Indiana Website -
www.invadersfc.comTuesday, June 17, 2008 KALAMAZOO, MI – Four years and 11 days ago, an unknown sophomore from Albuquerque, New Mexico, came off the bench and scored three goals in the final nine minutes of the game. The goals handed the Indiana Invaders a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Kalamazoo Kingdom. That player was Jeff Rowland, who went on to lead the Lobos of New Mexico to the NCAA final.
On Sunday night, the ghost of Jeff Rowland appeared reincarnated in Saidi Isaac and Musa Kamara. Their late goals, two of three Indiana goals which came after the 75th minute, topped off a 3-2 come-from-behind victory for the Invaders in Kalamazoo.
The match began favorably for the Kalamazoo Outrage, a beautiful finish by ex-Indiana Invader, Lance Muckey, gave Kalamazoo an early lead. On the goal, a perfect feed from Scott Ellis found Muckey crashing into the box and he volleyed the ball past a helpless Carl Wosszyznski.
Two minutes into the second period it was Sheffield Wednesday forward, Dan Bulley, that beat two defenders and put the ball past Wosszyznski to double the Kalamazoo lead.
Slowly then, Mamba Chisoni and Saidi Isaac, started taking over the game, feeding balls to forward Chris Henn. For thirty minutes the Invaders pushed forward from all angles, tormenting the Kalamazoo backline. In the 75thn minute Saidi Isaac broke loose down the left side before dribbling towards goal. His close range shot then deflected off a Kalamazoo defender to beat a stranded Mitch Hildebrandt.
Eight minutes later, Isaac and Chisoni combined in the box for a series of passes that found Isaac all alone in front of the Kalamazoo goal for the equalizer. The end-to-end action continued as Kalamazoo fought right back in the 85th minute. Bulley’s brilliant header from the top of the six yard box to the upper right corner appeared to give Kalamazoo the win. However, an incredible diving deflection by Wosszyznski kept the score tied at two.
In the 89th minute, when the tie seemed inevitable, Musa Kamara, who had come on as a substitute, took a rebound off a corner kick and blasted it home past an outstretched Hildebrandt. It was Kamara’s second game winner in two days (Friday he had scored his first goal of the season in a 3-1 over Toronto).
“I knew both teams would be tired coming into the second half,” Indiana Head Coach Mamba Chisoni said following the match. “We both had difficult games on Friday, so I wanted to keep fresh players on the bench, hoping they would elevate our game in the final minutes.”
“I played in the game where Jeff Rowland scored those goals near the end,” reflected Chisoni. “I told the boys to believe, work hard and we would get the result. We are finally a team, now we must catch Chicago or Kalamazoo if we want a playoff spot."
