Sockers Complete Comeback, Clinch Series With 9-5 Win
Take away the champagne. Leave Kansas City and the pesky Comets. Bring on the Tacoma Stars.
And give midfielder Branko Segota, who scored a club playoff record five goals, another big hug.
Those were the sentiments of the Sockers following their 9-5 victory over Kansas City to clinch their opening-round Major Indoor Soccer League playoff series Wednesday night in Kemper Arena.
The five-time indoor champion Sockers, who are 7-0 in do-or-die games over the years, won two straight to defeat the Comets, three games to two.
San Diego beat the Comets, 5-2, at the Sports Arena Sunday and never trailed in Wednesday’s physical and intense game on a hot and humid night in front of 11,136 loud, partisan fans.
The Sockers open the best-of-seven Western Division championship series against the Tacoma Stars Friday night at Tacoma.
“No one wants to celebrate yet,” said Socker defender Kevin Crow, who was his team’s defensive star Wednesday night. “Save the champagne. This is not it yet. Being No. 1 is it.”
“Save a franchise,” yelled midfielder Brian Quinn.
That used to be the Sockers’ chant when they lost to a team that was struggling.
San Diego took a step toward saving a franchise Wednesday.
Only this time, it may have been its own.
“Bob (Bell) had taken into consideration that we would get through the first round,” said Socker Coach Ron Newman. “What they budgeted for wasn’t going to come around.”
The Sockers had based their budget on more home playoff appearances than the two first-round games.
Bell, the Sockers’ managing general partner, was so nervous before Wednesday’s game that he didn’t come to Kansas City. He also told Newman he wasn’t even going to watch the game live on television. Instead, he would go for a run on the beach near his home in Coronado.
If Bell had watched, he would have seen some kind of performance by his club.
Segota had the five goals and an assist. He has eight goals and five assists in three games since returning to the lineup after missing nine games with a fractured cheekbone.
It was by no means a one-man show.
Juli Veee had two goals and an assist. Jean Willrich had three assists. Njego Pesa and Cha Cha Namdar each had a goal.
Goalkeeper Zoltan Toth made 11 saves on 27 shots. And defensively, the Sockers held the Comets’ top scorer, Jan Goossens, without a point for the first time in 55 games.
“San Diego came out and played tremendously,” said Comet goalkeeper Alan Mayer, a former Socker. “They were a better team than us tonight.”
Said Comet Coach Dave Clements: “I look at this performance as a championship performance. Guys like Branko (Segota) were dictating the game.”
Segota had the most goals and the biggest goal Wednesday.
His first three goals deflected off Comet players, but nobody was saying the Sockers were lucky.
“Having three own goals is a shame,” Mayer said. “You’ll usually have three in 15 games. But take nothing away from the Sockers. They made their chances.”
The Sockers were leading after three quarters, 6-5, but the Comets scored on a deflection with one second to play in the third quarter. Kansas City had the momentum and the support of the crowd.
At 9:22 of the final quarter, Segota poked in a right-footer from the top of the penalty box as he was falling down. The ball rolled into the far corner of the net. And Segota rolled on the carpet.
“I poked it under Alan’s hand into the net,” said Segota, who was holding the game ball. “That was probably the biggest goal in the game.”
Clements called it “a killer.”
The Comets immediately inserted a sixth attacker. San Diego not only held off the Comets, they scored two empty-net goals by Namdar at 12:09 and Segota at 14:38.
“I wish them nothing but the best,” Mayer said. “My prediction before the series was whoever wins this series will win the MISL championship.”
Socker Notes Hugo Perez missed Wednesday’s game with a sprained left ankle suffered in Game 4. . . . George Katakalidis picked up a red card (for violent conduct) and was ejected from the game in the second quarter for hitting Damir Haramina, after Haramina was called for boarding Katakalidis. . . . Comet forward Tasso Koutsoukos scored four goals and Jens Busk one for Kansas City. Alan Mayer made 8 saves on 21 shots. . . . Before Wednesday’s game, Major Indoor Soccer League Commissioner Bill Kentling said he was not convinced that additional financial discipline or suspension is appropriate in the case of Brian Quinn, who received a red card in Game 4. Kentling met with both coaches before the game to “inform them that I am going to hold them personally responsible for the actions of their players.”
