Return of Ruotolo Doesn’t Save Splash

For the second time since Coach Ian Fulton tried, in the words of Raffaele Ruotolo earlier this week, “to fix something that wasn’t broken,” the Splash lost to the San Diego Sockers.

The Splash, virtually absent in the first quarter, fell behind by three goals and ultimately lost its second consecutive Continental Indoor Soccer League game, 7-4, Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 5,136.

Ruotolo ended his one-game holdout, agreeing to play despite rotating in shifts of three at his midfield position.

His performance wasn’t great, but he wasn’t alone.

“We haven’t been in sync the last two games,” said defender Doug Neely, who along with Dale Ervine helped coax Ruotolo back into uniform. “We’re trying to force things instead of creating things. We’re not developing any rhythm. The players aren’t getting in the flow of the game--they’re playing every four minutes and it’s hard for them.”

It’s the first time this season the Splash (7-5) has lost consecutive games.

The Splash gave up three goals in the first and third quarters, as the Sockers (6-6) won for the third time in eight games. Three of San Diego’s last four victories are against the Splash, and if the teams should tie for the division lead, as they did last year, San Diego would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage.

The Splash remains a game ahead of Sacramento and two ahead of San Diego and Portland, but its margin for error after one leg of a six-game trip was just reduced significantly.

The Splash begins its swing through the Eastern Division beginning Aug. 10 against Washington (7-4) and finishes against first-place Monterrey (9-4), which has the best record in the league.

“It’s still very early, but we do need to bring back a sense of urgency to our play and a sense of wanting to prove ourselves to everyone else in the league,” said Ervine, who scored twice.

The Splash fell behind, 3-0, in the first quarter as Thor Lee, Carlos Farias and Braeden Cloutier scored. Farias scored at 12:10 in the first quarter, and Cloutier scored 39 seconds later.

It was the kind of defensive letdown that plagued the Splash defense in its game Tuesday against San Diego when it gave up two goals within a minute after scoring itself.

Bernie Lilavois scored on a toe-poke from five feet out early in the second quarter after Ervine’s pass from the end boards, making it 3-1.

It was Lilavois’ ninth goal of the year, second to Ervine’s 19. Ervine’s 18th was scored 4 1/2 minutes later with a 35-foot blast from the boards.

Then, as if to incite the fans and instill some energy into his team, Ervine jumped on the boards and struck a defiant pose.

San Diego scored the first three goals of the third quarter to again take control as Cloutier and Farias scored their second goals, and Chris George added another--all within a span of 3:20.

“The third quarter,” Neely said, “is what killed us.”

Neely stopped the bleeding momentarily, scoring 14 seconds after George’s goal, and the Splash went into the fourth quarter trailing, 6-3.

Ervine cut the deficit to 6-4, but the slimmer margin was short-lived--28 seconds--because San Diego’s Ryan Tinsley scored on a header after a pass across the box from Moises Garduno.