Baltimore Gets Back Into Series With Key Split : Soccer: Sockers hit the road for three games after losing to the Blast, 7-6.

After making an argument in Game 1 of the semifinals to limit the playoffs to the MSL’s top three teams, fourth-place Baltimore came out aggressively in Game 2 and swiped a 7-6 victory from the Sockers.

Only 5,621 showed up at the Sports Arena.

The Blast got what they came for--a split of the seven-game series’ first two games here. The series shifts to Baltimore for the next three games.

Still, Coach Kenny Cooper denied his team has any advantage.

“All we’ve done is give ourselves a fighting chance,” he said. “Right now, all we have is momentum and nothing more. But at least we have that.”

The victory was paid for by first-year forward Jean Harbor, who scored three times, and came at the expense of Socker defender David Banks, who suffered a knee injury in a collision with Blast forward Rod Castro with 90 seconds remaining in the first half.

Harbor’s final goal came with three minutes left and provided the winning margin. It came from an unlikely angle after Harbor completed a long run from the midfield just in front of the end boards.

“I had the shot,” Harbor said. “And I knew I was going to crash into the boards, so I just shot anyway.”

From an tough angle Harbor sneaked a hard shot by Sockers goalie Victor Nogueira and inside the far post.

No one in the Blast locker room was bashful about praising the rising star.

“To me Jean (6 feet 1, 195 pounds) is a bigger version of Paul Wright,” Cooper said. “He can fly and when he gets loose he has a strong shot. Next year you’re going to see him get double-teamed and triple-teamed.”

The Sockers were less impressed. Coach Ron Newman berated his defense.

“I don’t think we’ve ever played worse than tonight,” he said. “Our defense was just shocking. We made some awful mistakes. That team (Baltimore), they were there for the taking. They didn’t even play as well as they did (in Game 1, a 5-4 Sockers victory).”

Newman was particularly upset with the way Baltimore scored its first goal to take a 1-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the contest.

Billy Ronson notched it after getting some help from some miscommunication between Nogueira and Banks. Banks turned and began a run upfield just as Nogueira pushed a pass to the spot Banks vacated.

Ronson took the loose ball, dribbled in and scored easily.

“That was a major mistake,” Newman said. “And I don’t mean to blame either one of them, but you never turn your back on the ball.”

Banks also was indirectly responsible for three of Baltimore’s four goals in Game 1, and although he has played with bad luck lately, his injury could doom the Sockers, who already are without veteran defender Ben Collins (knee damage).

“Now he gets injured,” Newman sighed at the thought of Banks. “Things are just going wrong for him at the moment.”

Preliminary word from the Sockers trainers was that Banks suffered “a strained leg.”

Banks said the left knee felt as if it would give out whenever he stepped down on his heel. His playing status for the rest of the series is unknown.