Winless Rampage routed by Chicago, 14-4

CEDAR RAPIDS – For any expansion club, the search for success while building chemistry and learning teammate tendencies takes time.

Despite another defeat for Cedar Rapids' first professional soccer team – the Rampage of the Major Arena Soccer League – the team insists they are close to landing in the win column.

'Every practice we get a little bit better,” forward Hewerton Moreira said before the Rampage dropped their fifth contest of their debut season, 14-4, to the Chicago Mustangs before a crowd of 2,786 Friday at the U.S. Cellular Center. 'It takes a little while for players to gel, which is normal. But with the amount of talent that we have on the team, I think that has come quicker than actually we expected.”

Chicago (4-2) never trailed after a pair of second-quarter goals. The loss was a continuation of Cedar Rapids' offensive struggles, which arrived on the heels of a three-goal effort last week against Missouri.

'I think what happens to us is we go forward for the sake of going forward because we are down on the scoreboard,” Moreira said. 'So we're trying to be shooting and we think by shooting we are going to create more opportunities, which is the opposite. Keep the ball possession, find the right time to go forward and then capitalize on our opportunities.”

Trailing 4-0, Patrick Kelly got the Rampage on the board 3:53 before halftime with his fourth goal this season, but the Mustangs added two more scores by the break. Miguel Vaca finished with four goals for Chicago, while Moreira and former Cedar Rapids Xavier player Charlie Bales added third-period goals. Moreira punched in a second goal in the waning moments to lead Cedar Rapids (0-5).

The Rampage were without defender Alfee Robbins, who is expected to miss a couple of weeks as the Englishman works to resolve an issue with his visa.

Cedar Rapids returns to the U.S. Cellular Center Dec. 12 against the Milwaukee Wave (3-2), which handed the Missouri Comets their first regular-season defeat in two seasons.

'In soccer you've got to understand,” Moreira said. 'You can't force too much. … As long as we're doing a good job offensively and defensively, victory will come.”

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com