Sockers Let Another One Get Away in Final Period

The Sockers’ old formula for success was working well. Get a lead, force the opponents to come out and then punish them.

It was going like clockwork. They had the Wichita Wings chasing shadows as they controlled the ball with crisp, one-touch passing.

But in the final period, the Wings used high pressure and Chico Borja to score three goals for a 5-4 victory Saturday night.

Kevin Crow, the Sockers’ two-time MISL defender of the year, said losing late has been the story of the season for the Sockers.

“A lot of games we’ve lost, we’ve been the better team for the first three quarters,” he said. “We haven’t proved to each other that we can suck it up and play as well in the fourth quarter as we do in the rest of the game, and it’s hurting us.”

The loss dropped the Sockers (7-8) 2 1/2 games behind Dallas in the MISL Western Division.

Closing out an opponent traditionally has been a Socker trademark. Crow said it’s not as easy as it once was.

“The league is getting more competitive,” he said. “We’re not going into the fourth quarter with as big a lead as we used to.”

Some players play well in the clutch. That’s been the story of the season for Borja, who scored the game-winner with 3:24 remaining. He has had the game-winning goal or assist in seven of the Wings’ nine victories and leads the league in pressure points (goals or assists scored in the fourth quarter of a close game). Saturday, he came up with three more.

The Wings became only the second team in history to win five in a row from the five-time Major Indoor Soccer League champions. Baltimore beat the Sockers five times last season.

Borja said he didn’t feel like a hero.

“I stunk up the place for 55 minutes,” he said. “I was really tired, and I didn’t tell the coach I was tired, and I put my team in jeopardy.”

Borja said he kept going despite the fatigue.

“And thank goodness Mike Fox was there.”

Fox got the two goals that pulled the Wings back from a 4-2 deficit. Playing for the first time in a month after suffering a contusion on his shin, Fox toe-poked a shot from 40 feet that beat goalkeeper Zoltan Toth at the far post.

Then he got the equalizer on a set play started by Borja from the restraining arc, scoring from the right corner of the penalty area.

Branko Segota got the first two goals, and Crow scored just before halftime for a 3-2 lead.

Then Sockers midfielder Brian Quinn, also playing his first game in a month after recovering from an injury, scored from 30 feet on a restart pass from Segota.

That made it 4-2 and put the Sockers in what seemed to be complete control.

“Then we decided to turn things around by forcing them to make mistakes with full pressure,” Wings defender Terry Rowe said. “We forced them to back-pedal, got the crowd into it, and that’s what won the game for us.”

Ron Newman, the Sockers’ coach, said, “They did an excellent job of putting high pressure on us. That could have been their undoing against a team like us, but I thought they did a good job of it.”

Newman said the equalizing goal was assisted by the officials, who gave the Wings a restart from the restraining arc instead at the sidelines.

“We should have had five goals, and that would have decided it. We had the chances but didn’t put it in at the critical time. And you knew it would turn around and burn us.”

But on the game-winner, Newman said, “Chico Borja, if you give him that much room he’s going to hurt you. He took a big chance staying upfield, and it turned out right for him.”

The Sockers had a lot of chances, but goalkeeper Ron Fearon came up with some big saves, and defender Victor Moreland barely deflected a shot by Damir Haramina that had Fearon beat. That would have made it 5-3.

“I was pleased with the way we were playing,” Newman said, “but the ball never fell in the right places for the right players.”

Wings midfielder Tom Soehn lost control of an outlet pass by Toth and left Segota one-on-one with Fearon. Segota made lob shot off the outside of his right foot to get the ball over Fearon’s head from the left side of the penalty area.

Ben Collins made the play that got the Sockers on the scoreboard first. He beat Fearon on the left side of the goal and fed Segota unmarked in the middle for an easy tap-in.