The winners will be announced at the MISL Championship Series media luncheon/awards ceremony in Kansas City on Wednesday prior to the first leg of the 2012-13 MISL Championship Series. The 2012-13 All-MISL First and Second teams and the MISL All-Rookie Team will be announced on Tuesday.

The Baltimore Blast, who will face the Missouri Comets in the MISL Championship Series starting Thursday at 8:35 p.m. ET at the Independence Events Center in Missouri, lead the way with five finalists. The Chicago Soul are next with four and the Milwaukee Wave have three. Votes for the MISL honors are submitted by MISL team management and select media members.

2012-13 MISL Award Finalists

Most Valuable Player

Carlos Farias, Chicago Soul

Doug Miller, Rochester Lancers

Mauricio Salles, Rochester Lancers

Rookie of the Year

Carlos Muñoz, Chicago Soul

Luan Oliveira, Milwaukee Wave

William Vanzela, Baltimore Blast

Goalkeeper of the Year

Jeff Richey, Chicago Soul

William Vanzela, Baltimore Blast

Nick Vorberg, Milwaukee Wave

Defender of the Year

Leo Gibson, Missouri Comets

Pat Healey, Baltimore Blast

Mike Lookingland, Baltimore Blast

Coach of the Year

Danny Kelly, Baltimore Blast

Novica Marojevic, Chicago Soul

Keith Tozer, Milwaukee Wave

“We just fell apart in the second half,” said Soul Head Coach Novi Marojevic. “We struggled defensively and gave up a lot of cheap goals. We made a lot of mistakes, and a team like Baltimore will make you pay for that. It’s disappointing, especially after we got off to a good start.”

The MISL Playoffs opened up to an action-packed first quarter with Chicago’s Marco Sullo getting things going with the first goal of the game to put his squad ahead 2-0. However, the Soul struck some bad luck on the opposite end as a ball was accidentally tipped into the goal by their own defender, Fred Degand, forcing a tie game. The goal was accredited to Roque, who had the last touch for Baltimore. Chicago bounced back on a goal by Carlos “Chile” Farias, but the lead was short-lived as Roque was able to quickly retaliate for the Blast to make it a 4-4 game. Baltimore then took the lead on a goal by Neto, and Chicago headed into second-quarter play trailing 6-4.

Neto struck again in the opening minutes of the second period to double Baltimore’s lead. Chicago’s Carlos Muñoz was able to cut that lead as he fired the ball into the net minutes later, and the Soul went into halftime trailing 8-6 to the Blast.

Second-half action began with another goal from Neto, who completed his hat trick and gave the Blast a 10-6 advantage over the Soul. Baltimore followed up with a goal from Machel Millwood, and Chicago went on to trail 12-6 after three quarters of action.

Lucio Gonzaga gave the Blast a commanding 14-6 lead over the Soul as he sent home a ball fed by Neto early in the fourth period. Baltimore’s Ptah Myers blasted one from the 3-point range to make it a 17-6 Blast advantage, but Chicago’s Pablo managed to respond with a 3-pointer of his own to make it 17-9. Roque completed his hat trick shortly after, and Tony Donatelli added a goal for the Blast to make it a 21-9 Soul deficit. Chicago made attempts to close the gap as Muñoz followed up with a pair of goals to complete his hat trick, but the Soul still fell 22-13 to the Blast.

“Baltimore is a great, experienced team,” said Marojevic. “They really showed that today. But this is the playoffs, and anything can happen. I still have confidence in our guys and believe that we can turn things around on Saturday. We’ll continue to train hard this week and get ourselves in a good mental state between now and then.”

The Soul will travel to Baltimore on Saturday, March 9 for Game 2 against the Blast. Kickoff is set for 6:35 p.m. CT at the 1st Mariner Arena.

CHICAGO — With a 17-6 victory over the Syracuse Silver Knights on Friday night at the Sears Centre Arena, the Chicago Soul clinched an MISL playoff berth in their inaugural season. Carlos Muñoz led the way with his hat trick, giving Chicago the boost it needed to lock in the fourth and final seed.

“This is huge for the Soul organization, huge for myself and Jeff [Kraft} as coaches, and huge for the city of Chicago,” said Soul Head Coach Novi Marojevic. “This is the first time in a long time that an expansion team has gone to the playoffs in the first year. I’m extremely proud.

