Portland Beats Splash in Rematch : Soccer: Anaheim, which had defeated the Pride Monday, loses this time, 6-5.

Splash Coach George Fernandez wanted proof.

Proof that when his veteran squad blew out three teams before Friday’s game against Portland, it wasn’t a fluke.

The Splash, which twice has lost a rematch against expansion teams, was stunned Friday by the Pride, 6-5, in overtime.

The Splash (7-3) had beaten Portland (5-6), 8-2, Monday. But it failed to prove that game wasn’t a fluke in front of 4,153--the largest crowd since opening night’s 4,721--at The Pond of Anaheim.

“We created a lot of chances, we just didn’t finish them,” defender Denis Hamlett said. “We only gave up five goals; that’s still pretty good.”

The Splash has a half-game lead over San Diego in the Western Division and plays host to Carolina (1-7) at 7:35 tonight.

Friday’s performance was reminiscent of the Splash’s two losses on its recent four-game trip, during which it also blew second-half leads. The Splash lost to Houston, 7-5, and San Jose, 13-9, two teams the Splash had beaten by a combined score of 22-4.

“I would like for this team to prove to me that after they blow out a team, they can sustain that,” Fernandez said before the game. “They have to prove they will not take this game lightly.”

The Splash outshot Portland, 42-24, but had nothing to show for it after Steve Piercy’s goal at 2 minutes 32 seconds into overtime.

The Splash, the Continental Indoor Soccer League’s second-highest scoring team, added two midfielders: Mike Laposha, who had 25 blocks in 38 games with the National Professional Soccer League’s St. Louis Ambush, and Jaime Francisco, 31, who played 10 years of Division 1 and Division 2 soccer in Mexico.

“We have so many guys going forward, we didn’t have enough playing defense,” Fernandez said. “We felt we needed someone who was defensive-minded and could give us a little bite.”

But nothing worked. The Splash was a half-step slow and let Portland gain confidence as the game progressed.

“(Portland) stuck to the game plan and got back quickly defensively and frustrated us,” said Dale Ervine, who had a goal and an assist. “We have no one to blame but ourselves.”

Rod Castro scored in his 10th consecutive game this season and 14th over the past two, a league record.

Raffaele Ruotolo scored twice; the second one gave the Splash a 5-4 lead 1 minute 40 seconds into the fourth quarter. Armando Valdivia gave the Splash a 3-1 lead early in the third quarter.

Said Ervine: “There shouldn’t be any excuses at this level. This definitely should open our eyes that we’re maybe not as good as we thought we were when we were 6-0.”

Notes

Adding midfielders Mike Laposha and Jaime Francisco to the roster cut into the playing time of Paul Ratcliffe; another midfielder, Sam George (broken foot), was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season and the team’s oldest player, midfielder Glen Ervine, 33, was waived earlier in the day. Ervine, the brother of starting forward Dale Ervine, was a member of the 1984 Olympic team.