Sockers Beat the Force, 6-5 : Victory Puts Them Only 1 1/2 Games Behind Tacoma
Watch out, Tacoma.
The Sockers are on the move and the Stars are in a tailspin.
San Diego beat the Cleveland Force, 6-5, Sunday night in the Sports Arena to move within 1 1/2 games of first-place Tacoma in the Western Division of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
The Sockers trailed the Stars by six games on Jan. 22. They are now the closest they have been since the second week of the season.
Tacoma lost to Kansas City, 4-2, Sunday. That’s seven losses in 10 games for the Stars, who face the Sockers twice more in San Diego and once at home.
The Sockers (19-13) have not exactly been artistic or dominant recently, but they have won four of five and eight of their last 11 games. And they now have three straight home games against the teams in the lower third of their division--Los Angeles, Kansas City and St. Louis.
“I’ve seen some of Tacoma’s games on TV recently,” Socker midfielder Branko Segota said. “They’re not the same as they were at the beginning of the year. They’ll have a hard time. They have to get the bugs out of their game. And we’re coming on.”
And Segota is coming on. Watch out, Tatu.
Segota, the Sockers’ leading scorer, had two goals and an assist Sunday. He has 29 goals and 35 assists for 64 points, which is five points behind Tatu. The Dallas forward leads the MISL in scoring with 44 goals and 25 assists for 69 points.
“I’m going to make my points,” Segota said, “but it’s a shame if I make the points and we lose. . . .”
And . . .
“Leading the league in scoring would give me another (contract) negotiating tool,” Segota said. “It’s a little extra incentive.”
Other Socker scorers Sunday: Waad Hirmez, Juli Veee, Jean Willrich and Carlos Melian. Melian’s goal was his first point in 17 MISL games.
Melian took a pass from Veee on a breakaway and bounced a right-footer into the goal. Then, as if he were a seasoned goal scorer, he jumped up on the sideboards to celebrate.
“It was a great feeling to score a goal,” said Melian, speaking through teammate Fernando Clavijo, who translated from the Spanish.
“After Carlos scored,” Clavijo said, “he said he felt like going to hug and kiss everybody.”
Melian’s goal gave the Sockers a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. San Diego led, 3-0, at the half but the Force--playing without injured star forward Craig Allen--made it 4-3 with 5:38 to play in the third quarter.
The Force threatened and gave the crowd of 8,912 some anxious moments down the stretch, but Cleveland never led. Carl Valentine and Ali Kazemaini scored twice and Peter Ward once for the Force, who drop a half game behind Baltimore in the Eastern Division.
And in the West . . .
“In my mind, I had no doubt--when we were four back--that we could catch them (Tacoma),” Clavijo said. “Right now, it’s happening.”
Socker Notes
The Sockers will take a look at Yugoslavian forward Victor Quni this week. Quni, 19, played three games with the New York Express before they folded on Feb. 17. The Sockers are also interested in forward Njego Pesa, who also played for the Express. . . . Contract update on Socker Coach Ron Newman, who is in the final year of his agreement: “At first, (David)) Kessler (Newman’s agent) started asking figures which were ridiculous,” said Bob Bell, Socker managing general partner. “I’m not the Miami Dolphins and this isn’t Don Shula.” Bell said he met with Kessler and Newman for two hours last week and offered Newman a three-year contract. Figures were not disclosed. “They will get back to me,” Bell said. . . . Midfielder Cha Cha Namdar played in his 200th game as a Socker Sunday. Captain Jean Willrich has played in a team-leading 229 games. . . . Juli Veee reached the 22-minute mark in penalties when he was called for boarding in the final quarter. Veee will be forced to sit out the Sockers’ next game against Los Angeles next Sunday night. . . . The Proposal: During the Sockers’ “Kick on Goal” promotion held between the first and second quarter, Marci Hoerr, 19, of Escondido, was one of the contestants. After Hoerr kicked the ball in the goal, her boyfriend, Steve Greene, 23, of San Diego, raced onto the field and handed Hoerr flowers as he got on his knees. The scoreboard read: “Marci, Will You Marry Me?” Greene raised his arms in a victory salute, a la Juli Veee. “Marci was totally in shock for 15 minutes,” said Greene, who has been dating Hoerr for a year and a half. “I wanted the proposal to be something different.”
Marci said yes.
Sockers 6, Force 5 Cleveland 0 0 3 2--5
San Diego 2 1 3 0 --6
FIRST PERIOD: 1. SD, Segota (28) (Crow), :31; 2. SD, Melian (1) (Veee), 4:43. Penalties--None.
SECOND PERIOD: 3. SD, Hirmez (13) (Segota), 7:00, pp; Penalties--Valentine (Cle), handball, 5:37; San Diego bench, served by Bartro (sixth foul), 14:17.
THIRD PERIOD: 4. Cle, Valentine (18) (Haaskivi), :29; 5. Cle, Kazemaini (11) (Ward), 5:24; 6. SD, Willrich (20) (unassisted), 5:44; 7. Cle, Kazemaini (12) (Ward), 9:22; 8. SD, Veee (21) (Willrich), 13:40; 9. SD, Segota (29) (Crow), 14:12. Penalty--San Diego bench, served by Bartro (sixth foul), 9:34.
FOURTH PERIOD: 10. Cle, Valentine (19) (James), 5:27; 11. Cle, Ward (19) (Valentine), 11:26. Penalties--Veee (SD), boarding, 9:36; James (Cle), conduct, 9:36.
SHOTS ON GOAL: Cle 5-7-5-4, 21; SD 10-4-6-4, 24. Att--8,912.
