Willrich Has Four Goals, Sockers Win
West German expatriate Jean Willrich hasn’t quite caught on to some American traditions.
After scoring four goals in the Sockers’ 6-1 victory over the Cosmos Wednesday night in front of 9,285 at Brendan Byrne Arena, Willrich refused to accept a hero’s reception when he met the press.
“I cannot be a hero,” Willrich said. “When I score four goals, it’s nice for me. Nobody talks to the guys who created the chances. This is America. In America, you count statistics.”
Willrich is catching on to the numbers’ game.
He has scored in seven straight Major Indoor Soccer League games, totaling 12 goals and 5 assists.
And Willrich started early Wednesday night against the Cosmos.
After a scoreless first period, Willrich scored two goals within 31 seconds early in the second period. By the 4:19 mark of the third period, the score was Willrich 4, Cosmos 0.
Of the four unanswered goals, the first was most impressive. Willrich brought the ball down alone against three Cosmos’ defenders and goalie Hubert Birkenmeier. He poked the ball with his toe, and it flew past Birkenmeier’s left shoulder into the net.
“That toe-poke is something baseball pitchers would like to have,” Socker Coach Ron Newman said. “It catches the goalie by surprise. The goalie doesn’t see the man’s leg come back, and suddenly, the ball is gone.”
Birkenmeier: “He kicked the ball between two guys and I expected it to come in low. It’s a tough shot to stop.”
Steve Zungul also proved difficult to stop for the Cosmos scoring one goal and four assists. Zungul assisted on Willrich’s second through fourth goals, as well as defender Fernando Clavijo’s first goal of the year with 22 seconds left in the game. Zungul scored his fourth-period goal into an open net after Brian Quinn had beaten Birkenmeier to a loose ball, then passed to his teammate.
“They were putting guys on me all over the field,” Zungul said. “My teammates were going into spaces where I should’ve been. I probably could have had 8 to 10 points tonight with all the chances I had to assist, plus my opportunities to score goals.”
Aided by five penalties against San Diego, the Cosmos also had plenty scoring opportunities. However, their only goal came when Dan Canter scored at 10:44 of the third period while the Sockers were at full strength.
The Sockers have stopped opponents from scoring in 11 of the last 12 penalty situations where opponents had a man advantage. Clavijo’s goal came while the team was short-handed.
“The other teams are inefficient,” Quinn said, then laughed. “Not really. What we really try to do is give the other team low-percentage shots. We will let them shoot from 25 feet out, but not from close in.”
The Sockers were two-men short for a span of 1:05 midway through the fourth period. Goalie Jim Gorsek, who made a season-high 21 saves, was not tested though.
“We are not letting people shoot from point-blank,” Gorsek said. “When they shoot from outside, they don’t have much of an angle.”
The Sockers (18-6) have won four straight and have the best record in the MISL. The Cosmos (8-17) have lost five straight and are in last-place in the Eastern Division.
San Diego will travel to Baltimore for its showdown against the Eastern Division leading Blast. Baltimore has beaten the Sockers at Baltimore, 6-5, and at San Diego, 6-3, this season. The teams play for the final time in the regular season Friday night at Baltimore.
“This was good preparation for Baltimore,” Newman said. “We played the way we wanted to. Everything we did was by the book. We are playing well now. Baltimore, obviously, is the team we would like to beat.”
