Brothers in Arms : Ex-San Diego Sockers Give the Splash a Championship Attitude

Raffaele Ruotolo was a skinny 18-year old when he joined the San Diego Sockers in 1984. George Fernandez was among 100 participants in an open tryout in 1987. Ralph Black was a free agent from Portland who was coveted by the Sockers’ coach in 1988. Rod Castro was a star in a rival league, where he played alongside his brother until 1989.

All share common threads.

All played in San Diego.

Collectively, they own 10 championship rings from their days with the Sockers, a team that has won 10 of the last 12 indoor titles.

“You’ll never see that kind of domination again,” Black said.

That’s what the Splash is banking on--it hopes to unlock the Sockers’ grasp on indoor titles, and will take a major step toward that end tonight at The Pond of Anaheim when the top two teams in the Continental Indoor Soccer League’s Western Division meet for the second of their three regular-season games. The Sockers won last week, 9-6, in the burgeoning rivalry.

The Splash (11-5) plays in San Diego (11-5) on Aug. 13, too, in the middle of a seven-game trip--which puts additional importance on tonight’s game and Monday’s against Pittsburgh.

“It’s going to come down to us and San Diego in our division,” said Castro, who spends his off hours earning a law degree. “If they beat us (today), they’ll be ahead of us psychologically, which is especially important in the playoffs.”

Castro, Black, Ruotolo and Fernandez know any championship hopes go through San Diego, because they once were part of the Socker Dynasty. Because of that dominance, few CISL players have won titles, and the Splash’s ex-Sockers have a special bond.

“It’s like some sort of mental telepathy--you’ve been there, they’ve been there,” Fernandez said. “It’s some kind of synergy. You know what it takes, they know what it takes . . . and you pretty much want to drag everyone with you because you know what that (championship) feeling is like.”

The contributions of Dale Ervine, Denis Hamlett and Doug Neely aside, the Splash wouldn’t be knocking on the Sockers’ door without the contribution of its collection of ex-Sockers.

Castro is among the league’s top goal-scorers. Ruotolo is among the top point-scorers. Black, a defender, is the team captain.

“Those guys are pulling their weight and more,” said Tim Orchard, Splash co-governor/director of player personnel. “I’ve got to tip my hat to (Socker Coach) Ron Newman. I really respect him and it says a lot to have a player that formerly played for the Sockers--you feel better about that player because you know that player has been exposed to methods that have obviously proved to be successful, and they know what it takes to win. Knowing how to win is very important.”

THE STORIES

* George Fernandez roomed with Orchard at Cal State Hayward and was the easy choice to coach the Splash. Fernandez played last year with Sacramento in the CISL and with Cleveland in the National Professional Soccer League.

With Cleveland, Fernandez won a fourth indoor championship--his first three came in San Diego, where he caught the fancy of Newman because of his hustle and work ethic during an open tryout. By midseason, he was playing, became a crowd favorite and was named the Unsung Hero of the 1988 championship series against Cleveland. He began a consecutive game streak that set the team standard, 132 games, until he left as a free agent in 1990.

Fernandez is Newman’s favorite because of the way he made the team: “American players, the first time they have trouble, want to become doctors or lawyers. George wouldn’t quit. I didn’t really need him, but I was going to give him a shot and it was the best bloody move I made in years.”

Fernandez, 32, practices with the Splash during drills.

Said midfielder Mike LaPosha: “George may be the coach, but he’s also the best player on this team.”

* Rod Castro, captain of then-NCAA power Indiana University, was drafted by the Sockers but instead played alongside his brother, Diego, in Memphis of the American Indoor Soccer Assn. Nicknamed “The Rocket” for his powerful leg, Castro scored 68 goals in 62 games before joining the Sockers in 1989 and played alongside Black and Fernandez.

A complement to star Branko Segota, he made one of the greatest goals in Socker history in Game 3 of the 1991 finals in Cleveland. Castro scored twice in the final two minutes of the third quarter to tie the game--the latter came when he curved a free kick from the top of the penalty arc around a three-man wall and into the upper right corner in the quarter’s final seconds. San Diego scored once in the fourth quarter, won the game, 6-5, took a 2-1 series lead and eventually won.

After winning two titles in two years, Castro left for Baltimore, where he was an all-star for the first time. He joined the Los Angeles United midway through the 1993 season and led the team with 34 points in 17 games, and was the first player signed by the Splash when the franchise moved to Anaheim.

* Ralph Black has played 15 indoor seasons though he’s only 30 years old. Newman loved Black, a three-time all-star in Tacoma (Wash.), and signed the free agent the first chance he got.

Black was in San Diego for two years, won two championships, and then returned to Tacoma because the real-estate dollar stretched a lot further in Washington.

* Raffaele Ruotolo never cracked the starting lineup in San Diego. He was there four years, a 145-pound teen-ager when he made the team, and won three titles, but never got the chance he thought he deserved. A dwindling salary cap didn’t make it prudent for the Sockers to develop him any more.

He disappeared after the 1988 season, ran youth soccer camps, coached a high school girls’ team and played in amateur leagues until United Coach Gus Mokalis called him last year. He led the United with 24 goals. Ruotolo has added 30 pounds and has become a heavyweight talent, with 21 goals and 24 assists in 15 games; in his previous five seasons, he had only 46 goals and 25 assists.

THE STAKES

Castro and Ruotolo had a personal sense of rivalry with San Diego last year, but the United (6-22) was so bad, there was little at stake. It didn’t prevent Castro from getting into a fight and taking a red card, though.

But the Splash is a far cry from the United. Different ownership, different coach, different players, different agenda. The Splash has the talent to actually displace San Diego as the top team in the West.

“I was pretty nervous about them coming down (last week); I thought it was the game of the year for us and now (tonight’s) game is the game of the year,” Newman said. “Obviously, they’re the best team in our division.”

The Splash won a preseason tournament game that featured a bench-clearing brawl.

Also at stake is the home-field advantage in a three-game playoff series should both reach their expectations.

The teams have created a revolving I-5 Cup to go to the winner of the season series. But clearly, there is more at stake than just the Cup.

“In Las Vegas, it was a pretty heated exhibition,” Orchard said. “A rivalry is borne out of the history with our players more than anything. We could be from Kalamazoo, but the fact remains our coach is an ex-Socker, Castro’s an ex-Socker, Black’s an ex-Socker, Ruotolo’s an ex-Socker. Those are key cogs in our team and that’s what contributes to a rivalry.

“A lot of our young players don’t know the San Diego Socker mystique, but they can look in the eyes of George and Rod and Ralph and Raffe and see that this game means a little more. The rivalry is borne out of those four key individuals and the rest of us are coming along for the ride.”