Wichita WIngs @ Milwaukee Wave

It took the team a little over thirteen hours to get from Wichita to Milwaukee, and it is a trip that they will make twice more before the year is over.  During those thirteen hours on the bus the guys slept, listened to music, scanned the internet, but mostly they either watched game film or the two MISL matches that were happening that day.  They game-planned all week for the attack heavy Milwaukee Wave and didn’t stop their preparation until the kick-off whistle blew.  The squad knew that conceding position on the field and packing in the defensive end with light pressure to the midway line would force the Wave attack to dissect the Wings D with creativeness and organization.  Overall this strategy worked as the Wings held the Defending MISL champs to only 5 points in the first half as we went into the locker room with our largest lead of the year.  The 9-5 tally was an encouraging score line going into the break.  Encouraging it might have been but frail is the most appropriate word to describe the Wing’s short-lived lead.  It took the Wave little time to regain the lead after scoring four unanswered goals in just over six and a half minutes.  With the lead lost and the momentum with the home side the Wings looked to be in a bit of trouble. 

            While the Wave looked to be on their way to extending their lead the Wings fought back as Victor Quiroz sent a beautifully weighted lofted ball down field to a streaking Chris Lemons who did well to fight off a defender and loop a shot over Wave keeper Marcel Feenstra.  Wichita looked to be in serious danger again when Kevin Ten Eyke was shown blue for tripping with three minutes to play in the third.  A broken power play right after a goal was sure to shift some momentum towards Wichita for the fourth period, despite being down two points.  Ten Eyke’s penalty turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  The Wings broke the Wave power play and as Ten Eyke returned to the pitch he found Jamar Beasley in need of some assistance on a one on one break.  Kevin swiftly exited the penalty box and six seconds later slotted home a left footed shot underneath Feenstra to equalize for the Wings.  So on to the fourth the two sides went, drawn at thirteen a piece.

            The fourth was littered with a foul here and there but really nothing in it until Greg Howes scored the winner with under three to play.  Howes is a former 3-time MISL MVP and the Wave captain.  The Wings played the rest of the fourth with Quiroz as a sixth attacker and Sanaldo watching from the bench.  They had a few chances and an extremely rare chance to equalize as Jonatan Santos handled the ball to receive his second blue and eventual red card ejection.  The Wings had the last 1:10 to play 6 on 4 against the Wave defense.  Some good time consuming defense resulted in the final buzzer being heard without a Wings tying goal.  It was another heartbreaker for the boys. 

            Like their home opener there was many positives to take away from this game.  Their defensive aspect of the team looked improved, even after losing Daniel Villegas to a knee injury for 4-6 weeks and Tijani Ayegbusi picking up an injury in the second period that kept him out for the rest of the game.  Once again the Wings looked potent in their attacking third.  Mulai looks like he will be a great signing for the club as he scored twice more, and Kevin Ten Eyke had his best game yet as he added a three and two point goal.  The trip overall was disappointing due to the loss.  No matter how badly we want the guys to succeed and how badly they themselves want to succeed, any expansion team takes time.  Just feel lucky we are not the Norfolk SharX who look to be in serious trouble as they only suited 12 players for their home opener.  I promise you Wings fans, they are almost there.  Despite their 0-3 start they will do well this year and be right in the mix for a playoff spot.

Link to MISL recap of the Game  Wichita Wings @ Milwaukee Wave--Box Score

    

MISL Story About the Wing's Opener

http://misl.uslsoccer.com/home/578164.html

Opening Weekend

           If the opening weekend of the new look MISL was an indicator of successes to come then we, as fans, are in for a promising season, as well as seasons in the future.   Close to 13,000 people attended the three MISL games last weekend.  The sellout we had at Hartman Arena for the Wings home and season opener was the largest total out of the games.  Hartman was filled with 4,695 fans that had either been waiting ten years for their Wings to return, or new supporters enthralled at the idea of something new to Wichita.  No matter a fan’s reason for attending the game the only disappointment they left the arena with was the final goal being scored by the Comets, robbing the Wings of a dream return as a professional soccer franchise.  As Geison netted his fifth goal of the night four and half minutes in to the overtime period, Wichita was disappointed only for a moment.  The end result was a loss but the overall feeling of the team’s sincere accomplishment left everyone with a positive sensation.  The crowd did not know it yet, but the Wings were the only team to sell out their arena in the opening weekend and the Wings squad assembled was clearly capable of exciting.  Thursday night’s game saw fifteen goals scored and a final tally of 16-14.  The Wings were less potent on the offensive end the ensuing night when they played the Comets again in their building in Independence, MO.  They only managed to score twice as they were beaten easily 14-4.  Six of the points came during Omar Quiroz’s last four minutes as a sixth attacker, while Sanaldo watched from the bench.

