Mokalis and Lazers Knock Off the Sockers, 5-2

By beating the San Diego Sockers, 5-2, Tuesday night at the Forum, the Lazers moved a step closer toward respectability and realizing the goals set by Coach Keith Tozer.

“Our goal is to win more games than last year and to finish the season with a positive attitude,” Tozer had said earlier in the week.

The Lazer coach has added seven new players since taking over in mid-February, but Tuesday night before 3,511 fans, it was Lazer veteran Gus Mokalis who provided the necessary punch. Mokalis scored three second-half goals in leading the Lazers to their third consecutive victory.

With the victory, the Lazers matched their longest winning streak of the year and also their total number of victories last season (13). It was also their fourth win in six games against defending Major Indoor Soccer League champion San Diego this season.

The Sockers (25-19) saw their four-game winning streak come to an end and fell two games behind the Western Division-leading Tacoma Stars.

With the score tied, 1-1, going into the second half, Mokalis began to do the job demanded of the offensive players. Both teams had been sharp defensively and slow on offense until Mokalis enlivened the Lazers.

After taking a well-timed pass from Thompson Usiyan, Mokalis scored his first goal from 25 feet out 2:34 into the third quarter, to give the Lazers a 2-1 lead.

Seven minutes later, Mokalis stole a pass from Cha Cha Namdar in front of the Sockers’ net and scored from 30 feet out. He got his first-ever hat trick 4:32 into the fourth quarter, helping the Lazers to a 4-1 lead.

Mokalis said the team’s new talent and old are finally beginning to gel.

“We’re more relaxed now,” Mokalis said. “We’re starting to know each other better.”

Said David Brcic: “We have some experienced players now and it’s really making a difference.”

The Sockers pulled goalkeeper Jim Gorsek with 3:41 left and, after George Fernandez was called for pushing, had a two-man advantage. Defender Kevin Crow then scored, cutting the Lazers’ lead to two goals with 3:23 left.

But the Lazer defense hung tough after that, and Chris Chueden added an empty-net goal with 13 seconds left to seal the victory.

Both teams got off to a sluggish start offensively as the Lazers took just nine shots in the first half and the Sockers 10.

After Don Ebert miscued on what should have been an easy goal just after the start of the game, San Diego’s Branko Segota broke downfield, beat defender Cle Kooiman, and scored his 34th goal of the season over the head of Brcic.

Steve Pecher evened things up 8:28 into the first quarter after taking an outlet pass from Brcic and beating Gorsek with a 30-foot blast. Brcic’s fifth assist set a club record for assists by a goalkeeper.

Although Tozer said a coach is always looking for new players, he could not be happier with those he has.

“Right now, this is my team (for next season),” he said.