Socker Slump Three Games After Blast Wins in Overtime

The banged-up and bruised Sockers woke up Saturday at 5 a.m. in Kansas City. They went to bed in San Diego, no doubt wondering when this losing streak, which has now reached three games, will end.

The Baltimore Blast (6-1) exacted some revenge in theie first meeting with the Sockers since last season’s championship series, winning, 5-4, in overtime before 7,871 at the San Diego Sports Arena.

Forward David Byrne scored the game-winner 5:42 into the extended period, heading a ball that glanced off goalie Zoltan Toth’s arm following a Billy Ronson shot.

“It’s very sweet,” Byrne said. “We wanted to come in here and show them that we could rebound. Right now, it tastes good.”

Nothing could taste better.

“Classical,” Blast Coach Kenny Cooper said. “Any time you win in San Diego, it’s a big win for you.”

The Sockers (4-5) sported a lineup of five rookies and forward Jim Gabarra, who hasn’t yet shaken the rust off his indoor skills since returning from the U.S. National Team. And, if nothing else, they made it interesting.

“I thought the young lads did great,” Socker Coach Ron Newman said. “We should have won that game.”

Several times, it looked as if they might do just that. First, they took the lead, 1-0, when Gabarra passed off the boards to midfielder Branko Segota, who directed it to defender Kevin Crow, who drilled a close-range shot by Blast goalie Scott Manning. The game was a minute 25 seconds old.

Baltimore cranked up its game in the second quarter, taking a 2-1 lead on goals from Rusty Troy and Carl Valentine.

The third quarter was a rerun of the seventh game of last season’s championship series, when the Sockers took control of the game with goals from Segota, Brian Quinn and Steve Zungul in a span of 2:33. This time, the goals were scored by rookie Wes Wade, Zoran Karic and Segota, all before four minutes had passed in the third quarter.

Wade, 21, has only been playing soccer for five years but looked like a veteran on his goal, cutting behind Byrne and scoring his first goal of the season with his right foot. Twenty-nine seconds later, Karic scored with his left foot to give the Sockers a 3-2 lead. Rookie Thien Nguyen picked up his first point of the season with 11:06 remaining in the quarter, passing for an assist off the boards to Segota, who scored with his left foot to make it 4-2 Sockers.

The lead began to crumble with 2:56 remaining in the third, when former Socker Paul Dougherty managed to do something he had trouble with last season, score a goal. He took a pass from defender Bruce Savage and punched it in with his right leg. Ronson tied it up 1:14 into the fourth quarter, shooting from the redline by goalie Zoltan Toth, who dove to his right.

You needed only to take a quick look in the Sockers training room an hour or so before the game to get an idea what kind of shape they were in.

Midfielder Brian Quinn, the team captain, was standing there in his street clothes watching trainer Bill Taylor patch up just about everybody on the team. Quinn is beyond repair, at least for the next month. He pulled his hamstring in the first quarter of the Sockers’ 4-3 victory over Tacoma Nov. 18.

Quinn’s plans for the game?

“Just sit with my wife and give her a hand with the kids,” he said. “I’m an old hand at this. This is the third year in a row.” Quinn missed 18 games last season and 19 the year before.

Taylor was asked for an updated injury report. It reads like “Gone With the Wind”:

Included on this list are defender Ralph Black, who is out three weeks with an ankle sprain, midfielder Waad Hirmez, who missed Saturday’s game with a thigh and rib injuries, and forward Damir Haramina and midfielder Ben Collins, who are out with thigh injuries. Also injured but fit enough to play are Karic (knee), midfielder Rod Castro (knee), Zungul (back) and Segota (thigh).

Would all those who are feeling fine please stand up?

Taylor said: “This is the worst I’ve seen it.”

And so the losing streak is three and counting.

Socker Notes

Former Socker Paul Dougherty, who now plays for Baltimore, was presented with his 1989 championship ring before the game. Dougherty, a midfielder, played two full seasons with the Sockers, accumulating 121 points. . . . In case you forgot, the Sockers rebounded from a 7-0 loss to Baltimore in Game 6 of last season’s MISL championship series to win the seventh game, 6-5, and take their seventh indoor championship in these teams’ last meeting. . . . Rookie Rod Castro had his second two-goal game in the MISL Friday night in the Sockers’ 4-3 loss at Kansas City. . . . Goalie Zoltan Toth lost his first game of the season against Kansas City and entered Saturday’s game with a 2-1 record. . . . Defender George Fernandez is inching closer to the team record for consecutive games played. Saturday, he moved into second place with 89, ahead of Jean Willrich. Dougherty is the leader with 91 games.