Sockers Defeat Soviets in Indoor Exhibition

It was a magical evening.

A heartwarming and thrilling night began with a pregame exchange of gifts between the Sockers and players on Dynamo Kiev and ended with the players being handed roses as they headed off the field to a rousing ovation.

“I had chills all week,” Socker Coach Ron Newman said. “We were playing one of the best teams in the world.”

On Wednesday night, one of the best outdoor teams was beaten, 6-4, by the four-time indoor champion Sockers in an exhibition match played at the San Diego Sports Arena.

“It was hard for them to understand the rules, the boards were very confusing to them and we were too quick for them,” Socker forward Steve Zungul said. “But it was an exciting night for me because it is enjoyable to play against good players. And it was the first game that nobody kicked me.”

A goal by Zungul late in the third quarter, two fourth-quarter scores by Jacques Ladouceur and a late goal by Raffaele Ruotolo enabled San Diego to pull away from a 2-2 halftime tie.

Zungul had two goals and two assists and Kevin Crow had a goal and assist. Jim Gorsek and Zoltan Toth had 10 saves apiece while each playing a half.

The Dynamo Kiev got a goal and an assist from star forward Oleg Blokhin, goals from Ivan Yaremtchuk and Vadim Yevtushenko and a brilliant performance from goalkeeper Viktor Chanov, who had 16 saves in just over three quarters of play.

It was clear the Sockers were more comfortable using the boards and substituting and they were more fit, but Dynamo Kiev hung in there.

“It was natural to get tired in the second half,” Dynamo Kiev Coach Valeri Lobanovski said. “We don’t train indoors. The Sockers were very well technically prepared. One more factor was the time difference. The third day is usually your worst on physical conditioning.”

However, it was a night filled with a lot more than diving saves, brilliant headers and stinging right-footers.

From the moment the players appeared on the field, there was the feeling that this wasn’t your basic midweek game against St. Louis. Playoff atmosphere had come to San Diego five months early.

The Dynamo Kiev players, wearing blue uniforms with white trim, waved to the 10,949 fans as they received a heartwarming standing ovation.

Then came the Sockers’ gala introductions, followed by an exchange of gifts at midfield.

The Sockers gave team pennants, a Major Indoor Soccer League T-shirt and a coffee mug. Dynamo Kiev gave the Sockers a team pin and pennant and a teapot.

After the exchange of gifts and handshakes, the Soviet national anthem and the Star Spangled Banner were played.

It had to be a special night if the Sockers broke their tradition and didn’t play Kate Smith’s rendering of God Bless America.

It was time for the match.

“We were so high at the beginning that we missed a lot of good opportunities,” Socker defender George Katakalidis said.

The Sockers were on the offensive from the start, but Chanov made one great save after another.

Dynamo Kiev did a lot of defensive marking, but showed very little offensive firepower in a scoreless first quarter. On their best scoring chance, Gorsek made a fine save on a blast from the right of the circle by Blokhin.

The Sockers took a 1-0 lead early in the second quarter on a header by Crow that was set up by a Zungul corner kick from the right corner.

Just over a minute later, Brian Quinn and Zungul connected on a give-and-go, with Zungul nailing a right-footer from the right wing.

Down 2-0, the Dynamo Kiev offense suddenly came to life.

Yaremtchuk took a crossing pass from Blokhin and slid the ball past Gorsek to make it 2-1. Almost three minutes later, Blokhin and Anatoli Demianenko combined on a two-on-one against defender Cha Cha Namdar. Blokhin finished the play with a rocket that went over Gorsek and just under the crossbar into the net.

San Diego continued to be stopped by Chanov throughout most of the third quarter. He was diving, leaping and stabbing at shots with his legs.

Then, as is so often the case in the indoor game, the Sockers scored on a ball that never should have gone in the net.

Zungul’s grounder from the top of the circle spun in and out of Chanov’s hands and into the net to give the Sockers a 3-2 lead with 2:57 to play in the third quarter.