Splash Isn’t Lucky Against Las Vegas : Soccer: After coming from behind in first-round series, Anaheim eliminated in 8-5 loss.

Rod Castro called it.

The Splash had come from behind in its first-round series against Sacramento, then lost the first game of the Continental Indoor Soccer League semifinals to Las Vegas.

“You can only roll a seven so many times,” Castro had said.

Sunday, in Las Vegas, Castro’s prediction came true. The house won.

The Splash’s season ended in an 8-5 flameout against the Dustdevils, and did so in an eerily similar fashion to its 5-4 loss in Game 1.

In both, the Splash blew a lead, unable to score more than one goal in the second half. In Game 1, it was a two-goal halftime lead. In Game 2 at the Thomas & Mack Center, it was a three-goal halftime lead. And with the loss, the Splash was swept out of the playoffs after a 20-8 regular-season record--the league’s second-best--to a team that finished third in the division with a 17-11 record.

Ultimately, the Splash’s Western Division title meant nothing.

Throughout the organization, Coach George Fernandez, the players and the administration said anything less than a championship series against Dallas--which swept Washington in the Eastern semifinal--would be a disappointment.

And it was.

“I’m very disappointed because I felt we should have reached the finals,” Fernandez said. “Anything short of that hurts bad. We’ve got the talent. Obviously, when you get in a playoff situation, talent doesn’t take you to the top. You need a little bit of bite, a little bit of heart, and that was missing, because all Las Vegas did was work their (tails) off.

“Once you’re in the playoffs, you can’t play part of the game, you’ve got to play four quarters.”

The Splash played two quarters. Ultimately, it could not protect a lead--or a tie. In its two losses to the Dustdevils, the Splash gave up 11 goals while leading or while tied, and eight of those goals came in the second half.

The latest meltdown began early in the third quarter. With the Splash holding a 4-1 lead, Las Vegas scored four consecutive goals. And after Doug Neely tied it, 5-5, early in the fourth quarter, the Dustdevils scored the game’s final three goals.

Fernandez told his team at halftime, “the next goal is key,” just as it had been in the first game.

Fifty seconds into the third, Roderick Scott’s shot was blocked by Splash defender Ralph Black, but it went right back to Scott, who made it a 4-2 game. It was the seventh playoff goal allowed by the Splash that was scored inside the first two minutes of a quarter.

Branko Segota made it a one-goal game when his free kick ricocheted off Black’s head and past Splash goalie Jorge Valenzuela.

From there, the momentum built.

“We were unfortunate,” Fernandez said. “We were shellshocked, dazed. They were pretty much dead in the first half. Those first two goals gave them new life.”

The Splash launched an assault against Las Vegas goalie Brett Phillips in the fourth quarter and Doug Neely tied the score, 5-5.

The Splash held a 16-2 shooting advantage in the fourth quarter, when Rusty Troy took Las Vegas’ third shot at 8:15--and got it past Valenzuela.

While the Splash worked hard for its goals, the Dustdevils’ scores came with apparent ease.

Phillips was brilliant, especially in the fourth quarter, and about half of his 24 saves in the game came in one-on-one situations or snuffing point-blank shots.

“He was just phenomenal,” Fernandez said. “If not for him, we’d be going back to Anaheim.”

Less than two minutes after Troy’s goal, Ben Erickson made it 7-5 on a counterattack at 10 minutes 4 seconds. Dan Barber, who went to Pacifica High, put away the final goal against the sixth attacker at 13:06.

The Splash played as if it was buoyed by the closed-door players meeting before the game, as Bobby Bruch scored 3:31 in, and Castro, Jaime Francisco and Dale Ervine followed to make it 4-1.

Then came the second half. The Splash rolled a two and left town a loser.