Kixx down Detroit for MISL title

PLYMOUTH, Mich. - The momentum had been lost, and Kixx player-coach Don D'Ambra didn't want the same to happen with the game - the biggest game of the year. So he called his own number.

D'Ambra scored the fourth-period goal that paved the way for a 13-8 win over the host Detroit Ignition yesterday as the Kixx won the Major Indoor Soccer League Championship at the sold-out Compuware Sports Arena.

The visitors had all but squandered an eight-point lead and were up by 10-8 early in the quarter when D'Ambra intercepted a pass by Detroit goalie Sanaldo, who had come far out of the net. The Kixx coach calmly chipped in a three-point goal from just inside midfield, deflating the raucous crowd of 3,504.

"Sanaldo is one of the best guys with his feet, and I was acting like I wasn't paying attention and kind of drifted off and kind of baited him," D'Ambra said. "I hopped back out and basically picked his pocket, caught him off guard and put it in for a three-pointer."

There was still plenty of time remaining - 13 minutes, 48 seconds - but neither team scored again.

"The momentum was going our way, and I thought it was only time until we got that tying goal," said Ryan Mack, a Detroit midfielder. "That goal kind of took the wind out of our sails."

It was the second MISL title for the Kixx in their 11-year history. They won both on the road, with the other coming at Milwaukee in 2002.

Just as they had in 2002, D'Ambra and goalie Peter Pappas, the lone charter members still on the Kixx, set the tone.

D'Ambra scored the team's first and last goals, while Pappas was sensational in net.

"Don and Peter have been the rocks of the franchise, and you saw how much leadership they showed today," said all-MISL defender Pat Morris, who turned in a strong effort along with Genoni Martinez, Casey Barton and Drew Kopp.

Pappas, the MISL goaltender of the year, kept the Kixx in the game early in the first period with several outstanding saves when Detroit was controlling the tempo.

What made them even more impressive was that Pappas had been ill, and he had injured a toe earlier in the week.

"Once you get in the game, you forget about how you feel," he said. "I felt a lot of adrenaline out there, and now I feel so relieved to win. It's a great feeling."

D'Ambra opened the scoring with a two-point goal, tapping in a rebound at 9:09 of the first period.

The Kixx took an 8-0 lead on two-point goals by John Barry Nusum, Shawn Boney and Martinez.

Nusum, who scored the golden-goal game-winner against Chicago to put the Kixx in the title game, headed in his own miss - which had caromed off the glass. Boney took advantage of a misplay by Sanaldo after the Detroit goalie couldn't catch a shot by Barton. With his back to the goal, Boney got the rebound and tapped it in with his back heel past a charging Sanaldo.

Martinez, the MISL defender of the year, made it 8-0 while converting a penalty kick after the Ignition were called for a hand ball. Including the regular season, Martinez finished 5 for 5 in penalty kicks, which are taken from 8 yards out.

The Ignition scored a two-point goal with just 13.9 seconds left in the first half. With Pappas out of the goal, Detroit's Bill Sedgewick tapped in a shot past the near post.

Ptah Myers' rebound goal early in the third period boosted the Kixx' lead to 10-2.

That's when Detroit came to life, forcing the Kixx to play back on their heels and getting back in the game with three consecutive two-point goals - including two by league MVP Jamar Beasley.

Eventually, D'Ambra stole the ball, the momentum and, finally, the title for the Kixx.