Victory Makes a Perfect 10th for Sockers : Wright, Usiyan Help Champs Give Sidekicks the Thumb

The Sockers declared themselves kings of indoors in 1982. Now 11 years later, theirs remains as one of the few totalitarian reigns not to be purged.

Their grip on a sport some say they have reinvented several times reached new heights Tuesday as they punctured a valiant insurrection mounted by the Dallas Sidekicks with a 8-2 victory in Game 6 of the MSL championship series in front of 10,117 at the Sports Arena.

The victory clinched the Sockers’ 10th championship in 11 years.

Unprecedented? Almost. It equals the Boston Celtics’ string of 10 National Basketball Assn. titles in 11 years (1959-69) as the most prolific dynasty in North American professional sports.

This one might not show signs of abating any time soon. Leading the way in Game 6 was the youngest member of the Sockers’ regular roster, forward Paul Wright, 22. He kicked in three goals, including the game’s first.

As has been the case all series, Wright still was unable to unleash his wicked right-footed shot. He nevertheless completed his hat trick in the first two quarters by relying on some veteran savvy and making runs to open spots where his teammates could hit him with passes.

“They can’t stop me,” Wright said of the rest of the league. “They can’t--it’s impossible. No matter what they say in the paper, I know, and the rest of the team knows, they can’t stop me.”

But Wright could not do it alone, and a couple of those who also stepped up hammered home a point that Coach Ron Newman has been trying to make for several years now:

The Sockers’ reign has been a benevolent one. Sure, they have monopolized what little glory there is in an infant-sized sport, but for the past few years they have been doing so by taking on the league’s senior citizens--wily veterans still hungry for their first championship.

Forward Thompson Usiyan, a seven-year veteran, and midfielder Tim Wittman, a 10-year player, are the latest adoptees, and both came through Tuesday, especially Usiyan, who also scored three goals and assisted on another. For his efforts, Usiyan was named the championship series’ Most Valuable Player in voting by the media.

Defender Kevin Crow was named the series’ Unsung Hero.

When the trade that brought Usiyan to the Sockers from the St. Louis Storm was announced, Usiyan, 36, said he had two years left in the game and one goal remaining.

With Tuesday’s championship, the Nigerian they call Tomo has no goals remaining.

“Oh, it’s like a monkey off my back,” Usiyan said. “Finally I’m on the other side with San Diego and it feels great.”

Usiyan started things just over two minutes into the game when he collected a loose ball along the left boards, spun around and sent the ball on a tangent that ended when it met the right instep of Wright, who deflected it behind goalie Scott Manning.

Midway through the opening quarter, Usiyan found himself at the mouth of the goal with the ball at his feet, and like Wright did before, Usiyan simply flicked it in to make it 3-0.

He made it 4-1 five minutes later when he scored with his back to the goal on a high scissors kick.

Usiyan’s final goal, which came with less than two minutes remaining, came unassisted and provided the margin of victory.

Despite the score of Game 6, this championship did not come easy. The Sockers won the first three games of the series, then Dallas started climbing the mountain and won the next two. But the peak finally proved too high, and the Sidekicks lost for the 13th consecutive time at the Sports Arena.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,” said defensive runner Wes Wade. “We were kind of panicking in Dallas. We had to play up to our standards, and luckily we did.”

Afterward, Newman was giddy about the latest title, but realistic in what it meant.

“I’ll probably have to go to the White House,” Newman said facetiously. “I’ll probably have to go see the President, as does everybody who wins a championship.”

Newman, the only continuous link to the first championship, then hailed his players.

“This one belongs to Tomo, to Jimmy McGeough, Tim Wittman and Terry Woodberry--all the boys who have never won a championship before.”

McGeough played last year, his rookie season, in Wichita, and Woodberry played his first three seasons in Dallas.

Wittman, who set up Woodberry for the game’s second goal, has waited eight years for this moment (he won a championship with the Baltimore Blast when the Sockers won in the North American Soccer League in 1984).

“This makes it worth it,” Wittman said. “There was a lot of politics with Baltimore. I left my wife back in Baltimore, I left my business, and this makes it all worthwhile. It’s like we came here for a reason.”

That the Sockers have been able to borrow from the rest of the league is now becoming obvious to the other teams.

“This team has changed so much over the years,” said Dallas’ Manning, who started his career in 1978. “There was the Julie Veee era, which was a much more controlled team. Then the Steve Zunguls and Branko Segotas moved in, and then the team would hold the ball before going on breaks. And this team . . . not to be disrespectful, but this team is the least skilled of them all, but still it’s effective. This team is predicated on speed and pressure, and they keep acquiring players who fit in. Look at Tim Wittman--what a great acquisition. He has based his game on work rate, speed and pressure. He comes here and fits in great.”

Added Wade, “Every year we lose eight to 10 guys. There’s a lot of young players on this team. there’s a lot more inexperience then you would think. Every year we lose some players, and people pick someone else to win a championship. Somehow we always pull through.”