Updated on December 10, 1997 at 10:23 PM
Lori's Game Reports and Summaries
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Game 4 - Friday, November 14, 1997
I should have stopped listening to the radio broadcast of this game
before it ever started. The hosts of the call-in show being broadcast
before the game were obviously miffed at "their" time being taken away
for an Attack broadcast. I have no idea who they were, or what they
normally discuss. I do know that the male host said indoor soccer was
"not a real sport" and repeatedly referred to the "Montreal Moose"
instead of the Impact. At least the female host said indoor soccer was
"very good, very fast" before they finally went away. So much for
station solidarity, huh? Nothing like making listeners want to stick
around for the following radio show on your station than making fun of
it. Of course, that type of banter should have made me think about what
kind of evening it was going to be, but I am a masochist when it comes
to the Attack - I will listen/watch every minute of every game, no
matter how painful. And painful it was.
There were more clues about what to expect on the coach's show
before the broadcast. Schwab mentioned that several players had been
ill all week, and then went on to say that he, himself, would be
rotating with Eloy Salgado - up front! Hmmm, I would have thought our
defensive ranks were thinner than our offensive ranks, but what do I
know? At any rate, by the time this first-ever matchup between these
teams was complete, the Attack had been spanked, 19-14, in a game that
was never as close as the score could indicate.
The Impact came out shooting on Attack 'keeper, Kevin Zimmerman.
And the shots were finding the net. Within about three minutes into the
game, the Impact were up 6-0 on goals by Adolfo Mella, Rick Titus and
Grant Needham. (Nick Vasos did an extremely poor job of saying who had
goals/assists in this match, and I rarely heard a time of goal or foul.
Poor broadcast quality [as usual] only added to the frustration).
Mella's goal came on a quick counterattack, which Montreal launched
often and effectively in the game. Titus' goal came after Zimmerman
made a save on an initial shot, only to have the rebound pounced upon by
Titus. Needham's goal was another rebound goal after the initial save
was made by Zimmerman. KC was apparently pushing everyone forward
offensively, and the quick Montreal team had no problems launching
2-on-1 and 3-on-1 counters on KC's rookie goalkeeper. It did sound as
if Salgado and Simon Weiss were connecting on some passes up front, only
to be unable to finish. There was under two minutes left in the quarter
before KC got on the boards. Kevin Koetters, who was sick all week and
did not practice, put away a rebound goal. Soon after, Rudy Doliscat
was carded for tripping Salgado and Paolo Ceccarelli made the save on
Koetters' shootout attempt. However, Schwab did manage to convert a
power play goal to cut the Impact's lead to three points. However, with
just seconds left in the quarter, Grant Needham got a loose ball and
managed to trickle it past Zimmerman for another two points. KC 3, MON
8
In the second quarter, Mella again scored first, again on a quick
breakaway, going in 1-on-1 with Zimmerman. KC had had some chances, but
tended to make too many passes at the other end, giving the Impact time
to get in place defensively. However, the Impact did seem to have a
tendency to give up restarts in their own third of the field, and KC was
able to make them count. On a restart between the yellow line and
3-point arc, Jeff Davis walloped in a 3-point restart goal to pull KC
back within four points. However, with a little over nine minutes left
in the quarter, the Attack's Brian Loftin was taken down at the top of
the box, where he immediately grabbed his leg (right knee?). After
several minutes of treatment on the field, he was assisted off the field
and did not return to the game. (He had been switching off in midfield
with Koetters). Brad McTighe saw some playing time after that, and he
and Novi Marojevic almost connected for a goal or two, but "almost" just
does not count. Wes Wade got off a few 3-point attempts, but all were
just barely off-target. The Impact did not seem to have any problems
finding the target, especially with so many quick breakaways. Needham
scored his third goal of the game to put Montreal up by six points.
Again, Montreal was extremely quick on counterattacks, and KC seemed
completely unable to get back, leaving Zimmerman all alone back there.
KC did manage to get off a flurry of shots in the final minute of the
half, but none managed to go in the goal. However, after KC was
whistled for an over and back, Jean Harbor stepped up and scored a
three-pointer to end the half. KC 6, MON 15
The second half of the game was better defensively for the Attack,
but they still could not seem to score enough up front to over come the
huge deficit which they had already built. In a quick, effective play
of their own, KC did manage to score when Schwab centered a perfect pass
to Marojevic, who was standing at the top of the arc. This pulled KC
within seven points, but not for long. Doliscat had a give-and-go with
a teammate that immediately put the Impact up by two more points.
