Brick City Boxing

PHILADELPHIA, PA (January 27, 2008)- The New Jersey Ironmen (10-6) hit the road for Philadelphia today, looking for a key victory against the defending MISL champion KiXX. The stars would not align in favor of New Jersey, and the club dropped a 17-13 defeat. The match up was the second of a two-game weekend for the Ironmen who came up short in a tight 14-10 loss to La Raza de Monterrey Friday night at Prudential Center.

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At 1:28 of the opening frame, Philadelphia forward John Barry Nusum netted the first score of the game off a Sandre Naumoski assist to give the KiXX an early 2-0 advantage. The Naumoski to Nusum exchange struck again at 4:33, and Philadelphia extended the gap to 4-0. KiXX player/coach Don D'Ambra made it 6-0 when he finished a feed from Jonathan Steele at 11:46. Brazilian Tiguinho finally put the Ironmen on the board with 33 seconds left, and player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan hit an unassisted three-pointer 13 ticks later to bring New Jersey within one point, 6-5. Philadelphia defender Pat Morris quickly answered for the home team with six seconds on the clock. Going into the second stanza, the KiXX led the Ironmen by the count of 8-5.

Following a scoreless second period, both teams headed to the locker rooms with Philadelphia leading New Jersey, 8-5.

KiXX midfielder Ptah Myers netted a D'Ambra assist 27 seconds into the third frame to end the scoring drought, but Dizzy Antoniuk drilled a powerful shot at 3:55 to close the gap for the Ironmen, 10-7. Defender Gordon Kljestan registered the assist. At 10:09 Steele responded with a goal off a Aaron Susi feed, and the lead was back to five points in favor of Philadelphia, 12-7.

New Jersey midfielder Osni Neto kicked the Ironmen within three points at 1:23 of the fourth quarter after he finished a nicely-placed ball from Tiguinho, putting 12-9 on the scoreboard, but it would be as close as the Ironmen would get. Antoniuk added two more tallies for his third hat trick of the season, but it would not be enough. The KiXX took the win and the season series with the final score reading 17-13 in their favor. The two teams will play one more time this year on March 22 in Newark.

The loss is the second straight for New Jersey, and the club drops to 0-3 in the second game of dual weekends. The Ironmen will have to do it again next weekend, facing the Chicago Storm Saturday night on the road before returning to Prudential Center to host the Milwaukee Wave on Sunday. That match up is slated for a 4:00 start, and tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-IRONMEN.

ABOUT THE NEW JERSEY IRONMEN
The New Jersey Ironmen, operated by Jeff Vanderbeek and Michael Gilfillan of the NHL New Jersey Devils ownership group, join the Baltimore Blast, California Cougars, Chicago Storm, Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave, La Raza de Monterrey (MX), Orlando Sharks, and the Philadelphia KiXX in the 2007-08 MISL regular season, which commenced in mid-October and will conclude at the end of March. The Ironmen play a 15-match home schedule at Prudential Center in the Downtown Core Redevelopment District of Newark. The Ironmen are coached by two-time MISL Coach of the Year Omid Namazi and Assistant Coach Kevin Sloan. For more information on the New Jersey Ironmen, visit www.njironmen.com.