Sockers Overcome Tacoma
The Sockers, losers last week in their Major Soccer League home opener, inflicted the same gloom on the Tacoma Stars, scoring two late power-play goals for a 6-4 victory in front of 6,808, smallest opening-night crowd in Stars’ history.
“Everybody seems to be spoiling everybody’s home opener,” Sockers Coach Ron Newman said. “It seems there’s added pressure to do well in the home openers. It seems to play on the players’ minds.
“Tacoma did it to Cleveland. Cleveland did it to St. Louis. Bloody St. Louis did it to us. Who’s the best team out of that? Make some sense out of that if you can.”
The victory was Newman’s 600th in his career and the first of the season for the Sockers (1-2).
“That means I’m ever so old,” he said. “What would have been nice if I was able to do it in Dallas. That’s where I got my first one, a million years ago (in 1969).”
The game tilted in the Sockers’ favor when Paul Wright scored his second goal of the season 3:53 into the fourth quarter for a 4-2 lead, and keeper Victor Nogueira stopped a shootout attempt by Tacoma’s Dale Mitchell.
Wright jammed home his own rebound off the left boards for his unassisted tally.
At 4:25, the Sockers’ Kevin Crow was nailed for charging Tacoma’s Carl Valentine in the penalty area, but Nogueira got his left foot on Mitchell’s shootout and the Sockers killed the ensuing power play.
Mitchell got one back, though, at 7:15 when he blew past a defender and chipped in a 25-footer with Nogueira charging off his line to make it 4-3.
But the Sockers, with a two-man advantage, put it away with a goal by Terry Woodberry at 11:34 and a power-play goal by Ben Collins at 11:34.
Gary Heale scored a sixth-attacker goal for Tacoma with three seconds left.
Stars Coach Keith Weller was succinct about his team’s probelms.
“It wasn’t a good performance all around,” Weller said.
Mitchell scored at 7:27 of the third period before Socker defender David Banks flicked in Paul Dougherty’s free kick from left wing. Tacoma’s Greg Ion answered, and it was 2-2.
The Sockers’ Brian Quinn put his club back in front, 3-2, on a 12-footer.
MSL Notes
Goalie Zoltan Toth, who won five championships in his six years with the Sockers, informed St. Louis Storm Coach Don Popovic earlier this week that he is ending his career because of recurring pain in his left knee. Toth made the decision after tending goal in St. Louis’ 6-5 victory over the Sockers on Saturday. “My knee is just in terrible shape,” Toth said from St. Louis. “It was so painful after the game in San Diego. I just had to decide to finish my career. Pops wanted me to play (Friday and today), but that’s impossible. I can’t continue to abuse my body. I just hope this pain is not permanent, that I stopped on time.” Toth had cartilage removed from the knee at the beginning of the 1990-91 season and since has felt pain every time he lands on his left foot after making a save. The pain has been getting progressively worse. “I have three kids and as long as I can take walks with them without a cane, I think I made the right decision,” Toth said. “I can’t imagine not playing any more, but I have to go on with my life without soccer.”
