Former SMU star's hat trick powers Sidekicks

[PonyPride]

Arredondo leads Dallas Sidekicks to 8-6 victory over Tulsa Revolution

TULSA, OK (Dec. 21, 2013) — The Dallas Sidekicks set a team record of 35 shots in their 8-6 victory over the Tulsa Revolution on Saturday afternoon. A combined 10 goals in the fourth quarter gave Tulsa several comeback opportunities, but the visiting Sidekicks never relinquished their lead. Midfielder Gabe Arredondo excelled, scoring his first hat trick as a Sidekick. Dallas is now 5-1 for the season so far.

The Sidekicks dominated possession in the first half with a record 20 shots on goal. Carlos Videla scored his third goal of the season 5:06 into the match, sneaking the ball under Tulsa goaltender Lewis Amos on a pass from Nestor Hernandez. The only other goal of the half came at 11:42 in the second period, Nick Stavrou passing through the middle of the arc to Arredondo, who put the Sidekicks up 2-0 going into halftime.

Kristian Quintana wasted no time building on the Sidekicks’ lead in the third quarter, scoring on a quick touch from Sean Bellomy 21 seconds into play. Tulsa struck back a few minutes later to put themselves on the board at 3:09, Dave Leung getting it past Sidekicks goalkeeper Milo on a 2-on-1 charge. Soon after, the Sidekicks killed off a Tulsa powerplay, Milo vanquishing several Tulsa chances.

Intensity and speed picked up on both sides immediately in the fourth quarter, Arredondo getting his second of the match to put the Sidekicks up 4-1 just 34 seconds in. Tulsa’s Sheldon Barrett cut the Sidekicks lead to two at 1:31, and Leung followed up less than a minute later to make it 4-3 Sidekicks. Frank Mbemba began a Sidekicks surge at 5:36, dribbling around Amos to put the Sidekicks up 5-3. The Sidekicks only powerplay of the night resulted in a goal, Hernandez playing the ball off the boards to Patrick Shamu who headed the ball in. The Sidekicks went up 7-3 at 8:42 as Arredondo completed his first hat trick as a Dallas Sidekick, assisted by Jamie Lovegrove. Tulsa followed up with back-to-back goals of their own, Michael Poneys and David Parente scoring 28 seconds apart. Once again Dallas thwarted the Revolution’s attempt at a comeback, Hernandez scoring at 10:51. Tulsa had the last word as Thomas Shannon blasted in a free kick, but it was not enough to overcome Dallas’ lead, the Sidekicks earning an 8-6 victory.

The next few weeks will be a tough test for the Sidekicks, as the team will face four games in eight days from Dec 27 to Jan 4. Tulsa will make their way to Dallas for a rematch on Dallas’ turf on Friday, Dec 27 at 7:30 p.m. It will be $2 beer/hot dog/soda night at the Allen Event Center. Then the Sidekicks are back in action with just one day off to rest which will be spent traveling to Hidalgo to face the La Fiera on Sunday, Dec 29 at 5:05 p.m. The following weekend the Sidekicks are back at the Allen Event Center to take on the Wichita B-52s on Thursday, Jan 2 at 7:05 p.m. Then it is the Sidekicks’ turn to make their way to Wichita, facing a rematch on Saturday, Jan 4 at 7:05 p.m.

Individual and season tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster. For more information, visit www.dallassidekicks.net or call 214-550-6130. Follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @GoSidekicks or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoSidekicks.