Wade Hits at Buzzer for Victory : Soccer: Desperation kick in final moment trickles through Dallas goalie’s legs to give Sockers a 6-5 victory.
Wes Wade didn’t even see it. Neither did Dallas goalie Joe Papaleo.
But from an improbable angle near the end boards and with the game clock ticking to 00:00, Wade directed a shot that trickled between the goalie’s feet and gave the Sockers a 6-5 victory over the Sidekicks.
The Sockers (10-6) had to overcome two two-goal deficits. They are percentage points ahead of Dallas (11-7), each a half-game behind first-place Wichita (10-5).
“I don’t even know where it went,” Wade said of the goal, his fifth this season. “I just hit it toward the goal and when the fans yelled, I yelled.”
And Papaleo, who had made several outstanding saves on point-blank shots through the first 59:59, moaned.
“I couldn’t even tell you what happened,” he said. “I’ve never suffered such a lapse of concentration. I can’t even tell you if I saw the ball the whole way, or if my hands were low enough to make the save. It doesn’t matter what I did during the first 59 minutes. None of the saves I made mattered. I let my teammates down. . . . I’ve never let in a goal like that in my entire career. It was just terrible.”
There was argument from the Dallas bench as to whether Wade’s shot got in before time expired, but the point was moot. The game was over.
Before shooting around defender Troy Snyder, Wade took a pass from Kevin Crow, who simply was trying to move the ball upfield.
“There was nothing to lose,” Crow said. “Time was running out so I had to hit it upfield.”
The shot ended what had been a spectacular 30 minutes of play.
Only 22 seconds into the third quarter, the Sockers halved a 3-1 Dallas lead. After accepting a pass from Quinn along the right boards and just inside his red line, midfielder Tim Wittman dribbled past defender Wes McLeod and unloaded a left-foot shot that bounced in off the left post.
The Sockers tied it 10 minutes into the third quarter on a shot Papaleo had no chance to squelch. Paul Dougherty put the finishing touches on a sequence that started with Alex Golovnia sending a long crossing pass from the right point into the penalty area, where Brian Quinn headed it down and right onto the toes of Dougherty.
Dougherty did not miss from a yard out.
The Sockers took the lead with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter, and again, Dougherty was on the finishing end. This time he took a length-of-the-field outlet from goalie Nogueira, got around defender Richard Chinapoo by passing the ball off the boards to himself and then right-footing it past Papaleo.
But the Sidekicks came back and forged a 4-4 tie when Mike Powers scored the first short-handed goal of his nine-year career and only the second short-handed goal in the MSL this season with nine minutes remaining in the game.
It wasn’t even close to being over.
Jacques Ladouceur made it 5-4 with 1:08 remaining, but Dallas pulled Papaleo for a sixth attacker and came right back 12 seconds later to tie it on a shot from the red line by Chinapoo.
Quinn, who has has three more games to play with the Sockers before leaving for duties with the U.S. national team, appeared in danger of making his departure on the heels of some uncharacteristic performances.
He hadn’t scored a point in the previous three games, but he made sure the skein did not reach what would have been a career-high four games by assisting on the Sockers’ first three goals.
His second assist was the 200th of his indoor career and when he fed Dougherty to make it 3-3, he gained his third assist of the night. It was the 12th time in his career he has passed for at least three assists.
“Why is everyone saying (I lost my passing touch)?” Quinn asked. “It’s not like it deserted me.”
Socker Notes
Ron Fowler--who owned the Sockers from 1987 to 1991, during which time the Sockers won four championships--was on hand at halftime to distribute the championship rings from the 1990-91 season. Citing four seasons of six-figure losses, Fowler stepped down as owner after last season.
As far as the Sidekicks are concerned, the Sports Arena might as well be on Elm Street. This has been their nightmare for the past eight years: Going into Friday’s game, the Sockers had won 21 of 22 from the Sidekicks here, and the Sidekicks entered Friday’s game in the throes of a 15-game Sports Arena losing streak. “It’s just one of those things,” Dallas Coach Gordon Jago said. “It has become a mental block. Of course, in our early days, the Sockers could beat us any which way. But this season, 50% of our side is new, they’re not aware of the past and shouldn’t be under the influence of that mental block.” Goalie Joe Papaleo said that mental block is nonexistent, anyway. “There are so many times that we’ve beaten them at our place,” he said. “We can win here just like we can win at any place.” Papaleo pointed out the Sidekicks actually have won three times here, twice in seven playoff games. “There’s no doubt we can come in here and win in the playoffs,” Papaleo continued. If early trends in the Major Soccer League continue, the Sidekicks likely will get the chance to back up Papaleo’s words. The Sidekicks, Sockers and Wichita Wings currently are the only three teams with winning records. The top four teams advance to the postseason.
