Savic’s Goal Gives Lazers Overtime Win Over Sockers

Off to one of their better starts, and a likely candidate for postseason play, the Lazers on Sunday faced the San Diego Sockers, the most-feared team in the league. Feared by all but the Lazers, that is.

By battling back to win the game in overtime, 3-2, on a goal by Zoran Savic, the Lazers took a big step toward making the playoffs and accomplished what few teams have been able to this season.

“It was a great win for the franchise,” Lazer Coach Keith Tozer said. “Right now, I’m happy about everything.”

With the Lazers’ fourth straight home victory, before an announced Forum crowd of 5,469, they became the only team to possess a winning record against the Sockers (3-2), whose seven-game winning streak came to an end.

Earlier this season, it was the Lazers who ended the Sockers’ nine-game streak. The Sockers, who still have the league’s best record, fell to 30-10, and Coach Ron Newman, though displeased with his team’s effort, isn’t worried about the Lazers down the road.

“Is this the championship?” he yelled to a host of reporters awaiting him at the entrance to the locker room. “When you have a 10 1/2-game lead, losing a game does not mean that much.”

With the victory, the Lazers (20-19) trail the Sockers by 9 1/2 games. They are tied with Kansas City for second.

Trailing, 2-1, late in the fourth quarter, the Lazers began to take more and better quality shots, and it seemed only a matter of time before they would even things up.

But with time becoming a factor, Tozer pulled goalkeeper A.J. Lachowecki with 2:49 left in favor of a sixth attacker, which proved to be the right move. With the extra man, the Lazers quickly got the ball in the San Diego zone and needed just 24 seconds before Chico Borja passed to Michael Collins, who sent the game into overtime with his 18th goal of the season. Savic’s game-winner came 5:51 into the extra period.

“The key to this game was movement,” Borja said. “We knew we had to keep moving if we wanted to create something, and we did.”

The Lazers’ movement and defensive play was enough to hold the Sockers to just two shots in the fourth quarter and, in the extra period, it was enough for the Lazers to create a game-winning situation.

With the ball in the Lazer zone, Borja took control and saw another play developing.

“I made a run (up the sideline) and saw Zoran (Savic) running through the middle. I just passed through the middle and he scored.”

Savic, who has played in 22 games for the Lazers, also scored in the first period and now has five goals for the season. The Sockers got two first-period goals by Waad Hirmez and Raffaele Ruotolo.

The victory also ended the Sockers’ 13-game road winning streak and evened the Lazers’ record against Western Division opponents to 13-13.

“It certainly was our game (at that time),” Newman said. “When they pulled their goalkeeper we just didn’t get out and do the job properly.”

When asked about the possibility of facing the Sockers in the first round of the playoffs, Tozer replied, “Our first goal is to get to the playoffs--who we play after that we’ll think about then.”