22, December 19, January 10, January 31, April 10 and April 24. The reigning MISL Goalkeeper of the Year registered the 4,000th save of his illustrious career in Baltimore on January 21 and then appeared in his 300th career contest versus St. Louis on January 29. Pappas also posted a 7-6 double overtime victory, playing a career-high 81 minutes and 49 seconds, versus Cleveland on February 5. The contest was the second longest in franchise history and marked only the second time the team was forced to double overtime in a regular-season game in their nine years of existence. The KiXX will next square-off versus former player/coach Omid Namazi and the second-seeded Cleveland Force in the opening Semifinal Round of the 2005 MISL Championship Series. The two-game series will kick-off on Friday, April 29 at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, MO as part of a MISL playoff doubleheader. Game-time is scheduled for 6:00 pm ET, with Game One of the Milwaukee Wave-St. Louis Steamers series immediately following at 8:30 pm ET. Game Two of the KiXX-Force series is slated for Sunday, May 1 at Cleveland’s Wolstein Convocation Center with a 5:05 pm ET start time. Game Two in Cleveland will be available live via webcast at www.wmssfm.com. For more information, contact the club’s Executive Office at 1-888-888-KIXX (5499) or visit the team’s official website, www.kixxonline.com.