The Philadelphia KiXX (0-2) outshot the Baltimore Blast (1-1) tonight at 1st Mariner Arena by a count of 23-21, but Blast goalkeeper Sagu recorded 15 saves to lead the host team to a 19-8 victory. Midfielder Ptah Myers paced the KiXX with three points, and netminder Sanaldo takes the loss in net despite his eight saves on the evening.
Myers started the scoring in this contest at 6:09 of the opening frame on a solo knock to give the KiXX an early advantage, 2-0, and forward Adauto Neto nearly extended the lead one minute later when he put a breakaway shot off the top of the glass. Baltimore forward Denison Cabral then had an opportunity to equalize on a shootout attempt at 11:06 following a Sanaldo handball, but his attempt sailed just wide and hit the boards. The Brazilian native then created another chance when midfielder Robbie Aristodemo sent him a feed on the left flank in the next minute, and he made good on the ensuing try at 12:13.
Philadelphia wasted little time in reacquiring the lead in the second stanza, with a New Jersey connection of Cape May resident Anthony Maher to Medford native Ryan Heins only 33 seconds into the period. Baltimore forward Lucio Gonzaga then quickly knotted it back up on a two-pointer at 1:24, but defender Rey Martinez scored his first goal as a member of the KiXX 49 seconds later on a pass from Ricardinho. The sixth lead change of the game then occurred at 5:54 on a Carlos Garcia to Mike Lookingland notch for Baltimore, and a Robbie Aristodemo to Millwood score at 9:39 gave the Blast their first advantage on the night, 8-6. Gonzaga next gave the hosts a little breathing room on a three-pointer at 13:08, and Baltimore took an 11-6 lead into intermission.
Both clubs buckled down and played solid defense in the third quarter of this match, and a scoreless 15 minutes of soccer had the scoreboard still reading 11-6 in favor of the home team. Philadelphia did a good job of creating opportunities for itself but were unable to catch any breaks off the walls to close the gap.
After Gonzaga completed his hat trick at 7:26 of the fourth frame, the KiXX were forced to pull Sanaldo in favor of Ricardinho as the sixth attacker. The Blast would take advantage with a couple of open net goals, and the final score would not be completely indicative of the hard-fought action on the turf. The lone fourth quarter highlight came at 11:19 when Adauto Neto scored his first knock in a Philadelphia uniform with Myers taking the assist.
Next up for the KiXX is a road contest on Friday, December 4th, against the Rockford Rampage (1-0), and the team will play its historic first game at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University on Saturday, January 9th, hosting the Rockford Rampage at 7:00 p.m. Season and group ticket packages for the KiXX are available now by calling 1-888-888-KiXX.
