Lazers Blow Lead but Get Lucky Bounce to Beat Sting
With eight of their next nine games scheduled against fellow Major Indoor Soccer League Western Division opponents, the Lazers viewed Thursday night’s game against the Eastern Division ‘s Chicago Sting as a chance to enter the stretch going in the right direction.
And the Lazers needed the right bounce to beat the Sting, 6-5, before a Forum crowd of 4,046.
Leading, 5-2, early in the final period, the Lazers suffered a defensive lapse as three Sting players scored goals to tie the game 9:32 into the period.
After failing to score with a two-man advantage for two minutes, the Lazers, still on a power play, got the ball in the Chicago zone. Chico Borja, playing close to the Chicago net, got the ball and centered it with 26 seconds left. The ball bounced off the leg of Sting Captain Heinz Wirtz and into the Chicago net.
Borja’s goal kept his point-scoring streak alive at 12 games, one shy of former Lazer forward Stuart Lee’s record.
The victory moved the Lazers (24-23) into a second-place tie with the Kansas City Comets, and the Sting (21-24) remained in fourth place in the East, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Baltimore Blast in the race for the fourth and final playoff berth.
Both teams emphasized ball control in the first period, with the Lazers missing on two power plays before Thompson Usiyan scored his 37th goal of the season with 20 seconds left, giving his club a 1-0 lead. In the period, the Lazers’ defense limited Chicago to just one shot, a weak grounder that goalkeeper David Brcic easily handled.
The Lazers’ Chris Chueden made it 2-0 after taking a pass from Cha Cha Namdar and beating goalkeeper Chris Vaccaro 4:36 into the second period.
Having picked up the tempo in the second period, the Sting got on the board at 6:47 on a header by former Lazer Oscar Albuquerque.
But Paul Child scored his 28th on Namdar’s second assist with 1:20 left to give the Lazers a 3-1 halftime lead, after which it soon became either team’s game.
The Lazers are now faced with back-to-back games against the San Diego Sockers, who with only 10 losses have already wrapped up the Western Division regular-season title.
