Ohio Vortex Near Important Match with Division Rivals

CANTON, OH - November 18, 2010 - The Ohio Vortex (1-0) face a stiff challenge this Friday night from the Cincinnati Kings (1-0), who are the reigning Eastern Division Champions in the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro).

The match has the potential to be a high scoring affair as Cincinnati’s Jeff Hughes and Ohio’s Allen Eller face off in this important matchup early in the 2010/2011 season. Hughes registered 37 goals and 16 assists to lead the PASL-Pro last year, while Eller finished with 34 goals and 19 assists.  Hughes started the season with a hat trick in the 6-5 win against the Louisville Lightning, while Eller scored an unbelievable 5 goals in the 11-10 victory over the Detroit Waza. 

The Kings would seem to have an advantage at goalkeeper with Craig Salvati, who started the season with 14 saves in the win over the Lightning.  Salvati is considered to be one of the premier keepers in the entire league after finishing with 211 saves and an 11-2 record in 2009/2010.  However, the Vortex have a shot stopper of their own in Serbian keeper Sasha Djuric.  Ohio would get 12 saves from Djuric in their home opener on November 13th. 

Ohio hopes to keep the Kings in single digit scoring and this is certainly a possibility with an array of strong defenders: Louie Rolko, Michael Pertz, Jared Dombrowski, and Ross Cochran.  The Kings have Hughes to lead their attack, but have to learn to live without John Mellencamp and Kevin Noschang. 

The Vortex have no concerns with putting points on the board thanks to Eller and their other offensive weapons: John Ball, Milko Cecez, Pete Angelokostopoulos, Steve Gillespie, and Adis Kuduzovic.  Putting a ton of goals past Salvati will certainly be easier said than done, but the Vortex have the personnel to make it happen. 

This certainly has the makings of a classic matchup in professional indoor soccer.  Will it be a goalfest or a defensive struggle? Will Eller continue to lead the league in goals or will Hughes become an early MVP candidate? Stop by the Canton Memorial Civic Center on Friday night at 7:30 pm to find out.

Tickets are still available by calling 330-354-7778 or by visiting http://www.ohiovortex.org or the Civic Center box office.