Home Not Sweet for the Wallet
Ever since the Zodiac clinched its first A-League playoff berth two weeks ago, it has been shooting for home-field advantage in the first round. Those hopes appear to be fading with the Zodiac three points behind fourth-place Seattle with two games remaining.
But is it disappointing that the Zodiac apparently won’t be hosting the first-round playoff game? Probably not.
After last year’s championship game, the A-League executive committee decided that the host team in the first round would help pay the visiting teams’ travel expenses. A recent memo from the league office stated the home team would provide a $4,500 stipend to the visiting team.
Zodiac General Manager Ricardo Minaya said he understood that he would only be responsible for paying the visiting team’s hotel expenses for two nights. But T.J. Flaherty, A-League manager of operations, said the host team will assist with air fare and hotel expenses and will also get the entire gate receipts.
The new travel guidelines wouldn’t have much impact on teams in the top half of the league in attendance. Vancouver and Seattle, two possible Zodiac opponents, average crowds of 4,120 and 2,902, respectively, so their gate receipts would amount to much more than $4,500. But for a team such as Orange County, which averages crowds of 525 and loses money each home game, hosting a playoff game could be costly.
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If the season ended today, the Zodiac (15-11, 43 points) would play at Seattle (16-9, 46 points) in the first round. After winning three consecutive games, the Zodiac has dropped its last two--to Seattle and Vancouver.
“We’ve been kind of streaky lately,” Zodiac Coach Mike Gartlan said. “I’m not real worried about going on the road and playing anybody. There’s not any team we’re in awe of.”
The first round is scheduled to begin between Sept. 10 and Sept. 13. Ideally, the league would like the first-round games to be played on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Should the Zodiac advance past the first round, it would play a two-game, home-and-away series scheduled Sept. 16-20. The semifinals are a best-of-three series and the championship is a single game, scheduled Oct. 17.
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The Zodiac will play its last two games--in Milwaukee Sunday and at UC Irvine on Sept. 6 against San Diego--without several top players. Forward Mike Matson was given a red card in Sunday’s 4-0 loss to Seattle. By league rules, he must miss the next two games. Defenders Shawn Saunders and Peter Lak are dangerously close to being suspended for two games because of an accumulation of penalty points. Gartlan said he will probably hold both players out of the final two games so they will be ready for the playoffs.
Defender Kevin Coye, a former UCLA player who was signed two weeks ago, suffered a groin injury last weekend and probably won’t play again this year.
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Whatever happened to forward Eddie Soto, the team’s only all-star who led the Zodiac in scoring for most of the season? Soto hasn’t started since July 25, but has been coming off the bench.
“It’s up in the air [whether Soto will start again],” Gartlan said. “We’re trying to find the right two or three guys up front who can help us win. Everybody will get to play the last two games. It’s up to these guys to see who’s going to play in the playoffs.”
