Lazers Bring Down the Wings, 6-1

Going into Sunday night’s game against the Wichita Wings, the Lazers had little to gain except to finish the season on a good note, and perhaps to get a little revenge against a long-time nemesis.

They had, after all, already been assured of their second consecutive last-place finish, and were winless against the Wings in eight previous meetings dating back to last season.

But thanks to a well-balanced attack and some outstanding goalkeeping by David Brcic, the Lazers managed to break a losing streak at three games and beat the Wings, 6-1, before a crowd of 3,897 at the Forum.

The Lazers, who had lost, 8-0, to the Wings in Wichita April 10, equaled their biggest margin of victory this season Sunday.

“There was some pride at stake tonight,” Lazer Coach Keith Tozer said. “And these boys rose to the occasion.”

Going into the second half leading, 2-1, on goals by Chris Chueden and Adam Topolski, the Lazers were by no means in good shape. They had lost their five previous games by one goal, a statistic which disturbed Tozer.

“We’ve learned to play as a team,” he said referring to the team that has undergone a rebuilding process since the All-Star break. “Now we have to learn to hold onto a lead.”

The Lazers had little trouble in that department Sunday, as Brcic, with 16 saves, and the defense held the Major Indoor Soccer League’s highest-scoring team to just one power-play goal, a first quarter shot by Dave Hoggan.

Michael Collins put the Lazers ahead, 3-1, 5:38 into the third quarter after dribbling through several Wing defenders and blasting a long-range shot into the upper right corner of the net.

Just 29 seconds later, Collins assisted on Thompson Usiyan’s goal to put the Lazers ahead, 4-1.

Even defender George Fernandez, who had scored only three goals going into the game, got into the act. After taking a pass from Chueden, Fernandez scored with a shot from 35 feet out, making it 5-1 Lazers 10:49 into the third quarter.

When the Wings were unable to cut into the lead, Wichita Coach Charlie Cooke pulled goalkeeper Bill Irwin in favor of a sixth attacker with a little more than seven minutes left. But Brcic and the Lazer defense held on and Chueden added an empty-net goal with 1:16 left.

The Lazers are 15-35 with two home games remaining, Thursday against St. Louis and Saturday against Dallas.