Segota’s Header in Overtime Leads Sockers, 4-3

The Sockers, who lost to Cleveland, 4-3, in overtime on Friday, reversed positions on Sunday with a 4-3 overtime win over the Kansas City Comets in front of 12,091 at the Kemper Arena.

On Friday, the Sockers led, 3-2, with three minutes to play, but lost. Sunday, the Sockers rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits, and eventually won on Branko Segota’s second goal 2:07 into the overtime period. Segota’s winning goal, a diving header, came off a pass from Hugo Perez. It was Segota’s 42nd goal of the season.

“It was a heck of a way to win the game,” Socker Coach Ron Newman said. “That was one of the finest goals I’ve ever seen in the indoor game in its existence.”

The Sockers (26-9) kept their 4 1/2-game Western Division lead with the victory. Second-place Las Vegas kept pace by beating Minnesota on Sunday, 5-0. The Sockers improved their road record to a 13-5. San Diego will return home Tuesday to play last-place Dallas.

The Comets took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter on goals by ex-Socker Laurie Abrahams and Tasso Koutsoukos. Segota scored his first goal with an assist from Steve Zungul to narrow the margin to 2-1 at 11:16 of the first period.

“They got two of the luckiest goals I’ve seen this year,” Newman said. “We cut the lead to 2-1, but we couldn’t seem to get that goal to break the game open.”

In the second quarter, Charley Carey scored to give the Comets a 3-1 lead. But Zungul, the MISL’s leading scorer, scored his 47th goal of the season 10:14 into the third quarter off a Jean Willrich pass to cut the lead to 3-2.

Willrich added his own goal--his 35th of the season--on a 65-foot kick to tie the game with 45 seconds left in the quarter. Brian Quinn picked up an assist on the play. The teams didn’t score in the fourth quarter.

Sockers goalkeeper Jim Gorsek made 12 saves to en route to his 15th win of the season.