Sockers Make Kansas City Pay for Moves
It’s the price a team pays for dressing one goalkeeper. And it cost Kansas City dearly Friday night.
Once Comets goalkeeper Jim Gorsek, who collided with Socker midfielder Branko Segota, had to leave the game early in the first quarter with a bruised left thigh, the match became target practice for San Diego.
And poor Jim Schwab, a 25-year-old defender forced into the nets, bore the brunt of it as the Sockers ripped Kansas City 9-4 in front of 9,298 at Kemper Arena.
Schwab allowed seven goals and made seven saves, including one against Keder on a shootout in the fourth quarter. However Kansas City (21-20) fell out of a first-place tie with Cleveland in the East.
“I just wanted to keep them under 10 goals, “ Schwab said, referring to his save on Keder’s shot. “I just tried to block as many of them as I could. A few of them I should have had.”
Rod Castro had two goals and two assists, and David Banks and Ben Collins each scored twice for the Sockers (25-15) who maintained their one-game lead over St. Louis in the MSL West.
The game deteriorated after Segota came in high on Gorsek, who had cleared a ball near the right boards four minutes, 30 seconds into the first quarter. Gorsek went down in a heap and was through for the night.
So was Segota, who was ejected by referee Esse Baharmast.
At least the Sockers had 13 other field players. The Comets, like most MSL teams, don’t dress two goalkeepers, so Mike Dowler, who made 25 saves in Kansas City’s 5-4 victory Thursday over the Sockers in San Diego, sat helplessly in the stands, as Schwab replaced Gorsek.
Segota, who watched the rest of the game next to Socker radio announcer Randy Hahn, said “It shouldn’t have been a red card, maybe two minutes or a yellow. I didn’t mean to hurt him, just obstruct him. I pulled out of the tackle, because I didn’t want to get hit by him, so I jumped up, and as I was going up, I caught him.
“If I went in harder, he said, “he would have been hurt a lot more. If I went in viciously, I could have broke his leg or something.”
Gorsek didn’t harbor any bitterness toward Segota.
“I don’t think he meant to hurt me, but he still got me good,” Gorsek said. “He’s not a dirty player. He can give you cheap shots, but he’s not dirty. I’m sure I’ll talk to him.”
Comet Coach Dave Clements plans to talk with league officials about the play.
“Segota’s foul on Gorsek was diabolical, and I’m going to take it to the highest level I can take it to,” Clements said. “I’ll send the tape in and see what they can do about it. There’s no room for that in this league.
“But having said that, our play, in terms of winning this game, we weren’t at the races. They (the Sockers) deserved their win 100%. This team isn’t going to get off the hook because we lost our goalkeeper.
“Whether it’s Jim Schwab (or) Jim Gorsek, when they let people come in two-on-one, three-on-one, and roll the ball in from three yards out, I don’t care what goalie you put in,” he said. We didn’t come in prepared to play. We were living in the glory of winning in San Diego.”
After Segota’s ejection, Kansas City needed 2:58 before capitalizing on the power-play as Kevin Hundelt gave the Comets a 1-0 lead.
The Comets, blocking nine shots in front of Schwab, were effective on defense in the first half, allowing just three goals--a header by Keder, and goals by Brian Quinn and Jim Gabarra for a 3-2 halftime lead.
“The first reaction in a situation like that is to believe you’re going to score a lot of goals,” Castro said. “Their team pulled together and played us tight. You’re always going to play a little bit tougher defense when you have a player as a goalie or backup. Once we got in a rhythm and saw we could score, it made it a little bit easier.”
Especially in the third quarter, when the Sockers built their lead to 6-2 with two goals by Banks and one by Castro in a span of 3:47.
“It turned out well for us, because there were distribution problems (by Schwab) besides some of the goals that went in, that maybe a goalie could have saved,” said Socker Coach Ron Newman, who also dressed one goalkeeper, Victor Nogueira.
“There are so many other options you’ve got with the extra field player,” Newman said. “We needed that extra player today because Paul Wright wasn’t feeling well.”
Socker Notes
Midfielders Michael Collins (sprained ankle) and Paul Dougherty (knee strain) did not make the trip. They were replaced in the lineup by Keder and Alex Golovnia. . . . Four Sockers--David Banks, Kevin Crow, Waad Hirmez and Jacques Ladouceur--have appeared in all 40 games this season. . . . The Sockers return to the Sports Arena for a 6:05 game Sunday night against Cleveland.
