George Leads Splash’s Overtime Charge : Soccer: After missing much of last season, he helps Anaheim defeat Portland, 7-6.

Sam George missed the Splash’s final 22 regular-season games last year because of a fractured right foot.

In the off-season, he also had surgery on his left foot.

One year and one day since George returned to the lineup, he delighted the largest crowd in Splash franchise history with an overtime goal, giving the Splash a 7-6 Continental Indoor Soccer League victory over Portland on Sunday.

George, a 1988 Mater Dei graduate, scored two goals for the Splash and now has three in two games.

His sharply-angled left-footer 3 minutes 20 seconds into overtime brought an announced crowd of 8,842 at The Pond to its feet.

“That goal fits [George] like a glove,” Armando Valdivia said. “He works so hard--he goes over, steals the ball from the goalie and scores.”

That’s the most simple description. The ball was played back to the corner and Portland goalkeeper Jim Brazeau went to get it. Once he put his foot on it, George came running from the blind side. Brazeau backed off and George--1 1/2 to 2 feet off the end board--turned and delivered a sharply-angled left-footed shot that improved the Splash’s record to 2-0.

George is right-footed.

Portland is 1-1.

“There are a lot of guys on this team who can take a game over with their skill and experience,” George said. “We need some guys who can go in there and make things happen doing some of the dirty work.”

And that’s what George did.

“I’ve only seen one other goal like that . . . scored from an unbelievable angle,” Splash Coach George Fernandez said. “I don’t know how it went in. He made that opportunity by digging it out from the goalkeeper.”

The manner in which the end came also delighted the crowd. It had booed Brazeau the final 23 minutes of the game when he and Dale Ervine exchanged words. At the time both were called for game misconducts, Brazeau was bumping Ervine from behind.

It was the second time in two nights the Splash had come from behind in the fourth quarter. It trailed, 4-3, a night earlier at San Diego, and was down, 5-3, going into the fourth against Portland--which led, 2-1, at halftime.

But Rod Castro scored the first goal he could remember while on his back--surrounded by three defenders at the post--at 4:03 of the fourth, and Shane Hickson tied the score, 5-5, at 5:43 after taking a pass in the middle from Raffaele Ruotolo. It was the 29th consecutive game Ruotolo has had an assist--an indoor record.

Ruotolo later passed to the far post off a free kick and Valdivia scored to give the Splash three consecutive goals and a 6-5 lead, but Portland sent it to overtime on Jeff Betts’ goal with 3:06 left in regulation.

“Ninety percent of the time, they were beating us to the ball,” Castro said. “Toward the end, we snapped out of our malaise and came to.”

And the Splash also had a little luck. Portland missed three excellent scoring opportunities in overtime before George’s hustle got the best of the Pride.

“We’re not playing very well, but the guys are leaving it on the field--they’re giving me everything they’ve got,” Fernandez said. “They’re showing that we’re never out of any game. They showed a lot of character and fight, a never-say-die attitude.

“We’re winning on sheer emotion. Our game is not even close to where it should be. When our game comes around, we’ll be tough to beat.”