The Detroit Waza Flo were in the giving spirit last Saturday when they took on the Chicago Mustangs at home in a matchup which initially looked to be a win they would give to their fans.
It ended up being a good game that was lost in the last 3 minutes of play.
Recommended Videos
Waza Flo got on the scoreboard first with a goal by Daniel Mattos with 7:59 left in the 1st quarter, but that would not be the only time the home team scoreboard light up that quarter. Zach Bowman crossed one past the Chicago keeper and into the side of the right netting while the 3rd goal would be Mattos scoring again as he sliced through the Mustang defense with ease and slotted it past the keeper and Ricardo Lopez took his turn as well with a beauty of a penalty kick from the line to the crossbar and in to make the score 4-0. Chicago would score in the 1st after a Detroit give away and goal by Chico Parisotto with only seconds left in the 1st quarter to delight the Detroit fans with a 4-1 score at the end of the quarter.
It was then Chicago's turn to create some action as they would score the next 2 goals within the first minutes of the 2nd with a loose ball goal by Joshio Sandivol and Parisetto with another. Chicago would make another attempt on net with a face off right in front which was denied by Detroit's keeper Tony Halterman. Waza Flo then answered back with a hat trick 3rd goal by Mattos and another goal by Bowman which was assisted by Zane Polack. This would bring the score to 6-3 Detroit Waza Flo at the half.
This was a far cry from the performance and game the previous weekend when Detroit played at Chicago and lost 15-4. Waza Flo came out strong in this game at home and not only took control offensively, but made things tough on the Mustangs when Detroit defensively stayed solid.
New goalkeeper Tony Halterman, who was only signed for the one game and then went on to sign for the season with Detroit earlier this week, showed that his instincts and skills at a goalie could kick in and perform at this level in indoor play even though it was new to him. The communication and play by Detroit was on par and were in command of the action the first half.
The second half would look to continue in the same fashion as the first with Waza Flo scoring off a long pass by Head Coach Costea Decu to Nik Djokic who would finish the rest on his own with defenders closing in to make it 7-3 just minutes into the 3rd quarter. The next three goals and the 3rd quarter would end up only being scored by Chicago when Moreira, Guilhere and Miguel Vaca each scored to close the 3rd with a tight 7-6 Detroit lead.
Detroit veteran Miki Djerisilo would answer back in the 4th with his own goal to make it 8-6. Chicago took another turn when Omar Santillan would tally another Mustang goal with 11:29 left in the 4th. Djerisilo would again try to keep his Waza Flo team in the lead by taking on another goal with only 3:41 left in the game to increase the lead to two for Detroit.
Chicago would take their first lead and also take away control of the game in the last 3 minutes of play when they would rally to find goals by Ghuilhere Veiga, Wilo Martinez and Santillan to end the game and take the win by one point with a 10-9 final score.
This was a tough loss for Waza Flo. However, they proved that the punishing loss the last time they met up with Chicago was not their true-to-form style of play. Detroit did continue in the spirit of giving as besides trying to win, they also always look to entertain and help others on and off the field. They were successful in the endeavor of giving back to the community when their loyal Waza Flo fans helped contribute in giving to Gleaners Food bank 222 pounds of food and $65 in donations that night.
-- Photo courtesy of Waza Flo/GoLiveSports
The focus is now on traveling to Milwaukee on Saturday to meet up with the Wave at 1:05pm and take a win on the road to work their way back up the Eastern Division standings where they now sit with a 3-7 record in fourth place. Milwaukee has a record of 5-4 and is currently in second place in the Central Division standings of the MASL.
Detroit Waza Flo is more determined than ever to make this inaugural MASL season a good one to remember and to be a threat to the remaining teams on their schedule. They are exactly halfway through their season and have a good chance to wreak havoc on their division while entertaining the fans of MASL with their Flo style of play at the same time.
The game this Saturday in Milwaukee at 1:05pm can be followed live on www.golivesportscast.com along with their next game on January 10th at 1pm in Rochester.
The next home game for Detroit Waza Flo at the Melvindale Civic Arena (4300 S Dearborn St, Melvindale, MI 48122) will be on January 17th at 7:05pm when top ranked Eastern Division team Baltimore comes to town.
Tickets prices are Adult $12 and Children ages 3-12 years $8 can be purchased online.
The full schedule can be found here.