Splash Falls in Series Opener

SACRAMENTO —  Splash player/coach Dale Ervine had worried all week that his team’s turmoil over the last eight days had created a subconscious monster that would prevent it from playing to its potential.

But if bounced paychecks and insufficient funds weren’t enough, now there’s Doug Neely’s broken leg and a one-game disadvantage in a best-of-three first-round series against Sacramento.

The Knights beat the Splash, 7-3, Monday, so Anaheim must win two games tonight at Arco Arena--including a 20-minute mini-game--to advance to the Continental Indoor Soccer League semifinals against Seattle.

“All that stuff was left behind us,” said defender Thor Lee, one of seven players affected financially by the deposed Anaheim Splash, Inc., which was seized by the league office one week earlier. “This is our team. It’s the same coach, the same team with the same goals. Nothing’s changed.”

OK, but the same team that won 11 of its last 16 games and four of its last five on the road, looked terrible while losing to a Sacramento team that had lost 11 of its last 13 games and played without its leading scorer, forward Jon Parry.

The Splash also gave up four goals to rookie Chris McDonald, who scored only five the entire season.

The Splash played without defender Rich Ryerson (heel), and Ervine got sick before the game and at halftime. He thinks it’s the flu.

But the worst news came when the Splash lost Neely with what is believed to be a broken bone in his right leg. The Splash had come back from a two-goal deficit to tie the score, 2-2, on goals by Lee and Terry Rowe.

Neely, who wasn’t sure whether he stepped on the ball, the turf or Drago, hurt it with 5 minutes 23 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Splash gave up four consecutive goals after halftime.

“We stunk,” goalkeeper Ruben Fernandez said. “The whole team, from me to the last guy.”

The game turned contentious in the fourth quarter when several players squared off. Fernandez even drew a misconduct penalty for flinging the ball at an official who failed to recognize a repeated request for a timeout.

The intensity the lifeless Splash lacked in the first quarter was restored by game’s end.

On a two-man advantage, Danny Barber scored to make it 6-3 with 2:51 left. Sacramento added a goal against Bernie Lilavois (replacing Neely) as the sixth attacker.

“We worked so hard to get to this point, a lot of us were too ready,” Lilavois said. “It’s like we spent all our energy thinking about the game instead of acting.

“There was no reason for us not to be at our emotional peak tonight.”

The Splash made only three of 27 shots. The Knights made seven of 23.

“A lot of Sacramento’s victories are because other people play badly,” said defender Shane Hickson, who played for the Knights last year. “I don’t think I’ve seen us play so badly.”

And Hickson, like his teammates, expressed confidence about the Splash’s chances.

“Look at how many games we came back from three goals down [seven, winning four]. We’re fighters. We have a lot of pride and the ability to rebound.”