However, KC did manage to recover those two points on another restart,
this time by Schwab. There was no other scoring in the quarter, as at
least the Attack managed to cover the back more effectively. KC 10, MON
17
The fourth quarter started out on a high note for Attack fans, as
Marojevic scored on an assist from Koetters. The assist gave Koetters a
total of 600 POINTS in his career. CONGRATULATIONS, KEVIN! Marojevic
had another chance soon after, when Ceccarelli was caught well out of
position, but Marojevic was again off-target. With about 6:40 left in
the game, KC called a time-out. Soon after play resumed, Wade was
called for a foul, with which he apparently disagreed. After stating
his opinion to the referee, Wade was given a five-minute penalty for
misconduct, leaving the ranks of the Attack even thinner. KC was
pushing up and taking a lot of chances, knowing a five-point lead is
definitely not insurmountable with several minutes left to play.
However, Harbor stepped up for the Impact and sealed the victory when he
faked a shot, took a step and then shot - past a screen Zimmerman and
into the net. Though Salgado would score a goal with about two minutes
left, it was a case of too little, too late for the Attack. Not only
did they lose the game, but there was no word on Loftin's condition,
either. We can only hope he will be back for the next game on 11/22.
KC 14, MON 19
Lori
SUMMARY
1 2 3 4 TTL
KC 3 3 4 4 14
MON 8 7 2 2 19
1ST QUARTER
MON - Mella (?) 2pg
MON - Titus (?) 2pg
MON - Needham (?) 2pg
KC - Koetters (?) 2pg
KC - Schwab (?) 1pg, power play
MON - Needham (?) 2pg
Penalties: MON - Doliscat, tripping, 2:00
2ND QUARTER
MON - Mella (?) 2pg
KC - Davis (?) 3pg
MON - Needham (?) 2pg
MON - Harbor (?) 3pg, restart
Penalties: none
3RD QUARTER
KC - Marojevic (Schwab) 2pg
MON - Doliscat (?) 2pg
KC - Schwab (?) 2pg, restart
Penalties: none
4TH QUARTER
KC - Marojevic (Koetters) 2pg
MON - Harbor (?) 2pg
KC - Salgado (?) 2pg
Penalties: KC - Wade, misconduct, 5:00
Game 5 - Saturday, November 22, 1997
Game 5 - Saturday, November 22, 1997
With both teams devastated by injuries, there was not much hope of
this being a "pretty" game of soccer. The Wings were missing Kim
Roentved, Dick McCormick, Kris Peat and Terry Rowe, with Shon Padilla
and Chad Ashton playing at less than 100% healthy. The Attack,
meanwhile, were missing Warren Westcoat, Nate Houser, Brian Loftin and
Kevin Koetters. Helping out Wichita was their newest member, Brian
Haynes. The former KC Attack player was signed this past week and would
have an immediate impact on the team. It was nice to see Haynes,
however, as I have missed seeing him on the indoor field. Too bad he
and the Attack could not come to an agreement - he would have been a
valuable addition to KC, as well. The pregame was interesting...after
the amazing reappearance of the Wings' mascot, Score, the Wings' players
were introduced --- and brought onto the field on the back of
motorcycles! Too bad the lights were so low, though. I would have
liked to get a better look at the bikes. At any rate, the noise created
by the motorcycles was only a preview of the noise the nearly 8,000 fans
would create during the game itself. The Wings would go out to an early
commanding lead and would never look back, leaving the Attack scattered
in the wake.