“I give the guys a lot of credit because it was a difficult game mentally with so much pressure riding on tonight, but they stayed focused and showed a lot of heart. They stuck to the plan and defended well, and when they do that, they are a difficult team to beat.”

Alexander Megson put the Soul ahead in the first quarter as he fired home his own rebound. Bato Radoncic followed up with a header that gave Chicago a 4-0 lead over Syracuse before the first quarter came to a close.

Syracuse’s Slavisa Ubiparipovic put his side on the board in the second quarter, cutting Chicago’s advantage to 4-2. The Soul were able to pull away again when the Silver Knights faced two penalties. Nelson Santana was sent to the penalty box with a blue card for a hand ball, with Ryan Pierce tailing him a minute later with the same offense. Chicago was awarded a penalty kick, which was successfully executed by Carlos Farias. Muñoz then followed with a goal to give the Soul an 8-2 cushion by halftime.

Muñoz opened second-half scoring as he buried his second goal of the night. Farias kept the momentum going when he struck from the 3-point range to make it a 13-2 Chicago lead. Syracuse was able to cut that lead to 13-4 when Neto converted on a penalty kick after Megson received a blue card for pulling.

The dominance continued on the Soul’s end in the fourth quarter as Muñoz went on to complete his hat trick and extend Chicago’s lead to 15-4. Matthew Stewart came up with a goal right behind him, making it 17-4. Syracuse’s Andriy Budnyy managed to halt Chicago’s run when he found the back of the net a minute later, closing the gap to 17-6. The Soul held off the Silver Knights the rest of the way, and went on to secure a victory and a playoff berth that earned them a date with the No. 1 seeded Baltimore Blast.

“In my opinion, they’re the best team in the league,” Marojevic said of the Soul’s first-round opponent. “They play great soccer, and they have a great coach and team. They’re very skillful. But I do feel that we have a chance at beating them. We’ve beat them twice because we were disciplined, focused, and defended well. If we do the same in the playoffs, we have a good chance.”

The first playoff match against the Blast is tentatively set for Tuesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, Ill. as the Sears Centre Arena will not be available due to the BIG 10 women’s basketball tournament. For more details and ticket information, visit www.chicagosoulfc.com or call (224) 699-4110.

VIEW BOX SCORE

Photo credit: Reid Sprenkel (www.reidjsphoto.com)

NOVI MAROJEVIC

HEAD COACH

Marojević, who possesses over 20 years of professional soccer experience, launched his career in Yugoslavia, playing for FC Sutjeska, FC Radnicki, FC Partizan, FC Vozdovac and FC Celik. He accumulated two national championships while playing for FC Sutjeska. He was also a member of the Yugoslavian National Soccer Team, and voted Best Junior Player in Montenegro during the 1989-1990 season.

Upon arriving to the United States, Marojević joined the Kansas City Attack for a nine-year stint, earning a championship in 1996. In 2004, Marojević joined the Chicago Storm. He then went on to play for the Detroit Ignition in 2006, Rockford Rampage in 2008, and finally, the Chicago Riot in 2011.

Season Highlights

Marojevic was promoted to head coach on December 11, 2012, replacing Manny Rojas. Under Marojevic’s leadership, the squad has had a winning record and has gone from last place in league standings to playoff contention. Marojevic is currently in position to lead his team to postseason play in the franchise’s inaugural year and his first season as a head coach.

Getting to Know a Soul

Age I started playing soccer: 5

Years played professionally: 22

Years coached professionally: 4

Favorite food: Pasta

Favorite color: Red

Favorite movie: Scarface

Celebrity crush: Cindy Crawford

If I could have one superpower, it would be: The power to help the poor and make people happy.

Someone (dead or alive) I wish I could meet: Cindy Crawford

Someone I look up to: My family

If I wasn’t coaching soccer, I would be: An agent for soccer players

My pre-game rituals / superstitions: Put a game plan together.

Most memorable moment with the Soul: When I was promoted to head coach.

Proudest moment as a member of the Soul: Turning the season around and bring the team closer to playoffs.

What I hope to be remembered for / The legacy I hope to leave behind: As a good person, a good friend, and a good father / husband.

Advice for aspiring soccer players: Focus on the game, and improve yourself every day and every game. That’s the only way to move forward and become a good soccer player.

“We didn’t stick with the plan,” Soul Head Coach Novi Marojevic said of his squad’s disappointing loss. “We played bad defense, gave up goals easily, and didn’t run behind the ball.

