Kicking Not Limited to the Ball as Sockers Beat Cleveland, 8-5

The Sockers learned that winning could be a painful experience Thursday night.

They defeated the Cleveland Force, 8-5, before a season-low crowd of 6,735, but they certainly had bumps and bruises to show for it.

Branko Segota had sore shins from being kicked all night by Cleveland’s Bernie James, who didn’t deny what he had done.

“The more he beats us, the more we’ll kick him,” James said. “We don’t mind losing games. We just don’t like being toyed with.”

It was fun and games most of the night for Segota, who had two goals and two assists.

But Segota was so frustrated by his roughing up that he drew a two-minute penalty for tripping Cleveland’s Alex Tarnoczi with 1:33 to play, a foul he said he committed intentionally.

“They had been kicking me the whole game,” Segota said. “I got tired of it. I kicked them one time and got a penalty. James kicked me 14 times and didn’t get a penalty.”

Segota said he thinks the officials may be tough on the Sockers because they are considered the Major Indoor Soccer League’s most talented team. Other Sockers have expressed similar opinions this season.

But some opponents, such as Cleveland, consider the Sockers to be trouble-makers of their own.

The Force were upset about two plays in particular. Brian Quinn of the Sockers drew a tripping foul in retaliation against Keith Furphy in the first period. And Gary Collier collided with Cleveland’s Kai Haaskivi in the second period, causing Haaskivi to stay on the ground for several seconds. No foul was called on Collier, and Haaskivi resumed playing several minutes later.

“The Sockers play as dirty as their competition,” James said. “It’s like with Segota. I was playing him tough and kicked him a couple of times. He elbowed me back, and he tripped a guy from behind for no reason at the end. There’s a difference between that and a tackle.”

Segota had made the difference early in the game for San Diego. He had two goals and two assists on the Sockers’ first four goals, giving them a 4-3 lead 4:05 into the third period.

His third-period goal was the beginning of five unanswered scores in the period for the Sockers as they took an 8-3 lead.

Hugo Perez, in his fifth game since returning from a two-month suspension, scored San Diego’s first goal and added two goals in the third period.

The Sockers are happy Perez is simply playing. He was suspended for missing practice and a game at the advice of his agent, Michael Hogue. Perez was contending he should be a free agent because he signed a North American Soccer League contract and the Sockers are now in the MISL. He has since backed off on his stand.

“I won’t say I regret what I did,” Perez said. “For me, it’s all in the past. When I came back, I told myself to play well and forget about the problems. I wanted to do well so there wouldn’t be complaints from anybody.”

Coach Ron Newman, who continually criticized Perez for the stand on his contract, certainly was not complaining Thursday.

“Hugo has been exemplary since coming back,” Newman said. “He listens, and he does what we want him to do. He’s being rewarded for doing the right thing--coming back to his team.”

Several Sockers had rewarding games against Cleveland. Kaz Deyna had one goal and two assists, while Jean Willrich and Steve Zungul had one goal and one assist. Goalie Jim Gorsek made 13 saves.

The Sockers increased their lead to 1 1/2 games over Los Angeles in the Western Division. The Lazers lost at home to Las Vegas, 8-4, Thursday night.

San Diego concludes its six-game homestand against Pittsburgh Saturday. The Sockers, who have the league’s best record at 16-6, are 3-2 on the current homestand.

Cleveland, 11-11, had a three-game winning streak snapped by the Sockers.