La Raza de Monterrey 17-5 Chicago Storm (La Raza win golden-goal mini-game, 3-0)

by Dan Gaichas

MONTERREY, MEX--After putting in one of their best performances all season last Thursday at the Sears Centre, the Storm followed it up with one of their worst in Game 2 of their MISL Championship Series quarterfinal, a 17-5 defeat, and were soon put out of their misery in the golden-goal mini-game by La Raza de Monterrey in Mexico.

It is the second successive season where the Storm win the first game of a two-game series only to lose the second game and then the mini-game to end their season.  Last year, they won the first game against Philadelphia in the Sears Centre only to lose the second game and then the mini-game in the Spectrum on a goal by current La Raza player Dino Delevski. 

La Raza outscored the Storm, 10-3, in the first quarter.  Five different players scored for the hosts in the first:  Victor Quiroz, Jose Birche, Ivan Medina, Ivan Paredes, and Genoni Martinez.  The only Storm goal in the quarter was a three-pointer by Randy Soderman.

Birche and Medina would each add a second goal in the second quarter sandwiching a Ben Chavolla goal while Byron Alvarez would score the only tally in the second half.

With the series split, it was on to the golden-goal mini-game with the winner advancing to play the Detroit Ignition in the MISL Championship Series semifinals.  La Raza would require just 94 seconds through Birche to end the Storm’s season with a three-point goal. 

La Raza will now take on the Detroit Ignition in the semifinals while the Baltimore Blast (who swept New Jersey) take on the Milwaukee Wave in the other semifinal. 

SCORING SUMMARY:

(1st) MON-Quiroz (Martinez) 1:16

(1st) MON-Birche (Alvarez) 4:06

(1st) CHI-Soderman (Cigliano)(3PT) 7:19

(1st) MON-Medina (Gilbert) 9:25

(1st) MON-Paredes (Lopez) 9:50

(1st) MON-Martinez (unassisted) 12:48

(2nd) MON-Birche (unassisted)(3PT) :26

(2nd) CHI-Chavolla (Armstrong) 9:39

(2nd) MON-Medina (unassisted) 9:52

(3rd) MON-Alvarez (Medina) 11:34

PENALTY SUMMARY:

(2nd) MON-Quiroz (blue, charging) :49

(4th) CHI-bench (blue, too many men)(Brust) 5:44

(4th) MON-Campos (blue, tripping) 13:26

MINIGAME SUMMARY:

(1st) MON-Birche (unassisted)(3PT) 1:34