It’s Not Very Exciting, but Sockers Don’t Care
Anybody longing for the good old days when soccer was only played outdoors and goalies got about as much as work as bathing-suit salesmen in Alaska would have enjoyed the Sockers’ game against the Dallas Sidekicks Saturday night in the Sports Arena.
Anybody else could have stayed home.
This one had about as much entertainment value as, well, an outdoor soccer match. But that was of little matter to the Sockers, who won, 2-1, improved to 32-10 on the season and stretched their lead in the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Western Division to 10 1/2 games over idle Tacoma.
For the 9,693 fans in attendance, however, this one might have been best if it were saved for some practice field somewhere.
To get an idea of the excitement level, know that in the first quarter, Socker goalie Jim Gorsek was forced to make only two saves. And know that Dallas’ Joe Papaleo was called upon to make two fewer than that.
Coming into the game, San Diego and Dallas ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in fewest goals allowed, and this one was supposed to be low-scoring. But whether it was supposed to be played mostly at midfield with few scoring chances on either side is a different story.
Ron Newman, the Sockers’ coach, understood the plight of this game’s witnesses and offered the following as a way of trying to ease the pain.
“At least it was close the whole way,” he said. “I’m hoping that was enough to keep the interest level up.”
It was close only because neither side was doing much when it came to trying to put numbers on the board.
It was 1-1 early in the fourth quarter when Kevin Crow slipped a pass into Raffaele Ruotolo at the top of the penalty box. Ruotolo stepped around Victor Moreland and beat Papaleo for the winning score.
Earlier, Branko Segota had scored his 46th goal for San Diego in the first quarter, and Beto had tied it for Dallas on a power-play goal late in the third.
Other than that, you had to understand a lot of little nuances about this game to enjoy this one.
“I think the people who know a lot about soccer would have really enjoyed a game like this one,” Socker defender Fernando Clavijo said. “This was more tactical than anything else. You had to work hard for everything you got, and you couldn’t afford to make many mistakes.”
Dallas (22-21) handed the Sockers their only shutout in franchise history in December and has been playing it close to the vest all season, especially after losing its leading scorer, Tatu, in the first game.
“They make it difficult for you because they bring so many people back on defense,” Socker forward Juli Veee said. “There’s only so much room out there to move around.”
With two minutes gone in the game, Segota found some room between two Dallas defenders and Veee found him with a perfect pass. Sent in alone, Segota beat Papaleo to give the Sockers a 1-0 lead.
Until Beto tied it on a shot from the middle of the box with three seconds remaining in the third period, however, little of note happened.
Socker Notes
The Sockers signed midfielder Rene Ortiz and defender Hormoz Tabrizi to contracts through the end of the season. Both Tabrizi, 22, and Ortiz, 18, were members of the Sockers’ reserve team. Neither of the two newcomers played Saturday night . . . The Sockers’ penalty-killing unit, which hadn’t allowed a goal in its last 17 short-handed situations, had its streak snapped with three seconds remaining in the third quarter Saturday when Beto scored on Dallas’ first power-play of the game . . . The Sockers will be in Wichita Tuesday to face the Wings before returning home to begin a four-game homestand against Kansas City Thursday night. If the Sockers defeat Wichita, they will clinch a playoff berth.
