Lazers Finish Season on a Winning Note, 3-2

Another Major Indoor Soccer League season has come and gone for the Lazers, and despite this one being as poor as the last, the team, according to management, is in great shape.

The fact that the Lazers held on to beat the Dallas Sidekicks, 3-2, Saturday night at the Forum somewhat supports that statement--a solid defense helped them win two of their last three games.

Forget the fact that they finished their fifth season with a 16-36 record, which for the second consecutive season was the worst in the league, or the fact that their average attendance once again was the league’s lowest. All that is behind them, according to team president Jim Buss.

“We’re the proudest 16-36 team around,” he said.

His concern for the Lazers lies in the future, and to Coach Keith Tozer, who has made the Lazers into a “new team.”

If this new team doesn’t succeed, can the Lazers survive?

“If we don’t succeed next season, then that (folding) would become a possibility,” Buss said.

But for now, optimism fills the Forum air. Next season, Buss says, will be the Lazers’ best.

Briefly reviewing this season, it is easy to see why the Lazers are optimistic--things couldn’t get much worse.

A dismal first half-season prompted the firing of Peter Wall, and Tozer was given the task of turning the team around.

By wheeling and dealing, Tozer made what he felt were necessary changes.

His key acquisitions included:

--Don Ebert and Steve Pecher, acquired from the St. Louis Steamers for Poli Garcia and Jim Kavanaugh. Ebert was second in scoring with 11 goals and 6 assists in 11 games; Pecher, a solid defender, co-led in assists with 24.

--Marcio Leite, acquired from the Sidekicks for Willie Molano. Leite, perhaps the least productive of the bunch, played in 10 games with the Lazers, scoring 2 goals and 6 assists.

--Chris Chueden, acquired from the Cleveland Force for Paul Kitson: 14 goals and 8 assists in 21 games.

--Michael Collins and Chris Whyte, both stars, bought from the defunct New York Express. Collins had 8 goals and 9 assists in 20 games; Whyte, a defender, had 22 blocked shots in 20 games.

--Thompson Usiyan, also an All-Star, was acquired from the Minnesota Strikers for Greg Ion. Termed an “impact player” by Tozer, Usiyan led the team with 51 points and tied for the team lead in assists. In 15 games with the Lazers, Usiyan had 11 goals and 8 assists.

Although the statistics indicate an improvement, the Lazers were 10-18 under Tozer. But seven of the defeats were by one goal.

But the acquisitions were timely, in that they bought Tozer some time to work.

“By the time I found out who could play and who wasn’t playing up to his abilities, it was getting toward the end of the season,” Tozer said.

“Then the other teams were peaking, and we were still in the preseason stage. Next year, we’re gonna be reckoned with.”