Strikers Not Surprised By Sockers’ 8-1 Victory
Nobody could have blamed the Minnesota Strikers if they had torn apart their locker room Sunday night.
They had just been beaten by the Sockers, 8-1, in their first Major Indoor Soccer League semifinal game before 8,494 fans at the Sports Arena. It was humiliating and embarrassing to say the least.
But the Strikers were not about to throw temper tantrums afterward. They were acting as if the result was somewhat expected.
“San Diego?” goalkeeper Tino Lettieri asked. “It can do anything.”
Coach Alan Merrick: “I’m not surprised. San Diego is an exceptional team. You’re never surprised by exceptional teams.”
When playoff time arrives, the Sockers are as exceptional as they come. They have won three consecutive indoor championships. They are 23-2 overall, 15-0 at home and have won 10 straight.
And few of those wins were more impressive than Sunday’s. The only debatable item concerned which played better--the Socker offense or defense.
Six Sockers scored goals and six had assists. But they were probably overshadowed by goalkeeper Zoltan Toth, who made 19 saves.
Toth admittedly had something to prove. In his previous playoff start, he was pulled with eight minutes remaining after allowing seven goals. He also allowed seven goals in his final regular-season game.
“I was feeling so bad all week,” Toth said. “This game gave me confidence.”
Toth gained confidence early, twice being the backbone as the Sockers killed first-quarter penalties. And he made an outstanding save on a rebound shot by Minnesota’s Drago Dumbovic in the third quarter. The only Striker goal was scored by Jan Goossens at 5:18 of the fourth quarter when the Sockers led, 5-0.
“Everytime we took a shot, Zoltan was in the right spot,” Goossens said. “We didn’t have too many chances. When we did, he was there to make the big saves.”
Lettieri was not so fortunate, making only 11 saves.
It was not a good night, either, for Lettieri’s stuffed parrot Ozzie, who hangs in the goal behind Lettieri. One fan brought a hangman’s noose with a parrot on it. Another made a sign that read “Parrots Eat Quiche.”
Socker fans were promised they would be eating free pizza if the Sockers scored eight goals and won. The Sockers satisfied their fans’ appetite by scoring four times in the fourth quarter.
“The only thing I wanted to do was stop them at seven,” Lettieri said. “I didn’t want them to get the pizzas.”
Branko Segota scored the pizza goal at 8:58 of the fourth quarter. Segota finished with two goals and one assist, while Jean Willrich had one goal and two assists. Hugo Perez scored two goals, Brian Quinn had two assists and Steve Zungul had one goal and one assist.
At the outset, it appeared the Sockers would have trouble scoring. Their only first-quarter goal was by Segota at 13:54. Perez, who will leave for the USA national team after Game 2 of the semifinals Wednesday, gave the Sockers a 2-0 halftime lead by scoring at 13:34 of the second quarter.
Third-quarter goals by Willrich and Kaz Deyna provided the Sockers a four-goal lead. From there, the only questions concerned Toth’s shutout and the fans’ pizza.
“Minnesota has a good defensive team,” Socker Coach Ron Newman said. “That’s no good if you’re down four goals. That’s when you can expose them.”
In the fourth quarter, Toth was attempting to become the second goalkeeper ever to record a shutout in the MISL playoffs. Alan Mayer twice shut out Baltimore for the Sockers in the 1982-83 championship series.
MISL PLAYOFFS
AT A GLANCE
SOCKERS VS. STRIKERS
(BEST-OF-FIVE SERIES)
Game 1 Sockers 8, Strikers 1 Game 2 Wednesday Sports Arena 7:35 p.m. Game 3 May 10 Minnesota 5:35 p.m. Game 4 May 12 Minnesota 5:35 p.m. Game 5 May 14 Sports Arena 7:35 p.m. NOTE: Game 4 and Game 5 if necessary. All times PST.
OTHER SERIES
SUNDAY’S GAME
Cleveland 5, Baltimore 3, series tied at 1
