Sockers’ Woodberry Boots Stars : MSL: Out of the shadows of an All-Star, the defender scores two goals in Sockers’ 5-4 victory.
Maybe all Terry Woodberry needed was to get out of the shadow of Tatu.
After spending his first three years in the Major Soccer League producing insignificant numbers with the Dallas Sidekicks and their All-Star Tatu, Woodberry now is gaining recognition as a key member of the Sockers.
He scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season on Wednesday to spark a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Tacoma Stars in front of 8,252 at the Sports Arena.
It wasn’t so much how Woodberry scored, but when that made his goals look more like exclamation points.
His first allowed the Sockers to cut the deficit to one with two minutes remaining in the first half.
Without that goal, Coach Ron Newman said, “we would have been at each other’s throats (during halftime). But instead we felt we could pick up our game a little and get the goals that we needed.”
When the two teams stepped on the carpet for the second half, three minutes 45 seconds later it was Woodberry who evened the score, 3-3.
It was the first of three consecutive goals for the Sockers as Alex Golovnia and Paul Dougherty chipped in to build a two-goal lead before Shawn Medved made it 5-4 with 1:04 remaining.
With the victory, the Sockers (22-8) increased their lead over second-place Dallas to 5 1/2 games. The Stars, bidding to become the third MSL team with a .500 or better record, failed at that and fell to 15-17.
Although Dougherty also scored twice, including the game-winner, it was Woodberry who received all the attention later.
Newman credited his position change for Woodberry’s turnaround. He played forward and defensive runner in Dallas. He plays defender with the Sockers.
“He’s just more cunning coming out of the back,” Newman said. “And his strength is that much more formidable.”
Woodberry disagreed.
“My strength is going one-on-one, whether I’m coming from the back or a forward position,” he said.
The change, he argued, isn’t so much in tactics as it is in environment.
“There was definitely a personality conflict,” Woodberry said about himself and Tatu. “On the field and off the field, there wasn’t any cohesion or chemistry. We didn’t even know when to shoot or when to pass. Every time I would shoot, he would get mad, and that was a continuous process.”
Dissension grew as other Sidekicks watched Tatu remain unwilling to give up the ball.
“He’s the type of player where even with three guys on him he would hold on to the ball,” Woodberry said.
So along comes a $28,000 offer from the Sockers during the off-season and Woodberry jumps at it, right? Wrong. Wanting to stay home, he settled with the Sidekicks for $26,000, only to be cut three days before the season.
“I think it was a chemistry thing,” Woodberry said, “but that’s just speculation.”
It wasn’t too late to sign with the Sockers, but it was too late for the $28,000. The Sockers were too close to the $550,000 salary cap, and Woodberry had to settle for the league minimum of $16,000.
But not even a monetary slight has been able to adversely affect Woodberry.
“On the field and off the field, I feel good chemistry here,” Woodberry said. “My personality fits real good with this team.”
Sockers Notes
When Thompson Usiyan got in front of a shot from Jim Gabarra with time running out in the fourth quarter, he became the last Socker to make it into the blocked shots column. He has one. . . . Victor Nogueira had his assumption confirmed early Monday when Earl Foreman, Major Soccer League commissioner, decided no further penalty was due after Saturday’s red card ejection for an obscene gesture. Nogueira thus was able to start his 44th consecutive game Wednesday, surpassing Alan Mayer’s 8-year-old club record for consecutive games started by a goalie. “I’m relieved by the ruling,” Nogueira said. “But to be honest, I really didn’t think I would be suspended. This ruling is pretty consistent with the way the league has handled things in the past. Usually you have to do something pretty flagrant with an intent to injure someone to actually have to sit out a game.” Nogueira’s gesture came after a collision along the boards with Baltimore’s Jean Harbor. Nogueira was upset no foul was called. It was the first time in his nine seasons Nogueira received any kind of card. . . . Nogueira was signing autographs after Saturday’s game when fans started giving him contributions toward the $80 fine he incurred when he was red carded. “They started giving me dollar bills,” he said. “Then some guy comes forward with $25 and I end up with $90. I guess I have to give $10 back to charity, or something.”
Oscar Ancira, Sockers managing general partner, played host to former MSL goalie Jim May last week. May was recently hired by a Buffalo ownership and charged with the task of evaluating the MSL and National Professional Soccer League. Buffalo will join one league before next season. “I told him, look, if you’re going to evaluate the NPSL vs. the MSL, we’re wasting each other’s time,” Ancira said. “That would be like going to a Rolls-Royce dealer and telling him you’re deciding between a Rolls and a Yugo.” Ancira said May’s recommendation will not be based on financial considerations, but rather on stability. “I told him, ‘I’m going to give you stability--that’s what my marketing plan is all about.’ ” Ancira is completing a plan to link the MSL with East Coast marketing agencies that advise corporations where to spend sponsorship money.
Leaguewide attendance is up 17% over last year. Surprisingly, last-place St. Louis leads with an average draw of 9,639, an increase of 29% from 1990-91. The Sockers’ crowds are up 25% to 9,415. Others: Wichita, up 22% to 8,453; Baltimore, up 15% to 7,727; and Cleveland, up 35% to 6,228. Dallas, which did not have an owner or front-office staff until a month before training camp, drew its largest crowd of the season Saturday (9,207) and has matched last season’s average. Tacoma, which also suffered from uncertainty during the off-season, is the only team to be showing a drop in attendance. Figures were not available.
Saturday’s 8-1 victory over Baltimore sent the Sockers’ PR staff off on a mad scurry. The result of their feverish research: In team history, the Sockers are 2-0 on leap days.