Braeden Cloutier opened the scoring up early in the first quarter
when he put one to the far post past a diving Kevin Zimmerman at the
44-second mark. Less than 30 seconds later, Cloutier had a pretty
three-pointer to put the Wings up by five. Ashton, playing defense on
still-sore ankle, had the assist on both goals. The Attack seemingly
had no defense at all, as the Wings would come back with quick
counterattacks to find no one to challenge them on the progress
downfield. Player/coach Jim Schwab had again put himself on the front
line, and did not seem able to coach effectively from up there, nor to
spot the problems and get someone else to plug up the holes from the
back. Samuel Ekeme was making some nice slide tackles and plays in back
for KC, but there was not enough support for him to make much
difference. In the sixth minute, Jason Dunn drilled a shot towards the
upper 90 of the Attack's goal. On the way, it deflected off his
teammate, Carsten Siersbaek, giving Siersbaek credit for the goal and
Dunn credit for the assist. A minute later, KC finally got on the board
when Jeff Davis finally beat Wings goalkeeper Chris Damico for two
points. However, seconds later, Eddie Henderson deflected in a shot
from Brian Haynes to put Wichita back up by seven points. KC was
getting a lot of chances, but could not seem to finish. With most of
their starters missing in action, the Attack was finding a sloppy
Wichita team tough to handle. KC 2, WIC 9
The second quarter started with Attack player Novi Marojevic
missing a shot at a wide-open goal. By this point, however, the KC fans
had expected nothing else. The Wings, meanwhile, were soon finding that
new KC goalkeeper, Blair Quinn, was not able to stop shots, either.
(Who could, with no defense in sight the majority of the time?) In the
third minute, Dunn finally got credit for a goal after getting a ball
from Cloutier. Soon after, Haynes got his first goal for the Wings,
putting the Wings up by 11. Finally, near the nine-minute mark, KC
managed to score. It was a beautiful three-point shot, taken from
between the arc and the yellow line by newcomer, Shawn Beyer. It was
pretty, but again the Wings took away all momentum when Dunn scored less
than a minute later. The Attack had been unable to clear the ball out
of the box effectively, and Quinn was out of position. Dunn simply
turned and easily put the ball in the back of the net for a ten-point
lead. About two minutes later, Dunn got his hat trick, and Cloutier got
yet another assist. Less than one minute later, the Wings took a
14-point lead when Sterling Wescott received a pass from Garret Kusch
and easily put it past Quinn. The Attack was looking completely
demoralized and disorganized, and tempers were flaring. The Wings were
not looking all that great themselves, but at least they recovered from
poor passes and found the back of the net......often. KC 5, WIC 19
HALFTIME STATS:
Shots: WIC 14, KC 17
Blocks: WIC 5, KC 3
Fouls: WIC 16, KC 10
Saves: WIC 10 (Damico), KC 2 (Zimmerman 1, Quinn 1)
When the third quarter got underway, Schwab had moved himself back
to defense, pushing Wes Wade further up in the offense. While Schwab
may not be as fast as he once was, he does have the experience to direct
the back line effectively. He had also obviously managed to get his
players' heads back into the game, and the Attack did not look so
pitifully horrible as they did the first half. In fact, the Attack drew
first blood in the quarter when Jack Park scored in the third minute.
However, all the tempers started to cause problems. At just under five
minutes into the quarter, Ekeme was penalized for holding. Wade
vociferously disagreed with the call and he was given a misconduct
penalty. However, something positive did happen. Haynes took the
shootout attempt after Ekeme's penalty, and Quinn did not just stop the
shot - he aggressively came out and attacked the ball to keep it out of
his goal! One of the best displays of stuffing a shootout that I have
seen. The Wings were unable to score on the power play, mainly because
the short-handed Attack seemed to maintain possession of the ball for
