Sockers Win, Force Game 7

The Sockers, who just a few days ago were performing on a wobbly high-wire, in danger of an earlier-than-expected demise in the Major Indoor Soccer League playoffs, stayed alive by executing circus acts of a different sort Wednesday night.

Juli Veee took the center ring with a goal and two assists, but everyone else frolicked, too, as the Sockers beat the Kansas City Comets, 6-1, in front of 10,121 spectators to even the best-of-seven Western Division finals at three games each.

Acrobatics seemed to be the theme of the evening as the Sockers flipped, tumbled and knifed their way past Kansas City defenders for a series of goals that bordered on the spectacular. They turned this series into a one-game affair after trailing, 3-1, in games and appearing to be down for the count after Game 4 last week.

Less exciting but just as important was the performance of the Socker defenders, who limited Kansas City to an MISL playoff-record low of 12 shots on goal.

“We’ve had our backs against the wall so many times that we seem to know how to handle it,” said Fernando Clavijo, Socker defender. “We know that we can’t gain anything by panicking.”

Instead of appearing nervous, the Sockers appeared to be having fun.

Veee was busy executing a series of back-heel passes in traffic, and Branko Segota was trying slicing shots with the outside of his foot. Both Waad Hirmez and Jacques Ladouceur took big tumbles at midfield while chasing loose balls. And Paul Dougherty executed a full front flip after scoring a goal in the second quarter.

All of these acts were performed without the benefit of a safety net, because the Sockers knew that a loss Wednesday would eliminate them. Now both these teams will be facing elimination Saturday when Game 7 is played at the San Diego Sports Arena at 7:35.

“Our guys appeared a bit nervous at the start, but once we got past that first few minutes, it seemed our nerves were gone,” Socker Coach Ron Newman said. “Now both teams will have the same pressure Saturday.”

The Sockers, who defeated the Comets, 7-1, in Game 5 last Saturday, seemed to scoff at the pressure Wednesday.

Segota touched off the evening eight minutes into the game with a cannon-blast of a shot that whizzed past Comet goalkeeper Ed Gettemeier for a 1-0 lead.

Gettemeier, starting in place of Alan Mayer, had stymied the Sockers early in the first quarter, but this was a shot to which he had no chance to react. Segota took control at the right of the goal and took dead aim at the lower left corner. Gettemeier hugged the near post, and Segota’s shot was by him, no higher than a foot off the ground.

From there, Veee took over, and the Sockers pulled away.

Early in the second quarter, he did some dirty work along the boards and worked a ball free to Hirmez. Dougherty was alone in front, and Hirmez found him with a pass that was tapped in for a 2-0 lead. Dougherty flipped, and Kansas City’s balloon seemed to burst.

Later in the second quarter, Veee set up Hugo Perez with a perfect pass off a corner kick. Perez’s shot rose above Gettemeier and gave the Sockers a 3-0 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Veee received the ball with his back to Gettemeier, whirled and beat him with a low shot to the left. As if he were a ringmaster, Veee held his arms high above his ahead and was showered with applause.

“Juli still has that bit of magic left,” said Newman, who said the same thing after Veee scored two goals and had two assists in Game 5. “His vision is such that he can see people are open without seeming to look at them.”

Veee set up the Sockers’ fifth goal in that fashion by collecting a loose ball and feeding Hirmez across the goal-mouth for another tap-in.

Meanwhile, down at the other end of the floor, Zoltan Toth watched and applauded his team’s effort just like everybody else. He wasn’t busy for much of the night, but when he was needed, he was up to it.

Early in the second quarter, for instance, Jan Goossens seemed to beat him with a shot, but Toth reached across and knocked the rolling ball from the goal line just in time. Goossens raised his hands, but no goal was awarded.

Socker Notes

Tickets for Saturday’s game go on sale today at 10 a.m. at the Sports Arena. . . . Coach Ron Newman changed his goalkeeper rotation for the first time since the 1985 MISL semifinals against Minnesota when he started Zoltan Toth in Game 6. Toth also had played in Game 5, and Newman usually rotates Toth and Jim Gorsek. “It wasn’t any kind of knock against Jimmy,” Newman said. “But Zoltan played well in Game 5, and my thinking was that by going with him again, Kansas City might have to change what it was doing a little bit in order to beat him.” Against Minnesota in 1985, Newman started Gorsek in Game 4 of a five-game series, and he played well in an apparent 4-3 Socker victory in an overtime shootout. The next day, the league overturned the Sockers’ win because they illegally substituted a player during the shootout. Newman came back with Gorsek in the decisive Game 5, and Gorsek turned in a 7-0 shutout. . . . Kevin Crow, named the MISL’s defensive player of the year last week, was presented his award at halftime of Wednesday night’s game. Crow beat teammate Fernando Clavijo for the award by one vote. . . . Before scoring on a power play in the first quarter Wednesday, the Sockers hadn’t scored a power-play goal in their past seven tries and were just 2 for 16 in the series. . . . If the Sockers win Game 7 Saturday night, Game 1 of the MISL championship series against the Cleveland Force will be played Tuesday or Wednesday night in the Sports Arena. Game 2 will be played next Friday night here.