Strikers Strike Fast to Beat Sockers, 4-3, and Pad Series Lead

The Sockers were shocked Sunday night at the Met Center.

After being soundly defeated in the past two games, the Sockers played with spirit and discipline and outplayed the Strikers for the first 50 minutes Sunday.

San Diego led by two goals. Then, boom-boom-boom.

The Strikers struck for three goals in the final 8 minutes, 53 seconds to win, 4-3.

Defender Gregg Thompson scored on a right-footer off a rebound with 30 seconds remaining to cap the Strikers’ comeback.

“Maybe it’s not meant to be this season,” said Socker captain Jean Willrich. “We played a great game, but we should have put them away. It’s just sad. What can you say?”

The end of a dynasty is only one defeat away for the Sockers, who have won four straight indoor titles.

San Diego trails the Strikers 3-1 in the best-of-seven Major Indoor Soccer League championship series. Game 5 will be played at the San Diego Sports Arena Wednesday night.

“It’s not over yet,” Willrich said. “There is still hope. Now every game is do or die.”

For most of the game, it appeared that the Sockers would tie the series and regain the home-field advantage.

“There is a very disappointed team in there,” said Socker Coach Ron Newman, who was standing outside the San Diego locker room. “We had the game won. We outplayed them. But everything is going for them this year.”

The Strikers’ locker room was as loud as the Sockers’ was quiet.

“This is a storybook ending,” said Striker Coach Alan Merrick. “You couldn’t write it better in a storybook . . .

“The momentum just built up. It snowballed to an incredible level of excitement. I enjoyed the experience. It was ear-shattering and one of the best moments I’ve had in 10 years.”

This is how the fairy tale evolved:

San Diego led, 3-0, with 5:19 to play in the third quarter when the Strikers finally got on the scoreboard.

Forward Alan Willey chipped a right-footer into the far corner of the net to make it 3-1.

The Sockers were still in control, but the record standing-room-only crowd of 15,849 fans were back in the game.

And so were the Strikers.

With 8:53 to play in the game, Striker forward David Byrne hit a bullet 25-foot right-footer from the left wing to make it 3-2. Byrne received a pass off a corner kick and blasted the ball past goalkeeper Zoltan Toth.

“When we scored that goal,” said Striker goalkeeper Tino Lettieri, “we got the momentum. The San Diego players started looking at one another. They were saying, ‘this can’t be happening.’ ”

Said Socker midfielder Branko Segota: “After the second goal, we started to panic.”

One minute, nine seconds after Byrne scored, the Strikers tied the game on a goal the Sockers never should have allowed.

San Diego defender Kevin Crow was hemmed in in his own end. His pass was stolen by Mike Jeffries, who passed to Tasso Koutsoukos, who passed back to Jeffries.

The Striker midfielder blasted a right-footer from 15 feet past Toth. It was Jeffrie’s first goal of the playoffs.

“We gave that third goal away,” Newman said. “It was a terrible giveaway. Kevin Crow is a sure-footed defender. For him to make a mistake like that is very unusual.”

Said Crow: “I was waiting for someone to make a run. No one made a run. I should have played it back to Zoalie. But why was I put in the position?”

At 3-3, the crowd and the Strikers were going wild. Really wild.

“They were making more noise than 60,000 Viking fans,” said a Striker official in the press area.

Then came the game winner.

With 30 seconds to play, Lettieri threw an outlet pass to forward Jan Goossens at midfield. Goossens cut to the middle of the field and took a shot off the right sideboard.

Socker defender Fernando Clavijo said he deflected the shot. It bounced straight to Thompson.

“Both the defenders went to him (Goossens),” Thompson said, “I saw the ball come out. Toth was out of the net and there was a wide open net.

“I thought that was it. I would have committed instant suicide if I missed it.”

The ball went in the net and the Strikers started pouncing on top of one another at midfield.

On the winning goal, Newman said his players were caught upfield.

Thompson’s shot officially won the game, but players on both sides agreed that if the Sockers had scored a fourth goal when they led 3-0 or 3-1, San Diego would have won the game.

“If they had scored that fourth goal,” Lettieri said, “it would have been over. When they scored the two goals early, they started playing the ball back to the goalkeeper. That can backfire and hurt you. A 2-0 lead is not a big deal. They shouldn’t be doing that.”

After scoring just three goals in the past two games, the Sockers came out firing the ball Sunday.

Hugo Perez scored on a rebound and Willrich blasted a 30-footer from the left wing on the power play to make it 2-0. Brian Quinn scored on a right-footer from the top of the circle to make it 3-0 early in the second quarter.

“It was our game for the taking,” Newman said. “We should have put at least two more balls in the goal. It became more and more of a concern when we couldn’t score more.”

The Sockers had their chances, but they didn’t score after the opening 16 minutes 45 seconds.

“You don’t let them breathe when you have them,” Crow said. “Championship teams don’t let teams back in the game.”