Sockers Stay in a Skid, Lose to St. Louis
The first MSL team to clinch a playoff spot this season continued to play as if it wants to be the first team to exit the playoffs. The Sockers suffered their fifth loss in six games, 5-2, Friday night to the St. Louis Storm.
The Storm closed its season in paradoxical fashion. They drew a near-capacity crowd of 16,959 for Friday’s season finale to push their average attendance over the 10,000 mark. The Storm (17-23), the only team to reach that figure, led the MSL in attendance, but finished last in the standings.
The Sockers (25-14) close their season tonight with a game against second-place Dallas (7:35 p.m. at the Sports Arena). Before the Sockers took a nose-dive into the loss column, tonight’s game was expected to be a preview of the championship series.
The Sidekicks might get that far, but the Sockers will have to learn how to win again before they can think about advancing past the semifinals.
In that regard, they have an excuse for their most recent loss. They started all four of their developmental players, plus seldom used midfielder Alex Khapsalis. It was an effort to give experience to the reserves, who could be pressed into duty in case of injuries during the playoffs.
It also gave Coach Ron Newman an opportunity to rest some of his regulars for tonight’s final game in hopes that they will return to action with renewed intensity.
While it is not a must-win situation, Newman views a victory as a way to put some skid marks on his team’s skein and enter the playoffs with a little momentum.
While the Sockers and Sidekicks have solidified first and second place, the final two playoff spots won’t be decided until after the regular season concludes with tonight’s three games. The Sockers will play one of three teams in the first round: Wichita, Baltimore or Tacoma.
Cleveland also is fighting for a playoff spot, but because of tiebreaking procedures, can only finish in third or fifth place. A third-place finish would mean a semifinal berth against Dallas; a fifth-place finish would bounce the Crunch from the postseason.
That’s good news for the Sockers, who feared Cleveland, the only team with a winning record against them this season (4-2).
The one Socker reserve to emerge with a solid performance Friday is the one player Newman already has said he would not consider using in the playoffs. Goalie Curtis McAlister shut out the Storm for more than 39 minutes and showed confidence and composure in making 13 saves before being lifted for a sixth-attacker with 3 minutes 40 seconds remaining.
After McAlister’s first appearance, March 15 at Cleveland, Newman stated publicly that if regular goalie Victor Nogueira gets injured during the playoffs, he would immediately sign veteran Scott Manning and put him in the nets.
“Now I’m not so sure,” Newman said after Friday’s game. “I had only seen the kid play once, and he did OK against Cleveland. But now after the second time he did better than OK--he kept us in the bloody game.”
McAlister appeared to give the Sockers a big lift with nine seconds to go before halftime when he squelched a breakaway by Branko Segota from point-blank range. McAlister, who came off his line to cut off Segota’s angle, got his left hand on Segota’s shot from the top of the box and deflected it above the glass.
That allowed the Sockers to take their 1-0 lead into halftime (Mirko Castillo had scored midway through the first quarter), but more importantly it kept the Storm from gaining momentum at a crucial point in the game.