Sockers Add More Salt to Lazers’ Wounds, 5-2
Despite an increased financial commitment by the front office and a promising start, the Los Angeles Lazers have taken on a familiar look.
The San Diego Sockers, led by Hugo Perez with two goals, sent the Lazers to their 10th loss in the last 11 Major Indoor Soccer League games Saturday, this time by a 5-2 score before a crowd of 5,061 at the Forum.
The Lazers are by no means the same untalented team they were last season, when they posted a 13-35 record, worst in the league. Their roster includes several new players, some of them proven. However, their best players, such as offensive stars Willie Molano and Beto, remain on the injured list, and the Lazers (4-10) remain in last place.
“Molano and Beto are two of the best (offensive) players in the league, and (without them) it’s very hard for them to catch up,” Perez said.
That’s been the story for the Lazers since winning their first three games and since suffering so many injuries that the healthy players had to pull double duty. Besides Molano and Beto, the Lazers are still without the services of newcomers Erhardt Kapp, Adam Topolski and Jim Kavanaugh, among others.
After a fairly even first half, the Sockers (8-6) began to pressure the Lazers.
“They made it difficult for us to break them down,” San Diego Coach Ron Newman said.
“It’s always tough playing against a team full of injuries and at the bottom of the league.”
San Diego began to break the Lazers in the second period, outshooting them, 10-3. They outshot the Lazers in the game, 30-22.
But it was in the second half when San Diego began to dominate.
Brian Quinn gave the Sockers a 2-1 lead at 6:14 of the third period on a breakaway, shooting the ball off the board and heading it past Lazer goalkeeper David Brcic.
Branko Segota made it 3-1 at 4:59 of the fourth period after taking a center pass from Jean Willrich and beating Brcic for his 12th goal of the season.
Brcic, despite losing his ninth game, had brilliant moments, making 18 saves while facing 29 shots.
“He’s been doing more than his share of the work,” Lazer Coach Peter Wall said.
Perez made it 4-1 at 7:25 of the fourth period, scoring his second goal of the game and his 11th of the season.
Midfielder Greg Ion, who scored both Lazer goals, was able to make it 4-2 at 11:09 of the fourth period, but the Lazers seemed to lack the necessary punch to make a game of it.
“We need Beto and Molano,” Wall said. “It’s very hard for us to generate an offense right now.”
San Diego opened the scoring at 8:23 of the second period when Perez took a pass from Jean Willrich at 8:23 and kicked a 35-foot grounder past a diving Brcic.
Ion was able to tie the game at 1-1 at 4:30 of the third period, but from there, the Lazers weren’t able to mount much of a threat.
After the Lazers pulled Brcic for a sixth attacker with 2:17 left in the game, San Diego defender Fernando Clavijo decided it for good with an empty-net goal.
Lazer Notes
The Lazers announced the signing of Yugoslavian forward Ivo Surjak for the remainder of the season. Surjak, unfamiliar with the indoor version of the game, has years of outdoor experience, including 54 appearances in World Cup games as a member and captain of the Yugoslavian national team. Terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed. Surjak, 33, played in Saturday’s game as a midfielder, taking two shots and commiting three fouls. . . . The Lazers may regain the services of defenders Erhardt Kapp, out since Dec. 28 with sprained toes, and Adam Topolski, who has yet to see any regular-season action because of a sprained knee, for Friday night’s game against Baltimore. . . . Willie Molano, who suffered a dislocated shoulder last month in practice, is expected to miss another three weeks, while Beto will be out at least another month with torn knee ligaments.
