Philadelphia KiXX
Founded1995
LeagueNPSL (1995–2001)
Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–10)

The Philadelphia KiXX was a professional indoor soccer team based in Philadelphia, USA. The team competed as an NPSL expansion franchise and then played in the Major Indoor Soccer League.[1]

History

The team's original owner was Ed Tepper, also president of Tepper Properties Inc, had been one of the co-founders of the original MISL. In 2001, the KiXX along with five other NPSL franchises founded the new Major Indoor Soccer League. They were originally sponsored by Oki Data Americas. The KiXX won the first MISL championship (2001–02 season) over the Milwaukee Wave 2 games to 1 (4–11, 11–4, 8–6) in the best of three game championship series. The KiXX also won the 2006–07 MISL championship defeating the Detroit Ignition 13–8 in a one-game championship. After the MISL folded in 2008, the KiXX announced that they had joined the National Indoor Soccer League for its inaugural season in 2008–09. The NISL took on the MISL moniker for its second season.

On March 2, 2010, KiXX goalkeeper Peter Pappas retired after playing his final match against the Baltimore Blast at the Liacouras Center. In honor of his years of dedication and spotless record the KiXX decided to retire the #22 jersey. Pappas spent 13 seasons with the KiXX. During that time he played in 416 matches, recording 5,399 saves and 230 wins. He was named Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) ‘Goalkeeper of the Year’ four times and an All-League selection eight times.[2] Fellow long-term KiXX member Don D'Ambra also retired in 2010. He served as head coach of the KiXX from 2002 to 2010 and played 575 games, scoring 483 goals. In April 2010, D'Ambra was named the head coach of the Saint Joseph's Hawks men's soccer team.[3]

The team went on hiatus after the conclusion of the 2009–10 season and did not return to play before the MISL folded as a league in 2014.

Year-by-year

Year League Reg. season Playoffs Avg. attendance
1996–97 NPSL II 3rd East, 17–23 Lost Conference Quarterfinals to Blast 8–15; 8–18 7,894
1997–98 NPSL II 1st East, 26–14 Won Conference Semifinals over Crunch 10–4; 29–27
Lost Conference Finals to Wave 9–7; 5–19; 3–12; 10–16 		8,637
1998–99 NPSL II 1st East, 23–17 Won Conference Semifinals over Wave 9–11; 13–11; 14–5
Lost Conference Finals to Crunch 0–15; 15–30 		8,974
1999-00 NPSL II 2nd East, 24–20 Lost Conference Semifinals to Blast 11–15; 12–25 8,081
2000–01 NPSL II 4th American, 22–18 Won Conference Semifinals over Heat 21–19; 19–14
Won Conference Finals over Blast 19–23; 12–8; 16–15
Lost Championship to Wave 12–16; 8–9; 8–10 		5,224
2001–02 MISL II 2nd MISL, 30–14 Won Semifinals over Comets 18–13
Won Championship over Wave 4–11; 11–4; 8–6 		5,328
2002–03 MISL II 1st Eastern, 24–12 Lost Semifinals to Blast 6–8 4,294
2003–04 MISL II 2nd Eastern, 20–16 Lost Quarterfinals to Comets 5–8 5,226
2004–05 MISL II 3rd MISL, 22–17 Lost Semifinals to Force 3–6; 6–10 5,361
2005–06 MISL II 5th MISL, 10–20 did not qualify 6,990
2006–07 MISL II 3rd MISL, 17–13 Won Semifinals over Storm 8–11; 10–6; 2–0
Won Championship over Ignition 13–8 		6,551
2007–08 MISL II 7th MISL, 12–18 did not qualify 6,118
2008–09 NISL 4th NISL, 10–8 did not qualify 6,444
2009–10 MISL III 4th MISL, 8–12 did not qualify 4,725
Total 265–222
Win % = .544 		15–20
Win % = .429 		6,080

Head coaches

Name Years
United States Dave MacWilliams 1996–1999
United States Omid Namazi 1999–2002
United States Don D'Ambra 2002–2010

Arenas

  1. Between 1996 and 2009 the team has also played select games at the Wachovia Center, Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Philadelphia Kixx • Fun While It Lasted".
  2. ^ "KiXX to Retire Number of Former Rams' Goalkeeper, Peter Pappas - Philadelphia University Rams Official Athletic Site - PHILAURAMS.COM". Archived from the original on 2015-02-20.
  3. ^ "Don D'Ambra – Head Coach – Men's Soccer". Saint Joseph's University Hawks. Saint Joseph's University. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. ^ National Indoor Soccer League Will Begin Play in November[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Sidekicks Opponents: Philadelphia Kixx

External links

National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001)
Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–14)
Sports teams based in and around Philadelphia
Sports teams based in Pennsylvania
Categories