Sockers’ 6-3 Victory, League Agreement Do Nothing to Please Players
Friday night, the simple facts were:
1.) The Major Indoor Soccer League will remain in operation after the Players Assn. agreed just before 9 p.m. to accept cost-cutting measures by the league’s owners.
2.) The Sockers defeated the Kansas City Comets, 6-3, in front of 8,409 fans in the San Diego Sports Arena.
3.) Neither of the first two results were enough to please many of the Sockers.
Everybody wanted to know what happened, but nobody was too thrilled when they were told.
Coach Ron Newman walked into the locker room and told his assistant, Johan Aarnio, “I wish they would tell us what’s happened.”
Moments later, Socker President Ron Cady walked in and announced the decision.
Brian Schmetzer looked over at a couple of reporters and gave the thumbs-up sign. The rest of the players looked around almost as if in disbelief.
As a group, the Sockers have been happier after a big loss.
They complained of not having had their say; they said the union let them down.
From forward Juli Veee: “I said from the beginning that I wanted to fight this thing. But, we (the players) ended up just giving in.
“They worked something out, but we didn’t get to vote on anything. The guy (Cady) just walks in and tells us that this is the way it is now.”
Was Veee even a little happy that the league would be continuing?
“Did you ever think the league would fold? There’s your answer.”
When Veee left, up stepped midfielder Brian Quinn:
“This battle was lost from the beginning,” he said. “The owners knew from the start the players would have to give in. I’m just sorry we didn’t fight more.
“I mean everyone has to make a stand once in a while. We just didn’t have a chance to do it. I’m disappointed with what’s happened.”
Branko Segota sat slumped in his chair in front of his locker and echoed the prevailing sentiment.
“I’ll tell you one thing, you won’t ever see the Sockers that you saw out on the field this season,” Segota said. “There’s no way this team will be able to keep all of the top players it has.
“The owners knew we couldn’t win this thing, and it was obvious we as players were going to have to give in. It’s not a good situation.”
Segota, the Sockers’ top-paid player at $200,000 per year, said he’ll have to wait to hear all of the details of Friday’s agreement before he decides on his future.
“When I know everything, I’ll be able to make my decision,” he said.
Said defender Fernando Clavijo: “We pay money to our union, and they let us down. They made a decision for us and they didn’t even tell us what it was. They said the players reached an agreement. That’s wrong. They (the members of the MISLPA, which included Socker defender Kevin Crow) did.”
Crow, who was in Washington at the league meeting, was unavailable for comment.
Outside the locker room, Newman was the only one with much of a smile.
“I’m an optimist and I knew this thing would eventually get settled one way or another,” Newman said. “If I’m unhappy about anything, it’s that we could have played a bit better.”
Socker Notes
The Sockers gained a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on goals by Brian Quinn, Hugo Perez and Branko Segota. But Kansas City fought back, tying the game 3-3 on David Doyle’s goal late in the third quarter. With one second left in the third, Perez scored on a pass from Segota to break the tie . . . Fernando Clavijo was named the Met Life Favorite Player for 1988 by the Socker fans . . . The victory over Kansas City was the Sockers’ 22nd at home, seting a league record. The Sockers had won their record-setting 19th road game Wednesday at St. Louis . . . The Sockers finish the regular season Sunday night at home against Wichita. The playoffs start Thursday against Tacoma.
