Soccer Spotlight: KiXX Fall, 7-4, to MISL Newcomber Chicago Storm Philadelphia Drops First Decision of 2004-05 Season Sunday, November 14, 2004 By David Deal Philadelphia KiXX Director of Communitions The Philadelphia KiXX (4-1) dropped their first decision of the 2004-05 season with a 7-4 loss to the Chicago Storm (4-2) at the Wachovia Spectrum today. Storm defender Costea Decu recorded the game-winning goal at 5:56 of the third quarter. Stuart Dobson (2-1) took the loss for the KiXX with five saves on 12 chances, while Danny Waltman (4-1) earned the victory for Chicago, turning away 11 of the 15 shots he faced. Chicago’s Novica Marojevic opened the scoring on a dish from teammate Lazo Alavanja at 4:51 of the first quarter; the tally marked the third time this season the KiXX have fallen behind 1-0. Philadelphia newcomer John Barry Nusum quickly knotted the score at 1-1 on a pass from forward Goran Vasic at 6:48. Nusum has now notched at least one goal in four of his five professional indoor contests. The first quarter closed with the 1-1 tie. The Storm wasted little time in the second period, 39 seconds to be exact, as defender Leo Pernia blasted a restart goal past Dobson and into the back of net to give Chicago a 2-1 advantage. Former KiXX midfielder Andy Guastaferro notched his first goal of the season to extend the Storm’s lead to two, 3-1, at 5:12 of the quarter. Just over a minute later (6:39), Kevin Sloan cut the team’s deficit back to one, 3-2, with a score on a feed from Vasic. Chicago forward Jorge Valle connected with teammate Chris Carrieri at 12?:50 to conclude the quarter’s scoring and put the Storm back ahead two, 4-2. KiXX points-leader Ze Roberto pulled the club back within one, 4-3, on a dish from newcomer Chris Fehrle at 3:20, but Chicago’s Costea Decu quickly responded with a restart goal to put the Storm back ahead two, 5-3, at 4:50 of the third quarter. Matthew Stewart lengthened Chicago’s lead to three (6-3), their largest of the day, on a pass from Marojevic at 8:20 of the period to send the game into final period at 6-3 Chicago. Marojevic notched his second goal of the contest at 5:19 of the fourth quarter to further extend Chicago’s lead, 7-3. David Schneider recorded the assist on the play. Nusum followed with his second score of the day on a centering pass from Philadelphia native Pat Morris at 8:42 of the period to pull the club within three, but the Storm held on to earn a 7-4 victory. Boxscore: Attendance: 3,102 Philadelphia: 1-1-1-1=4 Shots: 28 Goalkeepers: Dobson (L, five saves). Scorers: Nusum (two goals), Vasic (two assists), Fehrle (assist), Morris (assist), Roberto (goal), Sloan (goal). Chicago: 1-3-2-1=7 Shots: 15 Goalkeepers: Waltman (W, 11 saves) Scorers: Marojevic (two goals, assist), Alavanja (assist), Carrieri (assist), Decu (goal), Guastaferro (goal), Pernia (goal), Rosenband (assist), Schneider (assist), Stewart (goal), Valle (goal). Following today’s contest, the KiXX will welcome the Monterrey Tigres to the City of Brotherly Love on Saturday, November 20 for the first time in franchise history. Game-time at the Wachovia Spectrum is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET, with doors open at 6:00 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.