Sockers Can’t Stop Lazers and Lose, 3-2
It’s still an unlikely result, but it has become a familiar script with a familiar postgame scene.
The lowly Lazers fall behind the powerful Sockers, catch up and win on a last-minute goal and cheer and scream all the way to the locker room.
On Wednesday night at the Forum, the Lazers trailed, 2-0, in the third quarter, but countered with three goals to win, 3-2, on Chris Chueden’s 25-footer from the left side with 1:46 to play.
“I was so tired,” Chueden said, “but the ball came perfect. I just went straight into it and kept it low and hard. I’m just so glad we won a game.”
It was the Lazers’ first victory of the season after three losses. And it was their fifth win in their last seven games against the Sockers (1-2).
“Who knows?” said Socker Coach Ron Newman, when asked about the Lazers’ mastery of the Sockers. “We change our preparation every time we play them, and nothing seems to work. They are extremely eager and they go beyond to make things happen.”
This year, the Sockers flew to Los Angeles instead of taking a bus. But in the game, the Lazers kept plugging away and the Sockers couldn’t finish them off.
“This feels great,” said former Socker Cha Cha Namdar, who signed with the Lazers in October. “I couldn’t be any happier. I must admit they have much more talent, but hard work won it for us. We had to be patient. We couldn’t open the game up by not being smart. Early on, we didn’t get any breaks. As it went on, it seemed like they were sitting on their lead.” That might have been one of the things Newman talked to his team about during his 15-minute postgame discussion.
“It’s a big disappointment that we didn’t raise our game enough when it was 2-0,” Newman said. “We didn’t polish them off. Once they got the first goal, their game changed.”
Chris Whyte’s 35-footer from straight away went right past goalkeeper Zoltan Toth to make it 2-1 with 2:30 to play in the third quarter.
Minutes later, the Lazers almost tied it, but Lazer forward Jim Gabarra’s 30-footer from the right side went by Toth and into the far corner of the net just after the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.
It didn’t take the Lazers long to really tie the game. At 2:09 of the fourth quarter, Thompson Usiyan’s 25-footer from the right side bounced off the sideboard and rolled off Toth’s back into the net.
Toth made 15 saves on 27 shots. Lazer goalkeeper A.J. Lachowecki, making his first Major Indoor Soccer League start, made 20 saves on 28 shots. Lachowecki signed with the Lazers as a free agent after playing for Lazer Coach Keith Tozer with the Louisville Thunder of the American Indoor Soccer League.
So, Lachowecki is 1-0 against the Sockers and Tozer is 3-0 against San Diego.
“All the L.A. teams in every sport fire up against San Diego teams,” said Socker defender Fernando Clavijo, “and we allowed them to come back.”
Socker Notes
Juli Veee scored his first goal of the season and Fernando Clavijo got his second goal Wednesday night. Clavijo suffered a bruised rear end and will not make the trip to Dallas for Friday’s game against the Sidekicks. Defender Brian Schmetzer felt pain in his previously sprained left knee, but he is probable for Friday’s game.