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 The Philadelphia KiXX joined the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) as an expansion franchise for the 1996-97 season. Now entering their 13th campaign and first in the National Indoor Soccer League (NISL), the KiXX led the League in attendance three times and earned two MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League) Championships including the League’s first in 2002 and two seasons ago in 2007. In its inaugural season, Philadelphia registered a 17-23 record and averaged 7,894 fans per game. A revamped club in 1997-98 finished 26-14 and won its first East Division title before advancing to the second round of the playoffs.
In 1998-99, the KiXX were hit hard by injuries and the team’s only coach, Dave MacWilliams, stepped down. Defender Omid Namazi replaced MacWilliams in March and led the team to eight victories in the team’s final 11 games. The club finished the season at 23-17 to capture its second consecutive Eastern Division crown. Philadelphia then ousted defending champion Milwaukee in the American Conference semifinals, but were eliminated by the eventual champion Cleveland Crunch in the American Conference finals. Three KiXX players were named All-Stars and the team averaged a league-best and franchise record of 8,973 fans per game.
The KiXX posted a 24-20 record in 1999-2000, thanks to a season-high five-game winning streak to end the year, but was interrupted with a two-game sweep to the Baltimore Blast in the conference semifinals. The club once again led the League in attendance with an average of 8,081 fans per game.
 In 2000-01, the KiXX established franchise marks in several elite categories; longest winning streak (nine, which has since been eclipsed), best start to a season (14-4), and largest single-game attendance (16,713). Philadelphia also posted its 100th win in club history and led the League in defense (11.2 ppg). Entering the playoffs as the fourth seed, the KiXX advanced to the NPSL Finals for the first time, but was swept, three-games-to-none, by the Milwaukee Wave. Prior to the 2001-02 season, the club joined the newly-organized MISL. The KiXX posted a franchise record 30-14 regular-season mark and advanced to square-off versus the Wave in the League Finals for the second consecutive year. After a bitter 11-4 defeat in Game One, Philadelphia responded with two-consecutive victories, an 11-4 win at the First Union Spectrum (now known as the Wachovia Spectrum) and an 8-6 triumph at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, to take the best-of-three game series and claim their first League Championship.
A mere four games into their title-defending season in 2002-03, player/coach Namazi resigned. Philadelphia native Don D’Ambra stepped in on an interim basis before being officially named the franchise’s third head coach on December 3. Despite the adjustment, Philadelphia posted 10 consecutive victories at home to open the season on its way to a League-best 16-2 home mark as well as a franchise-best 10-game winning streak to cruise into the playoffs with a 24-12 record. With a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the conference championship, the third edition of the Philadelphia-Milwaukee trilogy seemed destined. The Baltimore Blast, however, had championship hopes of their own and stunned the hosting KiXX for the conference title and then the Milwaukee Wave in the three-game League Finals.
The club concluded the 2003-04 season with a 20-16 record, placing the team second in the Eastern Division standings behind the Baltimore Blast and fourth overall entering the 2004 playoffs. The fourth seed meant hosting the fifth-seeded Kansas City Comets in a one-game semifinal match on April 10. Philadelphia, who lost six-of-their-last-eight, and the home crowd at the Wachovia Spectrum were stunned as the Comets earned an 8-5 decision. D’Ambra did his best to lead the KiXX, notching four-of-the-team’s five goals.
 Philadelphia entered the 2004-05 campaign with seven new faces on the roster. Despite the high turnover, the KiXX posted a 22-17 record and clinched the third seed entering the playoffs. Namazi and the second-seeded Cleveland Force swept the club, two-games-to-none in the opening semifinal round before falling to the Milwaukee Wave in the MISL Finals. First-year forward John Barry Nusum made an immediate contribution and was named the MISL’s Rookie of the Year and to the All-Rookie Team. Teammate and defender Chris Fehrle was also named to the All-Rookie squad. Several KiXX veterans also enjoyed post-season accolades, as D’Ambra, Morris and Pappas were each selected to the All-MISL First Team. Morris was also named the League’s Defender of the Year, while Pappas earned his third Goalkeeper of the Year honor. With a myriad of injuries and five fresh faces to the roster, the KiXX posted a disappointing 10-20 record and failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time in franchise history. Morris, who was named to his fourth consecutive All-League (First) Team, led the team’s scorers with 25 points. Fellow backliner Drew Kopp finished second with a career-best 23, while newcomer Josh Rife was named to the MISL’s All-Rookie Team.
Prior to the start of the 2006-07 campaign, Philadelphia acquired and signed three-time MISL Defender of the Year Genoni Martinez, bolstering the club’s defensive scoring attack. With Martinez and the additions of Dino Delevski, a two-time League MVP, defender Casey Barton, midfielder Sandre Naumoski, and a healthy core of veterans, the club finished the season with a 17-13 overall mark to claim the third seed entering the postseason. Temple University graduate and the team’s overall top selection Tony Donatelli made an immediate impact, collecting 45 points (4th team) and appearing in all 30 regular-season games.
 After eliminating the Chicago Storm in the Golden Goal game of the MISL Semifinals, Philadelphia defeated the expansion Detroit Ignition, 13-8, in front of a nationally-televised audience on VERSUS to claim the club’s second League championship. D’Ambra sealed the KiXX victory with a three-point goal in the opening minutes of the fourth and final period and finished the postseason with a team-best nine points. Pappas received his fourth Goalkeeper of the Year honor, Martinez his fourth Defender of the Year accolade and both were joined by Morris and D’Ambra with All-MISL nominations. Looking to defend the MISL Championship, the club was reshaped due to expansion drafts and became a much younger squad heading into the 2007-08 season. The KiXX failed to make the postseason for just the second time in their history, finishing the regular season with a 12-18 record. Bright spots for the team included Pat Morris’ seventh All-League appearance (2nd Team) and 35-year old player/coach Don D’Ambra leading the team in goals (21), assists (22), and points (64). D’Ambra also recorded the 1,000th point of his career on February 2, 2008 against the Orlando Sharks. Goalkeeper Peter Pappas recorded the first shutout in the League in four years on January 5, 2008 in Philadelphia, blanking the rival Baltimore Blast 4-0.
The KiXX look to return to the postseason in the 2008-09 campaign, the final year of the Wachovia Spectrum in the newly formed National Indoor Soccer League (NISL).
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