Sockers, Gorsek Shut Out Lazers, 8-0 : Goalkeeper Has 17 Saves; Segota Ties Club Record With 5 Assists
The only suspense in Friday night’s clinic by Branko Segota and his mates was whether Socker goalkeeper Jim Gorsek would record his first regular-season shutout.
He did.
Gorsek made 17 saves and Segota had a goal and 5 assists in the Sockers’ 8-0 victory against the Los Angeles Lazers in front of 8,534 fans in the San Diego Sports Arena.
After giving up seven goals against Baltimore in his last appearance Sunday, the shutout was a much-needed confidence boost for Gorsek. He went 19-2 last season, but this season he is 3-6 and has missed five weeks with a broken left hand.
“The shutout is going to make the players and Jimmy more confident,” Socker Coach Ron Newman said.
“We didn’t play as a team Sunday,” Gorsek said. “Tonight the whole team played well and I came up with a few big saves early in the game.”
Gorsek’s only other shutout came in a 7-0 victory over Minnesota in the deciding game of the semifinal series against Minnesota on May 14, 1985. The Sockers’ only other regular-season shutout was a 9-0 victory registered by Zoltan Toth against Wichita on Jan. 3, 1986.
The offensive star Friday was Segota. He had a goal and tied a team record with his five assists. Juli Veee and Vidal Fernandez previously had five-assist games.
The six points give Segota 23 goals and 25 assists for 48 points. That places him third in league scoring behind Jan Goossens of Kansas City (50) and Tatu of Dallas (52).
Hugo Perez and Waad Hirmez had two goals apiece, Veee had a goal and an assist and Jean Willrich and Ade Coker each scored a goal.
It was a nightmare of a game for Lazer goalkeeper David Brcic, who made 11 saves.
“The last few games we’re putting everything together,” Segota said. “We’re starting to play as a team. When the guys are open, you give it and you run. That creates scoring opportunities.”
San Diego led, 3-0, after a quarter, 4-0 at half and 5-0 after three quarters.
The Sockers were sharp and the Lazers--a team that beat the Sockers twice earlier this season--played like a club that has lost seven straight. They are 0-3 under interim Coach Mike Mahoney.
“This was not the same L.A. team we’re used to,” Socker defender Kevin Crow said. “They are usually feisty and physical.”
The Sockers appear to be finding their traditional second-half form.
San Diego is 15-11 at the midway point of the season. They have won five of six and are four games over .500 for the first time this season. The second-place Sockers trail Tacoma by 3 1/2 games in the Western Division.
Once Friday’s victory was well in hand, the Sockers--who were playing without injured All-Star defender Fernando Clavijo--dedicated themselves to getting Gorsek the shutout.
But Crow says they did not play defensively.
“Usually in the fourth quarter you get too defensive and let something in,” Crow said. “Something like the prevent defense in football. We didn’t say that much tonight. We kept attacking.”
And when the game ended, Crow and fellow defender Brian Schmetzer gave Gorsek a bear hug at midfield.
“He got it easy,” Crow said. “We were going to destroy him.”
The Sockers had done enough destroying for one night.
