The Week That Was 1/29/23

With barely two months of indoor soccer under its belt, the Major League Indoor Soccer's record book is a small one, but the numbers are starting to take on some resonance as the season unfolds.

Manuel Lira of the Omaha Kings leads all scorers with 22 points and he has been so dominant that he has earned four 1st Stars in his team's five games. Admir Suljevic of the Cleveland Crunch has 19 points in five games, including an MLIS-record eight-point game on January 29 against Rapid City FC. In that same game Suljevic became the first MLIS player to score five goals in a game, a feat since matched by the Houston Bolt's Lucio Martinez on Saturday.

Houston Bolt 16 Austin Emerald 3 F

The Bolt (4-2) took care of business again against the struggling Emerald (0-5). Houston is now 3-0 against Austin with a combined goal differential of 41-12. Lucio Martinez tied an MLIS record with five goals and recent call-up Samuel Fielden had three goals and an assist.

Illinois State Line Falcons 10 Milwaukee BC City United 4 F

The reinforced Falcons (1-3) got their first win of the season and kept Brew City winless (0-3). For the boys from Milwaukee the name was different, but the results were the same for the United nee Legends.

Earlier in the week the Falcons signed former Chicago Mustangs Omar Santillan and Alexander "Sonic" Gomez, as well as former Liga MX player Hebert Efrain Alferez, and all three players scored. Santillan led the way with a hat trick including two short handed goals. Gomez was recently the top overall pick in the MASL Pro Player Draft Combine.

Wichita Selection 10 Springfield Demize 7 F

It's not a Southern Division game involving Wichita, Springfield, and Houston without lead changes and a bunch of goals. Saturday was no different. Wichita's 10-7 win featured seven lead changes with the teams matching each other goal for goal until the score was 6-6. Wichita (2-1) turned a 6-5 deficit into a 7-6 lead with a pair of restart goals late in the third quarter. Alex Morgan's goal at 3:55 of the fourth quarter gave Wichita their first two-goal lead of the game and proved to be the game winner. Springfield fell to 5-3, putting them in a virtual tie for first place with Houston (4-2).

...and coming up:

Eastern Division
Cincinnati Swerve 2/11/23 at Cleveland
Cleveland Crunch 2/11/23 vs. Cincinnati, 2/12/23 at Detroit
Detroit Waza Flo 2/11/23 at Rapid City, 2/12/23 vs. Cleveland
Rapid City FC 2/11/23 vs. Detroit

Central Division
Brew City United 2/18/23 at Omaha
Chicago Mustangs 2/18/23 vs. Illinois
Illinois State Line Falcons 2/18/23 at Chicago
Omaha Kings 2/18/23 vs. Brew City

Southern Division
Austin Emerald 2/11/23 vs. Wichita
Houston Bolt 2/12/23 vs. Wichita
Springfield Demize 2/18/23 vs. Austin
Wichita Selection 2/11/23 at Austin, 2/12/23 at Houston