Lineup Changes Can’t Get Splash a Victory : Indoor soccer: Anaheim rallies in fourth quarter but loses, 10-9, in overtime to Arizona.

After all the threatening talk, the quotes filled with expletives over the way his team has played, the warnings that he wasn’t going to put up with selfish players, Splash Coach George Fernandez pulled the trigger Thursday.

He benched the league’s fifth-leading point-scorer, forward Dale Ervine.

And the second-year player on last year’s All-Rookie team, defender Paul McDonnell.

Oh, and the team traded for another midfielder/forward, Bernie “The Bolt” Lilavois, San Jose’s leading scorer in 1994.

And then the Splash played horribly for three quarters, overcame a three-goal deficit in the fourth and lost in overtime, 10-9, to the Arizona Sandsharks in front of an announced crowd of 5,930 at The Pond.

The Splash trailed, 7-4, before rallying 8 minutes 22 seconds into the fourth.

Then, the new guy, Lilavois, scored off a scramble in front of the net, pumped a little life into the crowd and his new teammates, and pushed forward a CISL record-tying quarter--11 goals.

The Splash scored seven goals in the quarter, including Denis Hamlett’s 59 seconds later.

The teams scored five goals in the final three minutes, with Rod Castro making the score 9-7 at 13:33, Raffaele Ruotolo completing the hat trick (with three assists) to make it 9-8 at 14:43, and Doug Neely tying the score with 17.8 seconds left.

Arizona foiled the big night, though, when Terry Woodberry scored 4:50 into the 10-minute sudden-death overtime.

Ruotolo had two goals in the final quarter, and Sam George also scored. The Splash trailed, 5-3, going into the final 15 minutes.

The Splash (6-4) remained tied for first place with San Diego in the Southern Division. Arizona (3-6) climbed out of last place in the division.

For the longest while, the Splash played as if it needed Ervine, managing only 10 shots through three quarters.

Ervine leads the team in goals (16), assists (12) and shots (70)--but that’s not surprising given that he’s a forward. It was the first time in his 10-year indoor career he has been 100% healthy and didn’t suit up for a game. He is, by the way, the all-time leading U.S.-born scorer (360 goals) in the indoor game.

Ervine deferred all questions about his absence to Fernandez, who emphasized he wasn’t pointing fingers, but delivered a loud message that no one is safe.

“They know that’s the message I’m sending,” Fernandez said. “I don’t care who it is. I’m here to win a championship and do what it takes. If that means moving players, getting rid of players, trading players, what have you, I’m willing to do that. This [trade] gives us an added player with good credentials and down the road, we’ll need to use him.

“We’ve had our fun and I’ve let a lot slide, I’ve been a nice guy. But I’m here to win a championship and I’m taking this seriously. It’s strictly business from here on out.

“If people don’t like it, I can’t help it. I’m not here to make anybody happy. Hopefully, the decisions that I make are right, but I’m not afraid to make a mistake--I’m willing to accept it.”

Lilavois, 24, attended Cal State Northridge and lives in Norwalk. To acquire him, the Splash gave up a pick in the next supplemental draft.