Game 1: Home VS Missouri Comets

            The fans were there and the players were clearly enthused by their support.  The Wings did go down 2-0 due to Geison’s score.  Though the first points of the MISL season did not light up the Wings side of the scoreboard, the equalizer made everything okay.  Local hero and former Wing Larry Inlow struck a beautiful low, tucked in to the corner shot that left Comets keeper Danny Waltman helpless.  I was broadcasting the game but when he scored it was like I blacked out.  I couldn’t tell you what I said or what my first goal call ever was.  The excitement that was relayed from Larry to the fans to me had me buzzing.  I continued to describe the event even though I know the crowd noise made it difficult for our listeners to understand what had happened.  After the celebrations ended and I had regained my composure was when I knew the Wings return was a true success.  Directly after the restart I received numerous messages from listeners and my producer requesting I dial down the volume of my crowd mic.  When I reached for the dial to lower the crowd sound, there was no room to turn it down.  The crowd mic was completely off, the noise the fans created was coming solely through Cliff Brown (My color commentator) and I’s headsets.  The release of anticipation from the crowd after Larry’s goal ensured us that the love and passion for this team was not lost, a decade absent of soccer in Wichita had just suppressed our adoration for the game. 

            For the remainder of the night we saw a Wings squad that had no trouble scoring as five different players tallied goals for Wichita.  Their reaction to their goals is what troubled the team.  It is an age old theory that you are most vulnerable to get scored on in the ensuing minutes after you have scored.  This game proved that theory very true.  No team lead by more than two points for the entire night and the Wings surrendered two fourth quarter leads, one within the final two and half minutes.  Less than half of a minute later the Wing’s defense was unorganized and Bryan Harris found himself behind out of position Sanaldo as the ball rolled through Wichita’s D and all Harris had to do was slot home from a few feet.  The Wing’s defensive lapses hurt them all night, and in to the overtime as Geison finished off a career night as he finished off a mishandled clearance with 10:29 left in the OT.  It was Geison’s fifth goal of the night and it was the golden goal.  The Comets leaped over their bench to join the others on the field in celebration.  A disappointed gasp echoed in the arena as the almost prefect evening had been tainted by some unfortunately miscommunicated defensive efforts.

Game: Away VS Missouri Comets

            The next night, the Wings had the opportunity to travel to the Independence Events Center in Independence, Missouri.  The Comets crowd was decent but far less impressive than the Wing’s large and rambunctious opening night spectators.  The crowd was less but the team is fortunate their performance on this night was away from home.  As Jamie Harding said in his post-match interview with me, “Things just were not clicking tonight.”  He said it correctly; the team lacked offensive potency and very rarely looked to be threat in front of goal.  Our build up through the middle was decent but creativity and finishing in the final third was disappointing.  Bryan Perez scored the second night in a row and Carlos ‘Chile’ Farias netted his first of the season.  The 14-4 score line is a bit misleading due to the six points the comets scored while we were playing with six attackers.  Before the final four minutes when Sanaldo exited and made way for Omar Quiroz to take on goalkeeping and attacking duties, the Comets had only mustered 8 total points.  Sanaldo had had a very decent game just needed some work done for him on the other end. 

            A team groove will grow as the season continues.  Cohesiveness between the guys will become more evident I am sure.  Lebaron has added team building and communication trips and drills to the Wing’s practice schedule this week.  The team is full of veterans that know how to bounce back and revive a struggling team.  An 0-2 start might not be considered struggling, but our experience on the team gives us piece of mind that the guys can and will fight through any situation that they are presented with this year. 

            Injury Report:  Daniel Villegas had a decent first two outings during his first two games as a professional indoor soccer player.  But due to a knee injury he is said to miss 4-6 weeks.  Although if you follow him on Twitter his optimism about an early return makes his followers feel good.

2011-2012 Kits Revealed; Along With Final 6 Roster Spots

Hey Wings fans, the team announced the final six players to fill their roster this morning at Sports Zone.  As you can see they released their 2011-2012 kits to the world.  Jamar Beasley, Sanaldo, and Frederico Moojen show them off.  The front sponsor will be Jimmy's Egg and the arm sponsor will be the Clarion Inn.

The Final six players that were granted a spot on the team are goalkeeper Nic Martinez who played his college soccer at Sterling College.  Kevin Ten Eyck and Alex Moseley, both made it all the way from open tryouts back in late August.  They are both from Wichita and played their college soccer at Friends University.  They will be playing defense for the Wings this season.  Edvin Worley played his collegiate soccer at Boston College and has a very interesting and experienced soccer background I will tell you more about when I get to his player introduction.  He will see time in the midfield and up front for the Wings.  Another great talent is Brazilian, Fausto de Casa Deus.  He will also see time in the middle and up top.  The last but not shortest, biggest player on the squad is Mulai.  Mulai played collegiately at Boston University.  He was born in Gambia and has a Swedish passport.  He is 6 foot 7 inches tall and will be playing forward for the team this season.

Only two days until the season kicks off.  Make sure to look for more player introductions as the season continues.  You might be wondering why I didn't introduce everyone of the guys before the season started.  It wasn't for lack of effort, I want to make sure I know the way each of them play and get to know them better in order to better provide you all with the best information about them.  Leave your mark if you have any questions!