Small Players Have Big Impact as Sockers Lose

A couple of the smallest players on the field decided one of the bigger Major Indoor Soccer League games of the season when the Baltimore Blast defeated the Sockers, 4-3, Friday night in the Sports Arena.

Billy Ronson, just 5-feet-4, stood tall Friday, setting up the tying goal and scoring the winner late in the fourth quarter as the first-place Blast beat the Sockers for the third time this season and moved four games ahead of them in the standings.

On the other side was the league’s shortest player, 5-2 Paul Dougherty, feeling downright low after his mistake helped set up Baltimore’s winning score.

Sometimes, little things add up to something big.

Here was the situation:

With the score tied, 3-3, and just over 4 minutes remaining, Dougherty saw an opportunity to head off the field to change players.

But as he exited, Baltimore’s Tim Wittman gained control of the ball directly in front of him and the Sockers’ bench.

As Dougherty attempted to change directions, Wittman walked around him and set up a Baltimore advantage. Wittman passed to Ronson streaking down the right side, and Ronson beat Victor Nogueira with a shot that was partially screened by Rusty Troy.

“The man I was covering came off the field, so I was going to go off,” Dougherty said. “It was unfortunate, because when I got there, I couldn’t do anything about the man (Wittman) going around me.”

Coach Ron Newman refused to lay any blame on Dougherty, but two nights after picking up his 500th career victory, he was downright miserable, too.

That’s because the Sockers (14-13) fought an uphill battle all night to take a 3-2 lead midway in the fourth quarter and then let it get away.

“I really thought we played even with them all night,” Newman said. “It’s frustrating to think we were so close to being just two games behind, and now we’re four back again.”

This was closer than the previous two losses to 17-8 Baltimore (4-1 and 4-1), but that provided little comfort.

The Sockers could find some solace in the recent play of rookie Paul Wright, who appeared in his third consecutive gam, and set up the Sockers’ go-ahead goal with a steal and perfect pass to Kevin Crow. Wright now has two goals and an assist since joining the lineup. Crow has 12 goals, a career high.

But with a 3-2 lead, the Sockers couldn’t hold on. Ronson took the ball away from Branko Segota with 7 minutes left, sped downfield and passed to Troy, who beat Nogueira with a shot in the upper corner.

Segota, who’s not used to having the ball taken away, thought a foul should have called and relaxed, setting up Ronson’s run downfield.

The entire Sockers’ offense seemed relaxed in the first half, compared with the hustling Baltimore defense. The half ended with the Blast leading, 1-0.

But in the third quarter, chances started coming, and Segota evened the game, 1-1, with his 16th goal of the season. Segota started the play with a pass into the box to Alan Willey, then broke for the net. Willey’s return pass deflected off Carl Valentine to Segota, who put it into the left side of the goal.

The score ended a dry spell for Segota, who hadn’t scored in 16 quarters.

Baltimore went back in front, 2-1, when Mike Sweeney scored a short-handed goal with 17 seconds left in the third quarter. Blast goalkeeper Scott Manning set up the score with a perfect outlet pass to Sweeney, who had split Segota and Zoran Karic. Sweeney, in alone on Nogueira, slipped his shot underneath Nogueira’s arm as Nogueira was sprawling to the turf.

Socker Notes

Goalkeeper Zoltan Toth, who has been out since Jan. 14 with bunions, said Friday that he hopes to return in time to play in the MISL All-Star game Feb. 22 in Dallas. Toth had a cortisone shot Thursday night but said his foot is still bothering him. “All I can do is rest and take medication,” Toth said. “It’s crazy, and I’m going crazy waiting to play again.” Toth’s replacement, Victor Nogueira, started for the seventh consecutive game Friday night. . . . Zoran Karic suffered a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter when he tumbled over Baltimore defender Mark Mettrick. Karic isn’t expected to miss the Sockers’ next game Friday night at home against the Tacoma Stars.