Sockers Waste Three-Goal Lead in Loss to Dallas : Soccer: Goal with 29 seconds remaining gives Sidekicks a 7-6 victory.
Richard Chinapoo finished a quick counterattack with 29 seconds remaining Friday that caught Sockers’ goalie Victor Nogueira off his line and gave the Sidekicks a 7-6 Major Soccer League victory.
After winning 11 in a row, the Sockers have gone 3-3 in their past six games.
The loss, which came after the Sockers blew a three-goal lead in the second quarter and a one-goal advantage in the final qarter, narrows the Sockers’ hold on first place to 4 1/2 games over second-place Dallas. The Sockers (22-9) have nine games remaining, the Sidekicks (18-14) have eight.
On the last-minute counterattack, not only was Nogueira backpedaling, but the Sockers were caught with their two seldom-used rookies on the carpet, Zico Doe and Alex Khapsalis.
The Sockers suited only 13 players because second-year defender Alex Golovnia stayed home with a deep thigh bruise. Coach Ron Newman said he only used Doe in the latter stages of the game because some of his regulars were growing tired.
“I originally put Zico on in the final few minutes because (midfielder) Paul Dougherty and (forward) Paul Wright were slowing down,” Newman said. “But there was a mix-up in the final minute, and one of the boys switched with Khapsalis, which gave us two rookies on the field at the same time.”
With less than a minute remainig, Nogueira started the fateful string of events by bringing the ball into the midfield. Once he dribbled over the halfway line, Nogueira chipped the ball into the corner.
It was collected by a Dallas defender and quickly kicked to goalie Joe Papeleo, who picked it up and threw a long pass to Kevin Smith on the left wing. Smith’s crossing pass found Chinapoo on the right side and Chinapoo hit it into an empty net from some 20 feet out.
That spoiled what otherwise was one of the Sockers’ finest offensive performances of the season. Five players scored goals: Paul Wright (who had two), Paul Dougherty, Kevin Crow, Terry Woodberry and Wes Wade.
“We controlled most of the play,” Newman said. “And except for a few mistakes, we really should have won. It just goes to show how important it is to have everyone on your roster healthy and available. Losing one player like Alex disrupted our rhythm.”
Socker Notes
It was only the second time in the past two seasons the Sockers have lost after carrying a lead into the final quarter. The Sockers are 45-2 when leading after three quarters. . . . With his goal and two assists, Paul Dougherty has nine points in his past three games (six goals, three assists). . . . Terry Woodberry, a former Sidekick, extended his scoring streak to 11 games. . . . Thompson Usiyan picked up his 200th career assist 47 seconds into the second quarter when he set up Dougherty for the Sockers’ second goal. . . . With his two goals, Paul Wright now has 63 points, which surpasses his career high in that category (61 in 1990-91). He also shares the league leads in goals with 42. . . . Wes Wade’s goal was his first in 10 games. . . . For the second game in a row, Victor Nogueira stopped a shootout attempt, this one by Beto, and now has stopped six of seven shootouts this season.
