Even in Victory, Sockers Search for Consistency
The victory was found. The chemistry is still missing.
Following the Sockers’ 5-3 victory over the Kansas City Comets (9-11) Sunday night in front of 6,512 at the San Diego Sports Arena, midfielder Brian Quinn was asked how long it would take to blend this group into a winner.
“Three years,” he answered. “Can you wait that long?”
He was joking, of course. But the Sockers (9-10) haven’t been themselves so far this season, and they’re running out of time to find their identity.
A small step was taken Sunday. Thirty-three steps to go.
“I still think we’re not playing any better,” Quinn said. “We’re playing well in patches. We’ve got to create a little bit of enthusiasm.
“You know you’re struggling when you depend on me to score.”
Quinn scored twice. With 5:01 remaining in the third quarter, he was positioned perfectly for a rebound off the boards from midfielder Branko Segota’s shot, scoring with his right foot to give the Sockers a 2-1 lead.
Quinn also finished the Comets off late in the fourth quarter, scoring the insurance goal. He passed to Segota at midfield. Segota passed back off the sideline boards and Quinn bent a shot around defender Kim Roentved, who was serving as the sixth attacker. Socker midfielder Jacques Ladouceur made a run down the left sideline that distracted Roentved enough to enable Quinn to get his shot off.
Midfielder Waad Hirmez was also in on the scoring act, picking up his first two-goal game of the season by scoring in the third quarter and again in the fourth. On the first, Segota knocked a restart kick to his left that deflected off Comets David Boncek and then Barry Wallace. Hirmez was waiting and popped it in.
His second goal came on the power play, Quinn chipping a pass to Castro, who headed into the middle for Hirmez to send in with his right foot. That gave the Sockers a 4-2 lead. Comet defender Greg Ion scored a late goal with 2:33 remaining before Quinn finished things up.
“We were committed,” Hirmez said. “And we were disciplined.”
The victory leaves the Sockers in third place in the Western Division of the Major Indoor Soccer League, 2 1/2 games behind first place Dallas. It also leaves Socker Coach Ron Newman breathing just a little bit easier.
“Much better effort all around,” he said. “We’ve got a mixture of quality and aggressiveness and energy. Somehow we’ve just got to get that right balance.”
One ingredient of that balance was blended into the Sockers’ victory. Team defense. Newman has often berated his players for thinking too much about offense and too little about defense. The Sockers played on both ends of the carpet Sunday.
For instance, Hirmez bolted to make a save late in the third quarter, sliding feet first to kick a ball out of the goal box that was inches from the line when goalie Zoltan Toth was caught out of position.
And Toth wasn’t out of position too often. He made nine saves to pick up his fifth victory of the season in nine starts.
Defender Ralph Black lent a foot to the offense, opening the scoring with a right footed goal off an assist from Cacho in the first quarter.
What lies ahead? Well, the Sockers have won three consecutive games just once this season and are in desperate need of a hot streak, or even a warm streak. It isn’t as if they’ve been awful, just inconsistent.
“It’s coming around,” defender George Fernandez said. “Everybody worked hard tonight. The last couple of games have been frustrating. We knew we weren’t working hard enough to win.”
Newman shook up the lineup a bit. Forward Damir Haramina didn’t play, and forward Jim Gabarra played a lot. Still missing is veteran forward Steve Zungul, who hasn’t played in five consecutive games. Newman said he doesn’t have a place for him, which raises speculation as to whether Zungul might opt for an early retirement.
Socker Notes
Defender Kevin Crow recorded his 600th career block in Friday’s 5-3 loss to Tacoma. . . . Defender George Fernandez extended his streak of consecutive games played to 99 Sunday. . . . The Sockers have two games on the this home stand, Friday against the Cleveland Crunch and Saturday against the St. Louis Storm.