“In overtime, we made a poor defensive decision that put Missouri in scoring position and cost us the game.”

The Comets had the momentum in their favor from the very beginning, getting on the board first in the opening quarter as Jeff Hughes put a ball past the Soul’s Jeff Richey. Chicago quickly retaliated on a goal by Matthew Stewart, and both teams headed into the second quarter with two points each. Vahid Assadpour went on to score the lone goal of the period, giving Missouri a 4-2 lead at the half.

The Soul opened second-half scoring on Stewart’s second goal of the night, which tied the game again at 4-4. Less than 30 seconds later, Fred Degand gave Chicago its first lead of the game, but Assadpour followed up shortly with a game-tying goal to make it 6-6 heading into the final period of play. Both teams went on to remain scoreless in the fourth quarter, forcing overtime.

After several shot attempts on both ends, Alvarez managed to strike a ball into the net on a restart opportunity, allowing the Comets to pick up the 8-6 victory.

Although the Soul were unable to clinch a playoff berth on Wednesday, they will still have a chance at locking in the fourth seed on Friday when they close out their inaugural regular season against the Syracuse Silver Knights.

“There’s lot of pressure on Friday’s game now,” said Marojevic. “We should’ve taken care of business tonight. Now we have a lot riding on Friday. We’ll have to play a lot smarter and possess the ball a lot better than we did tonight. We’ll just have to find a way to win.”

Friday’s contest with the Silver Knights is set to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Sears Centre Arena. For ticket information, visit www.chicagosoulfc.com or call (224) 699-4110.

Photo credit: Reid Sprenkel (www.reidjsphoto.com)

JEFF KRAFT

ASSISTANT COACH

Kraft, who joined the Soul in December 2012, possesses over 25 years of indoor soccer experience. Prior to the Soul, he served as head coach for the Rockford Rampage and Chicago Riot, and assistant coach for the Chicago Storm. Kraft has earned several honors throughout his coaching career, including the National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) Coach of the Year in 2009, the American Indoor Soccer League (AISL) Coach of the Year in 2008, and the AISL Runner Up Coach of the Year in 2007.

Season Highlights

Under Kraft’s watch, the Soul have gone 8-6 so far this season, allowing them to move from last place in league standings to playoff position.

Getting to Know a Soul

Age I started playing soccer: 10

Years played professionally: 4

Years coached professionally: 4

Favorite food: Steak

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite movie: The Warriors

Celebrity crush: Alyssa Milano

If I could have one superpower, it would be: Help the homeless.

Someone (dead or alive) I wish I could meet: Elvis Presley

Someone I look up to: God

If I wasn’t coaching, I would be: Trying to get my wife and son to move to Hawaii.

My pre-game rituals / superstitions: None

Most memorable moment with the Soul: Getting my first win with Novi (against the then-undefeated Baltimore Blast).

Proudest moment as a member of the Soul: When I wrestled Eric Lukin, Marco Sullo and Fred Degand on the bus, and won (3-on-1).

What I hope to be remembered for / The legacy I hope to leave behind: Honesty

Advice for aspiring soccer players: Don’t think, just play. Don’t try to complicate the game.

SARA KILKER

ATHLETIC TRAINER

Sara Kilker graduated from Northern Michigan University with a degree in Athletic Training in 2009. After completing an internship with the United States Olympic Education Committee in Marquette, MI she moved to Columbus, GA where she earned her Masters in Public Administration in 2011. In 2011, she moved back to the Chicago and has been working for Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers since. She is accredited by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and licensed by the state of Illinois.

Getting to Know a Soul

Years as an athletic trainer: 3.5

Favorite food: Sushi

Favorite color: Burgandy

Favorite movie: Tommy Boy

Celebrity crush: Ryan Reynolds

If I could have one superpower, it would be: Flying

Someone (dead or alive) I wish I could meet: Kevin Hart

Someone I look up to: Ron and Rei Kilker (My parents)

If I wasn’t an athletic trainer, I would be: Working at a resort in Hawaii

My pre-game rituals / superstitions: Set up the field and locker rooms for the players

Favorite Soul player: It’s like picking a favorite child…I can’t! But if I had to, Judson McKinney.

Most memorable moment with the Soul: Being on the bench with the boys when they beat the Baltimore Blast for the first time.