Major Indoor Soccer League Preview : Slimmed-Down League Will Try to Regain Credibility--and Fans

Some things die hard, and the Major Indoor Soccer League apparently is one of them. It will stagger into its 11th season today with just seven teams and one division.

Citing money losses, the league got approval from the players’ union for two salary cap cuts in the last 9 months, and in the process lost four teams, among them the Cleveland Force. The Force was the league’s most successful club, only the second American professional soccer club to turn an annual profit, and the only team to do that more than once.

“(The league) was on a roller coaster downhill,” Cleveland owner Bert Wolstein said. “I don’t think it will survive, No. 1, and if it does survive it won’t be of any quality.”

Stating the obvious, John Kerr, director of the MISL Players Assn., said: “There’s a lot of work to be done out there in re-establishing the credibility of the league. (MISL Commissioner Bill Kentling) has done OK in regaining most of the sponsorships that they had for the past year. He said, obviously, he had a lot of work to do in convincing sponsors that they were going to be around.”

Because there are fewer teams, the league cut its schedule from 56 to 48 games and will play the majority of those games on weekends in an attempt to boost attendance that averaged 8,456 last season.

“If there was any damage regarding the fans, that will show up once the seasons begins,” Kentling said.

The teams that will challenge the Sockers’ bid for another title:

LOS ANGELES LAZERS

After taking control of the Lazers in February of 1987, Coach Keith Tozer cleaned house and started practically from scratch. By the end of last season not a single player remained from the team that had played under former Coach Peter Wall. And the result was a 31-25 record, second-best in the league.

This season, Tozer has had to restructure again, largely because of a mass retirement of players who were fed up with the instability of indoor soccer.

Starting goalkeeper David Brcic, defenders Adam Topolski, Erhardt Kapp, Steve Pecher and Don Ebert; forward Paul Child and midfielder Tom Hayes all quit.

Thompson Usiyan, a mainstay of last year’s Lazer offense, didn’t officially retire but has not reported, apparently unhappy with having to take a pay cut. Defender Chris Whyte moved back to his native England and got married.

The most notable absentee, however, is Chico Borja, the Lazers’ leading scorer last season. He was traded to Wichita for a first-round draft choice in 1989.

Borja and Usiyan combined for 99 goals and 87 assists last season.

To make up for their absences, Tozer acquired a slew of forwards who had respectable performances last season.

Hector Marinaro scored 58 goals and 23 assists, and Steve Kinsey had 32 goals and 21 assists with Minnesota. Gary Heale was the league’s fourth-leading scorer with 41 goals and 21 assists for the Tacoma Stars. Ben Collins had 33 goals and 20 assists at Chicago, and Daryl Doran was a 3-time All-Star at St. Louis.

Defensively, the Lazers got what Tozer called his most prized acquisition in goalkeeper Jim Gorsek, who came from the Sockers as a free agent. Gorsek, 70-30 in 5 MISL seasons, has the best winning percentage in the game. He was 21-8 with a 3.43 goals-against average last season.

Players expected to protect Gorsek include midfielder Waad Hirmez and defender Fernando Clavijo, considered the fastest player in the league. Both came from the Sockers.

Tozer’s overall assesment: “We don’t have that one (superstar) but we have a more balanced team. We’ll be a fast-breaking team. I think we’ll be a physical club, stronger with a man down and on the power-play.”

BALTIMORE BLAST

Injuries helped contribute to the team’s worst season, 25-31, and its first finish below the .500 mark.

Only seven players will return from last season’s roster.

Baltimore has picked up many of Cleveland’s players, including the Force’s second-leading scorer, Kai Haaskivi, who contributed 16 goals and 38 assists. Defender Desmond Armstrong, midfielder Mike Sweeney and forward Carl Valentine also come from Cleveland.

The acquisition of Minnesota’s David Byrne, who had 35 goals and 42 assists, should also bolster the Blast’s offense.

Nine-year veteran Scott Manning--43 games, 19-20 and 4.36 goals-against average--will anchor a goalkeeping crew that will include 8-year veteran and crowd favorite Slobo Ilijevski, who was picked up from St. Louis.

DALLAS SIDEKICKS

The return of Tatu, who missed all of last season because of a torn knee ligament suffered in last season’s opening game, will be welcomed.

During the 1986-87 season, the diminutive forward scored a league-high 73 goals and 38 assists in leading the Sidekicks to the MISL title.

Despite salary cap reductions and player dissatisfactions, Coach Gordon Jago was able to keep Dallas, 28-28, pretty much intact.

Second-leading scorer Mark Karpun is gone, but Richard Chinapoo from the Blast has been added to complement last season’s top-scorer Godfrey Ingram, who had 40 goals and 25 assists. Goalkeepers Krys Sobieski and Joe Papaleo will return to anchor the league’s second-best defense.

KANSAS CITY COMETS

Jan Goossens was last season’s third-best scorer with 45 goals and 56 assists. Together with Dale Mitchell, 48 goals and 47 assists, the league’s most potent offense--294 goals--should have another productive year.

Unfortunately for coach Dave Clements, the Comets (29-27) weren’t able to recruit much help for a defense that allowed a league-leading 290 goals.

Defenders Kim Roentved and Dave Boncek will have the primary job of protecting goalkeepers Ed Gettemeir and Alan Mayer, who together allowed just under 5 goals a game.

TACOMA STARS

Preki, last season’s runner-up in the scoring race with 53 goals and 58 assists, will be without last year’s linemate, Steve Zungul, who holds practically every scoring record in the MISL.

After dropping out of the league in July, former coach Alan Hinton helped form an ownership group to save the Tacoma franchise.

Back as coach, Hinton, who never got along with Zungul, was quoted in Tacoma papers as saying, “There’s no way I’ll ever have Zungul on my team again.” Hinton felt that Zungul’s attitude was counterproductive to his team.

Tacoma, which finished fourth in the Western Division last season at 27-29, is expected to go with 9-year veteran Mike Dowler again in goal. Dowler, nicknamed Iron Mike, led all goalkeepers in wins, 26, and games played, 51, last season.

Former Socker Brian Schmetzer joined the team in the offseason.

WICHITA WINGS

Chico Borja returns from a year with the Lazers to team with last year’s scoring leader, Erik Rasmussen, who had 55 goals and 57 assists. The acquisition of goalkeeper Chris Vaccaro from Chicago will give much needed help to Nenad Zigante.

Wichita’s defense has been bolstered by the addition of Chico Moreira from Chicago and Victor Moreland from Dallas. At 23-33, the Wings finished last season ahead of only the St. Louis Steamers.