Splash Looks to Lilavois, Vasquez to Fill a Scoring Void : Indoor soccer: With the trade of Dale Ervine, these two players are considered keys to making the playoffs.
This story was supposed to have a much happier ending.
The Splash, looking toward the future and trying to stay alive in the present, has placed much of its hopes on two newcomers. One, Bernie Lilavois, was acquired in a trade.
The other, Jose Vasquez, is a rookie.
Lilavois is a scoring star from San Jose who needed time to get comfortable with the Splash.
Vasquez is an outdoor talent from Orange County who needed to get comfortable with the indoor game.
Somehow, both managed to get comfortable at about the same time--just in time for a run at the playoffs.
They have been the forwards of note since scoring leader Dale Ervine fell out of favor with Coach George Fernandez and was traded.
If this were scripted, the Splash would be unbeaten since early August, when the team began to do things by second nature. But the Splash has struggled, losing three of its last five games.
The Splash, 11-10 and in third place in the Southern Division, plays division-leading San Diego tonight at The Pond. Next week, the Splash plays second-place Mexico. Both are crucial games before a four-game trip and a home game to close the regular season.
Lilavois and Vasquez could play pivotal roles in determining how far the Splash goes in the playoffs--or if it even makes the playoffs.
“They’ve shown lately that they can play at this level in this game,” Fernandez said. “Bernie relies on quickness, Jose relies on his strength. That gives you two different dimensions up top and your style of play isn’t always predictable.
“If they play well, that doesn’t mean the rest of the team will play well; that’s what we’ve been up against all season. But if they play their role right, it’s going to make being successful a lot easier.”
Vasquez, 26, graduated from Santa Ana High in 1987. He embarked on a professional career immediately, training with Division I soccer teams in Mexico for two years before returning to Orange County. He played at Rancho Santiago College and was its most valuable player in 1989; he had 35 goals and 20 assists in 19 games during his first year, and 27 goals in seven games before an ankle injury ended his sophomore season.
It was during 1990 that Vasquez was an assistant for the Santa Ana boys’ soccer team, which won the Southern Section title. He became an assistant at Rancho Santiago the following year, and the school reached the State finals 1994; he has been named the Orange Empire Conference coach of the year.
Vasquez also played the past two seasons for the Salsa before moving to the indoor game.
He said the second game of a recent four-game trip was instrumental in his development.
“In Detroit, it clicked; I’ve been scoring every game and feeling comfortable,” Vasquez said. “I know what I’m doing--in practice, I’m not confused anymore. Coming from outdoors, it’s difficult. A lot of people think it’s easy; when you see a game like this, you really don’t know what all the functions are, you’ve got the walls to contend with, it’s a lot faster.”
Perhaps because he has been a successful coach, Vasquez has the right approach at practice.
“Jose is playing great right now offensively and defensively,” Splash captain Doug Neely said. “It takes a while to adjust. He works hard and has a great attitude. When you work hard, you learn that much faster. Jose asks questions and he takes constructive criticism well.”
Including the Detroit game, Vasquez has nine goals and two assists in seven games.
Described by Fernandez and player personnel director Tim Orchard as “a bigger Rod Castro” (6 feet, 170 pounds instead of 5-7, 155), Vasquez had five goals and three assists in the previous 14 games. And Castro has taken him under his wing.
Lilavois, 24, who went to Cal State Northridge, led San Jose in five offensive categories last year, including points (55), goals (36) and assists (19).
A speedy forward/midfielder, he is nicknamed “Bernie the Bolt,” and he has has stepped up his game since the return from the trip that benefited Vasquez. In the last four games, he had three goals and an assist. He had three goals and an assist in the seven games he played since being acquired for a future draft choice.
“Being with the guys for six days--eating together, doing everything together--since we’ve gotten back, I felt I’ve been playing well,” Lilavois said. “George [Fernandez] brought me here to high-pressure the [opponent’s] offense, and when we have the ball, to stretch the offense and use my speed to create one-on-one opportunities.
“It’s tough, but the other day, Sammy [George] said, ‘Finally, we’re on the same page.’ It takes awhile to learn the tendencies of other players. That was the frustrating part, the time it took to learn the tendencies of the guys.”
Neely empathized with Lilavois’ plight.
“Any time you come to a new team, it takes awhile to adjust to the new personalities, and when you become comfortable with those personalities, things start happening for you,” Neely said. “It probably took the team awhile to adjust to them too. Jose’s a post-up player [like Ervine and Castro] and Bernie likes to run with the ball. While they were adjusting, we were adjusting.
“It’s always nice to have variety.”
Lilavois, and the addition of Paul Agyeman, in the trade for Ervine, has made the Splash less predictable.
“The team is starting to have confidence in Bernie and Jose doing their jobs,” Fernandez said. “And defensively . . . they’re nonstop.”
The question is whether the Splash can engineer a happy ending.