most of the two minutes. Quinn looked decidedly more solid in goal,
though the appearance of some defense in front of him probably helped
that comfort level. Wade, however, seemed to have diarrhea of the mouth
and drew another misconduct call near the time for his first one to
expire. Damico was still making some great saves for Wichita, while
Jamie Harding and Cloutier both missed open-net chances at the other
end. The Wings would score in the 11th minute after a flurry of shots
left Quinn sprawled on the floor. While he was down, a Wings player
apparently kicked him, but the referees (Gary Huber and Armano
Rossi)both had blinders on, apparently. While Quinn was down, Eddie
Henderson poked the ball into the net for another two points. A minute
later, Cloutier got his hat trick off a nice header when Siersbaek's
shot bounced off the crossbar. Before the quarter ended, Haynes had
added another goal to the Wings' total. KC 7, WIC 25
If the Attack had played the first half as effectively as they
played the second half, the game would have been much closer. In the
fourth quarter, KC again scored first. This time, Wade took a shot from
outside the yellow line that hit the crossbar, bounced down and then
back into the goal past a scrambling Damico. The assist went to Beyer -
giving him his first NPSL goal and assist in the same game. The next
seven or eight minutes were rather dull - good defense at both ends kept
the ball out both nets. Shortly before the 12-minute mark, Eloy Salgado
scored again for the Attack. However, Kusch would put a final shot past
Quinn with a little over a minute left. With the assist on that goal,
Cloutier ended up with three goals and three assists for ten points in
the game. Just the goals in which he took part were enough to beat the
Attack this game. KC 12, WIC 27
FINAL STATS:
Shots: WIC 38, KC 37
Blocks: WIC 11, KC 12
Fouls: WIC 31, KC 14
Saves: WIC 21 (Damico), KC 13 (Zimmerman 1, Quinn 12)
Lori
----------------------------
SUMMARY
1 2 3 4 TTL
KC 2 3 2 5 12
WIC 9 10 6 2 27
1ST QUARTER
WIC - Cloutier (Ashton) 2pg
WIC - Cloutier (Ashton) 3pg
WIC - Siersbaek (Dunn) 2pg
KC - Davis (Salgado) 2pg
WIC - Henderson (Haynes) 2pg
Penalties: none
2ND QUARTER
WIC - Dunn (Cloutier) 2pg
WIC - Haynes (Damico) 2pg
KC - Beyer (Salgado) 3pg
WIC - Dunn (unassisted) 2pg
WIC - Dunn (Cloutier) 2pg
WIC - Wescott (Kusch) 2pg
Penalties: none
3RD QUARTER
KC - Park (Salgado) 2pg
WIC - Henderson (Kusch) 2pg
WIC - Cloutier (Siersbaek) 2pg
WIC - Haynes (Henderson) 2pg
Penalties: KC - Ekeme, 2:00, holding
KC - Wade, 5:00, misconduct
KC - Wade, 5:00, misconduct
4TH QUARTER
KC - Wade (Beyer) 3pg
KC - Salgado (Schwab) 2pg
WIC - Kusch (Cloutier) 2pg
Penalties: none
Game 6 - Saturday, November 29, 1997
Game 6 - KANSAS CITY AT PHILADELPHIA 11/29/97
Before I get into the game report, I want to remind KC area folks that
the Attack radio show is broadcast each Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. from
Fuzzy's (103rd & State Line). There's a drawing for an autographed
Attack soccer ball for those who show up and register. The Attack hour
can be heard on AM 1190 (as long as you live close enough to the
transmitter). Now, on with the game report...
The Kansas City Attack has had a knack so far this season of
digging themselves a hole early on and spending the rest of the game
burying themselves. So, when I tuned in the game with five minutes left
in the first quarter to hear that the Philadelphia Kixx were up 8-0, I
figured I was in for another depressing (from a KC fan's point of view)
game. Especially since the Attack were still without starters Brian
Loftin, Kevin Koetters, Nate Houser and Warren Westcoat. However, it
seemed the Attack had simply been waiting for me to get to my radio,
because it sure sounded like they were playing solid soccer once I
started listening. After a first half score of 12-4, the Attack came
out in the second half and completely shut down the Kixx game. Add to
that second half shutout a run of goals, and KC managed to come from
behind and bring in their second win of the season.
