Kixx enjoying view from top

Not only have the Kixx kicked into turnaround mode during this Major Indoor Soccer League season, they're doing so in fabulous fashion.

Take Saturday, for example. With 10 seconds left in the game, midfielder Edgar Bartolomeu dribbled through the Detroit defense and knocked in the game-winning goal.

That sudden victory gave the Kixx a 9-4 record and sole possession of first place in the league, with a home game looming tomorrow night against the Chicago Storm.

Perhaps the most telling story of the Kixx' season is the nine wins - only one fewer than all of last season, the only campaign in franchise history that the Kixx failed to make the playoffs.

"Our players are healthy this year and we had a lot of good acquisitions in the offseason," said forward/coach Don D'Ambra, whose team is coming off a 10-20 season.

"This is like a fresh start," assistant coach Adam Bruckner said. "We just have better players now. And the guys hate losing so much that they'll do whatever it takes [to win]."

Goalkeeper Peter Pappas, one of two players who has been part of the team since its inception in 1996, has a lot to do with the Kixx' success.

"Unbelievable," Bruckner said of Pappas. "I won't say this often, but he is just indescribable. He's fearless. I can honestly say he is the reason we've won some games."

Yet Pappas, the MISL's Goalkeeper of the Month for December, doesn't give himself so much credit.

"I have tried to do the same things I've been doing [every year]," Pappas said. "Teams are just getting less good scoring opportunities. We've been playing better defensively. We're playing on the same level [as last season], just getting better results, better luck, and getting some scoring up front. So days where the other team is scoring some goals, we're scoring more.

"We have some new personnel, which has helped. We're healthy, which I think is the biggest reason we struggled last year."

But there are other factors that have contributed to the Kixx' rise to the top.

Philadelphia native Pat Morris, recently named the league's defensive player of the week, credited the turnaround to a more experienced team.

"Last year we were a young team," he said. "This year key guys have picked it up and we have more veteran players."

"We have a lot of talent," Bruckner added. "We possess the ball more. Our skillful midfielders can do a lot more. The team's attitude is different. We have a swagger back."

If it weren't for D'Ambra, this strut probably wouldn't be in full swing.

In his fifth season as both a player and head coach, D'Ambra has been phenomenal. With 14 goals and 39 points through the first 13 games, he is fourth in the league in both categories.

"I was not healthy all year long last year. This year, I have been," said D'Ambra, who had just 21 points in 24 games last season. "Adding depth, talent and leadership means the defense now has to watch out for everyone."

The Kixx realize a lot of work remains if they expect to keep control of the top spot.

"We understand the season is 30 games long," Pappas said. "We're 9-4 now, but we can easily go 4-9 in our next 13 games, because the league is that tight. We have to go out every game and continue to do what's getting us victories."

Added D'Ambra: "We need to make sure complacency doesn't set in. We need to continue to work hard and stay healthy. Our first goal is to make the playoffs . . . Our second goal: win a championship." *