SOCKER NOTEBOOK : Sockers Take St. Louis by Storm After Advancing in Playoffs

Let the singing Sockers serenade you.

Guantanamera, guantanamera.

Concert time was 3 a.m. You could hear it from your hotel room, but there was plenty of room in the parking lot to join the gang and crack a beer if you wanted a front row seat.

Coach Ron Newman says he’s sorry if anybody lost sleep during the Sockers’ mini-concert Saturday night after they bumped the St. Louis Storm from the MISL playoffs. Apparently, there were complaints at the front desk.

But Newman is glad his group had a chance to celebrate. For gosh sakes, they won two on the road, didn’t they? That’s 25% of their road victories for the entire season.

“The lads were banging on my door saying silly things,” Newman said. “And God bless them. I think they deserved that.”

And a few beers, too?

“They had a few extra drinks,” Newman said. “When they release, they want to let it all hang out. I thought letting off steam was absolutely natural.”

That the Kansas City Comets won the Eastern Division semifinal series, 3-1, with a 5-4 victory in Game 4 at Wichita wasn’t nearly as amazing as how they did it.

MISL rules require teams to have at least 14 players suited up for a game. The Comets, banged and bruised from the first three games, only managed to make the cut by dressing midfielder Kevin Hundelt, defender Kim Roentved and goalie Mike Dowler, all of whom had injuries preventing them from playing.

Six of the remaining 11 played with minor injuries. Long about the fourth quarter, with the Wings leading, 4-2, Kansas City decided to do more than just survive. Goals by forward Dale Mitchell and defender Iain Fraser tied it. Then, with 1:08 to play, forward Ted Eck scored to give Kansas City the victory and a berth against Baltimore in the Eastern Division championship series.

The effort was enough to inspire Wichita Coach Terry Nicholl to visit the Kansas City locker room after the game and tell the Comets how impressed he was with their accomplishment.

Things selling more slowly than MISL playoff tickets:

--The eight track tape of the Partridge Family’s Greatest Hits.

--Snow plows in Phoenix.

--Bell bottom jeans.

Why did the Sockers average 8,132 in 26 regular-season games and then draw crowds of 6,100 and 5,875 for the first two games of the Western Division semifinals?

As if that isn’t bad enough, games 3 and 4 in St. Louis drew a total of 7,315. Even at that, there was speculation that attendance was padded. Quipped Socker midfielder Brian Quinn: “They were counting legs, not people.”

Storm owner Milan Mandaric expressed concern, saying he would consider selling the franchise if he didn’t get more corporate sponsors.

Socker owner Ron Fowler said: “When I was there Tuesday, I was surprised at the real lack of enthusiasm on the part of the crowd. It was like they were sitting on their hands waiting to be shown something.”

Branko Segota’s problem is not necessarily what he is doing now, but what he did in the past. The Sockers’ midfielder had four points in four games against St. Louis, which was respectable. But compared with his other playoff performances, his current statistics are pale.

A look at his first four playoff games in his previous five seasons with the Sockers:

1985: Nine points.

1986: Twelve points.

1987: Seventeen points.

1988: Eight points.

1989: Ten points.

What’s wrong? Well, Segota says he hasn’t been connecting with the ball the way he usually does, but he expects his game to come around. Newman thinks his confidence might be down.

“He’s been a bit apprehensive about taking on a player and shooting,” Newman said. “I’m hoping that he’ll come around, but they can’t all play well all the time.”