Sockers Streaking Wrong Way
The contrast was so apparent.
There were the Sockers, smoldering and wondering. A group of players slipping to depths they’ve never experienced.
And in the other locker room a few feet away were the Wichita Wings, laughing and shouting. A team on the ascent, one that is burning.
No, make that Byrne-ing.
Anybody who questioned last weekend’s trade, in which Wichita acquired forwards David Byrne and Keder for defender Mike Stankovic and forward Peter Ward, need only to have witnessed Friday’s game before 8,887 at the Kansas Coliseum. Wichita (13-11) won, 5-4, to hand the Sockers their fourth consecutive loss. Byrne had two goals and an assist.
So there was Byrne, a guy who, some whispered, wasn’t giving his all in Baltimore, standing in front of his dressing area after the game looking pleased as punch. Why, his biggest problem Friday was finding a post-game beer. There were none left in the cooler. He had done too many interviews. Finally, someone found an unopened can in the corner, handed it to him and put a smile on his face.
This was Byrne’s first appearance as a Wing. Not bad.
“When you come to a new team, you want to make an impression,” he said. “This is a good team to come to. I want to do well, and I want the team to do well.”
That’s about all the Sockers want, too. They just can’t seem to make it happen. All they earned in this game was a dubious record. Wichita became the first team ever to win six in a row against the Sockers, who are now 10-14 and in last place in the Western Division of the Major Indoor Soccer League, 4 1/2 games behind first-place Dallas (15-10).
Socker Coach Ron Newman emerged from the locker room looking as if he had gone five or six rounds with Mike Tyson.
“My, my, my,” he said. “Just a lack of concentration. I don’t know what was going on out there.”
A few samples:
First half. Dale Ervine, Wichita’s leading goal-scorer with 23, scored first on the power play. Soon after, midfielder Ben Collins tied it on a Socker power play. Byrne made it 2-1, touching the ball passed goalie Zoltan Toth with his right foot. Then, the Sockers tied it again, defender George Fernandez tapping in a close-range shot on a crossing pass through traffic by forward Zoran Karic.
But things began to get tricky as the half drew to a close. With 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Collins was whistled for tripping Wing defender Gregg Willin--and given two minutes. The Wings were given a power play. Collins said the referee told him it was because he already had five fouls in the game. But Collins finished with just three.
Anyway, the Wings capitalized as the man advantage extended into the third period, Ervine scoring 31 seconds in to make it 3-2.
Minutes later, Byrne struck again, with the Sockers on the power play. Midfielder Brian Quinn made a pass that was intercepted at midfielder by Mike Fox. Then Quinn made the mistake, by his own admission, of trying to win the ball back. Byrne slipped by unnoticed, and Fox knocked a pass upfield. Byrne, now well behind Quinn, dribbled, pulled Toth out of the box, shot off the right post and followed with a diving header into the goal. Wichita 4, Sockers 2.
There was one more snafu before this one was over. With 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter, after Karic had scored on a Wing power play to make it 4-3, they decided to put in a sixth attacker. Hirmez got the nod but couldn’t get the big, multi-colored shirt pulled all the way down to his shorts. He took a few steps onto the field still struggling with the shirt. Tweet. Illegal substitution. Hirmez was not properly attired as a goalie. Wichita power play.
According to Hirmez, the conversation went about like this:
Ref: “You have to be fully dressed.”
Hirmez: “Look at me. Can’t you tell I’m the sixth attacker?”
Ref: “That’s not the point. You’re not fully dressed.”
That power play passed without a goal, but Wichita midfielder Pedro DeBrito ended the suspense when he scored off an assist from midfielder Goran Hunjak with 2:42 remaining to make it 5-3.
