Salsa Still Counts on Wright for Leadership, Inspiration : Soccer: Veteran player is ready to fill any role for his team, which opens its season Friday at Denver.
Paul Wright grimaced with every movement of his leg but refused to do what would have helped: sit down.
Wright, a standout Salsa forward, suffered from a pulled left hamstring during the American Professional Soccer League championship game Oct. 2 against Colorado at Cal State Fullerton.
“I couldn’t catch up to the ball, I couldn’t accelerate past the defenders, I couldn’t plant to shoot,” Wright said. “It was frustrating.”
Despite excruciating pain, Wright remained on the field in Titan Stadium.
Why? “I had to play,” Wright said. “Morale and team spirit would have all gone down if my teammates didn’t see me out there.”
The Salsa lost to the Foxes, 3-1, in overtime. An important point, however, was made.
“Paul is one of our team leaders,” sweeper Danny Pena said. “He’s not as vocal as some of the other guys, but he gets the respect.
“He knows when it’s time to come to work and what to do when he gets there.”
Said midfielder Yari Allnutt: “He’s the most reliable guy around.”
The APSL’s second-leading scorer last season, Wright, 24, is one of the league’s swiftest players. Wright was a key to success in the Salsa’s inaugural campaign and he is looking for more this season.
Opportunity No. 1 comes Friday night. The Salsa opens against Colorado at Denver’s Mile High Stadium at 6:05, matching last season’s title-game opponents. The Salsa’s first home game is July 24 against Seattle at Titan Stadium.
“It’s a good thing we’re playing Colorado to open because we can get them out of our system right away,” Wright said. “We’re still very disappointed about what happened last year.
“We just want to take what should have been ours--and that’s the championship.”
Wright (5 feet 9, 165 pounds) is healthy and ready, a bad combination for opponents.
Last season, Wright used his exceptional speed to score 13 goals. That would have been enough to lead the league had it not been for his teammate, Paulinho.
Paulinho, a skilled forward from Brazil, and Wright were involved in a friendly race for the scoring crown throughout the season. Paulinho pulled away in the final few games to win with 16 goals. They tied for the team lead in assists with seven.
When MVP voting time arrived, Paulinho’s name appeared on the most ballots. Wright and Pena joined Paulinho as first-team all-league selections.
Although Paulinho is deserving of the top award, Salsa assistant coach Octavio Zambrano said the players’ success is tied to each other.
“The combination of Paulinho and Paul,” Zambrano said, “is a combination that is deadly.”
Wright routinely creates havoc against the best-laid defensive plans by simply, well, outrunning the defense. When not creating easy scoring chances for himself, he helps teammates by drawing the attention of wary defenders.
“He’s the fastest guy I’ve ever played with,” Pena said. “He’s a smoker. He can take over a 1-1 game at anytime.”
Speed, though, is only half the story. Control is the other.
“Speed by itself is not enough in this game,” Zambrano said. “This is not a track where you just have to run.
“You always have to think about variables, like the position of the ball and the position of your teammates. He has tremendous acceleration with control.”
Wright has played professionally since graduating from San Diego Grossmont High in 1987. He was a member of four Major Indoor Soccer League championships while playing with the San Diego Sockers, among other teams, before signing with the Salsa.
At every stop, his legs have provided a spark.
“My speed gives us another dimension,” Wright said. “When you have speed, and you have the other skills to go with it, other players are basically at your mercy.
“You can do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it.”
Which is why having Wright at full strength is a must.
“I think that was a big factor as to why we were not successful in the (championship),” Zambrano said. “He is such a pivotal part of our offense. We suffered because he was not 100%.”
Understandably, Wright was down after the loss. Fortunately, Wright’s longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Boyd, 22, was there to help him up. She always is.
They have dated since high school and Boyd has been as much a part of Wright’s career as his coaches and teammates. In the often unstable world of professional soccer, Boyd has been a pillar.
“She’s been there for the good and bad,” Wright said. “She’s very important to me.”
With Boyd’s support, Wright strives to better his performance.
“I felt that I wasn’t at my top form last year,” Wright said. “I’m looking to reach that top level this season.”