As I mentioned, I missed the first ten minutes of the first
quarter. All I know is that Don D'Ambra had a hat trick and Matt
Knowles had a goal before I got to my radio. With a little under four
minutes left in the first quarter, Omid Namazi made it five-in-a-row for
Philadelphia. However, KC managed to get on the scoreboard about a
minute later when Jeff Davis volleyed in a midair ball from Wes Wade on
a restart. KC 2, PHI 10
The first few minutes of the second half sounded like a lot of
running on the field, but not many opportunities for either side. With
a little over ten minutes left in the quarter, Eloy Salgado volleyed in
a pass from Jim Schwab on a restart to pull within six points of the
Kixx. The Kixx retaliated with three quick shots which were repelled by
Schwab, Samuel Ekeme and Kevin Zimmerman. (Zimmerman was the only
'keeper which KC took to Philadelphia). Both teams then resumed their
back-and-forth play for most of the quarter. Before the half ended, KC
would have another restart attempt stifled by Philadelphia, who then
quickly sent their players to the other end. This one paid off as Rob
Johnson scored another goal with under a minute left. KC had looked as
if they were going to close the gap, but the Kixx had held them off. KC
4, PHI 12
The third quarter sounded as if Schwab had spent half-time getting
the Attack focused, and it showed right away. Through the horrid static
on my radio, I could hear that Ed Carmean had a three-point attempt go
off the crossbar, and that Novica Marojevic whiffed on a shot. However,
the next thing I heard was that Wade had fired a shot from three-point
range that got past Kixx 'keeper Juan de la O. After some discussion,
the goal was ruled a two-pointer and credited to Brad McTighe (his first
NPSL goal). Apparently Wade's shot had deflected off McTighe and into
the goal. Wade was credited with the assist. Soon after, Marojevic had
a nice cross to an onrunning Wade, who unloaded from three-point-land
again, but did not score. Soon after, Marojevic took a shot which was
saved by de la O, but Schwab was there to get the rebound to pull the
Attack within striking range of the Kixx. This was the first time in
six quarters of play that the Attack had managed to score more than one
goal. KC 8, PHI 12
The fourth quarter saw the Kixx bring in former Attack player,
Bobby Joe Esposito, for his first appearance in the game. Schwab had
Shawn Beyer and Brad McTighe on the same line up front to start the
quarter, and the young legs up front paid off quickly. Beyer won a
loose ball near midfield, planted his foot and walloped a three-pointer
past de la O to pull the Attack within one point. KC seemed to be
maintaining possession better in the second half, and not getting caught
on counterattacks as often as they have the last couple of games. Along
with keeping the ball in the Kixx' zone for extended periods of time,
the Attack were unafraid of taking shots from long distances. Marojevic
had at least one three-point attempt go just wide. Meanwhile, Beyer and
McTighe seemed to be clicking up front, with both players getting in
some shots. Anytime the Kixx did manage to send anyone towards KC's
goal, Zimmerman was there to hold them out. About halfway through the
final quarter, Marojevic scored a two-point goal on a header...his
FOURTH header goal of the season! This goal put the Attack ahead by one
slim point. The Attack had scored four straight goals to take the lead,
now they just had to hold off the Kixx for the rest of the quarter. The
Kixx were shooting, but Zimmerman, with help from Carmean, Schwab and
Ekeme, was letting nothing get past him. Jack Park had a chance to
score an insurance goal, but de la O stopped that attempt. With 3:29
left to play, KC called a time-out. Schwab was obviously using the
time-out to keep the Attack players' adrenaline under control, as he
used up his second time-out when there was 2:01 left. Shortly after
play resumed after that time-out, the Kixx called for a time-out to
bring in Namazi as Sixth Attacker. With 1:04 left, Knowles launched a
shot that was deflected out of play by Carmean, at which point the Kixx
used up their second time-out. When play resumed, KC had put defense as
a priority for the final minute of play as they sent four defenders
(Schwab, Ekeme, Carmean and Wade) out with a midfielder (Simon Weiss).
The restart goal attempt by Knowles was saved by Zimmerman. The Kixx
then earned a corner kick, only to see Kevin Sloan end up sending a shot
high and wide to give KC a goal kick with about 30 seconds left. With
the ball again in Philadelphia's zone, the Kixx could not seem to clear
it and the Attack pulled off a come-from-behind victory. KC 13, PHI 12
SUMMARY
1 2 3 4 TTL
KC 2 2 4 5 13
PHI 10 2 0 0 12
1ST QUARTER
PHI - D'Ambra (?) 2pg
PHI - D'Ambra (?) 2pg
PHI - D'Ambra (?) 2pg
PHI - Knowles (?) 2pg
PHI - Namazi (?) 2pg
KC - Davis (Wade) 2pg, restart
Penalties: none
2ND QUARTER
KC - Salgado (Schwab) 2pg, restart
PHI - Johnson (?) 2pg
Penalties: none
3RD QUARTER
KC - McTighe (Wade) 2pg
KC - Schwab (?) 2pg
Penalties: none
4TH QUARTER
KC - Beyer (?) 3pg
KC - Marojevic (?) 2pg
Penalties: none
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