MISL News Release
Tuesday, January 2012, 2011
TAMPA, Fla. – The Major Indoor Soccer League announced on Tuesday that Norfolk SharX defender Gerson Dos Santos had been named the league’s Player of the Week for the ninth week of the 2011-12 season. Dos Santos had a six-point game, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 30 seconds to play, as the SharX took their first victory of the season, 18-16 against the Rochester Lancers, this past Thursday.
Dos Santos has been a bright spot for the SharX in recent weeks as Norfolk has progressed in its first season in the MISL. Against the Lancers he played an influential role, first assisting on William Yomby’s goal before giving the SharX a 12-10 lead with less than a minute to go in the third quarter. Then, with Norfolk trailing 16-15 inside the final minute, Dos Santos capped his performance, and the SharX’s victory, with a driven free kick from 3-point range that deflected into the Lancers’ goal and gave Norfolk victory.
Dos Santos has been on a good run of form for the SharX during the past two weeks, scoring 15 points in his past four games to now lead the team in scoring. He has also broken into the league’s Top 20 scorers with 23 for the season.
Other players considered for the weekly award included Baltimore Blast goalkeeper Sagu, who turned in an outstanding 15-save performance in his side’s 9-4 victory against the Milwaukee Wave. The defeat was the Wave’s first this season as Sagu held them scoreless for the final 50 minutes of the match. Syracuse’s Jeff Hughes was also nominated after his six-point night helped the Silver Knights moved back to .500 with victory against Norfolk, while the SharX’s Miguel Ferrer was also recognized for his hat trick in that contest.
The MISL season continues with four games this weekend as in-division contests highlight the schedule. The playoff race in the Eastern Division will head to Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena as the division-leading Blast host the Syracuse Silver Knights on Friday night before the Rochester Lancers come to town on Saturday. Baltimore holds a 2.5-game lead over Syracuse, with the Lancers a further half-game behind, but that landscape could certainly be different by the time the weekend is over.
There are also two key games in the Central Division as the Missouri Comets hit the road for back-to-back games against the Milwaukee Wave and the Wichita Wings. The Comets travel first to U.S. Cellular Arena on Friday night where they will try to earn their first victory against Milwaukee, and they will then try to avenge their defeat to the Wings in their last meeting when they meet at Hartman Arena on Saturday.