NEWARK, NJ-The New Jersey Ironmen (10-6) fell short in the final contest of a four-game home stand at Prudential Center, dropping a 17-12 loss to La Raza de Monterrey (6-10). Kicking out the ceremonial first kick as the Ironmen honorary captain was IBF World Junior Welterweight Champion, Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi. (More info about Malignaggi’s appearance coming soon to Brickcityboxing.com)
Brazilian forward Tiguinho opened the scoring at 8:00 of the first stanza when he finished off a Dizzy Antoniuk assist, giving the Ironmen a 2-0 advantage. A Mauricio Salles to Lazo Alavanja goal extended the New Jersey lead to 4-0 at 10:22, and Salles then netted a score of his own at 12:47 to make it a six point advantage. Rutgers-New Brunswick graduate Donny Gray registered the assist.
New Jersey saw an unfavorable shift in momentum in the second quarter with their only score coming off a Goran Vasic feed to Dizzy Antoniuk. Monterrey tallied four goals in the second quarter, including back-to-back three pointers by Dino Delevski and Genoni Martinez to close out the half. The scoreboard read 10-8 in favor of the visiting La Raza as the two teams headed to the locker rooms.
At 2:36 of the third period, Delevski set up a goal for Byron Alvarez, and Monterrey extended the lead to 12-8.
With his back to the goal, Ironmen forward Freddy Moojen ended the New Jersey drought at 1:19 of the final stanza, sending a Mateus dos Anjos ball off the back of his foot and into the back of the net. Ivan Medina answered for La Raza at 4:07, but the Ironmen closed the gap at 5:23, 14-12, when Antoniuk hooked up Salles to bring the Ironmen within a goal. With Vasic wearing the sixth attacker jersey, Delevski put the nail on the coffin with 34 seconds left to seal the upset, 17-12.
New Jersey now hits the road to Philadelphia for a Sunday afternoon match up with the defending MISL champion KiXX at 4:05 p.m. The Ironmen return to Prudential Center next Sunday for a 4:00 p.m. kickoff against the Milwaukee Wave.
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.
ABOUT THE MISL
The Major Indoor Soccer League, a single-entity organization with a coast-to-coast presence, represents the major league of professional indoor soccer, featuring the finest indoor soccer players from 32 countries around the world. The nine MISL clubs competing in the 2007-08 season are the Baltimore Blast, California Cougars, Chicago Storm, 2007 championship finalist Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave, and the defending MISL Champion Philadelphia KiXX, with the addition of three expansion clubs, La Raza de Monterrey, New Jersey Ironmen, and the Orlando Sharks. The standings for the 2007-08 regular season are based on a single table of the nine Member Clubs. The MISL regular season commenced on the weekend of October 19-21, 2007 and concludes on the weekend of April 4-6, 2008. Each Club plays a thirty-match (30) regular-season schedule (15 home / 15 away). The 2008 MISL Championship Series consists of six of the nine MISL Member Clubs competing in three rounds, the Quarterfinal Round (April 11-13), the Semifinal Round (April 18-20), and the Championship Series Final (April 26) at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee. For more information on the MISL, visit the League’s official website www.MISL.net.