Making the Grade : History Helps Put the Team’s Evaluation in Perspective

SAN DIEGO —  Before administering the Sockers’ midterm evaluation, an appropriate measuring tool must be devised.

This is no easy task--every year the team does to those keeping Major Soccer League records what Eastern Europe keeps doing to cartographers.

So how does one gauge their current success? Should the Sockers be rated against the rest of the MSL?

That’s done every time they play and is reflected in the standings. Besides, at 15-6 the Sockers are in first place, which greatly impairs reporters practicing their constitutional right to inflict cynicism on the public.

What about comparing this team to its predecessors?

To do so would be to swing the pendulum too far in the other direction. Comparing leading scorer Paul Wright to the likes of Juli Veee and Steve Zungul would be to subject Wright to an undue amount of cynicism.

What about going to Ron Newman and getting his opinion?

As he might say, no bloody way. To honestly evaluate all his players, the head coach, in a few instances, would have to take exception with his scouting department, which mainly is Ron Newman.

The standard, then, will be past performances.

We’ll dole out the F’s first, which means forward Mirko Castillo moves to the head of the class, where he hasn’t been since leaving the National Professional Soccer League.

Castillo scored 63 goals with the NPSL’s Chicago Power in 1990-91. But since he moved up to the Sockers Dec. 6, Castillo has played in only two of 12 games, contributing only one shot on goal and one foul.

Two Sockers earn D’s and both hail from Belarus: defender Alex Golovnia from Minsk and midfielder Alex Khapsalis from Kiev.

Golovnia showed little ability to adapt to the indoor game a year ago and has yet to become comfortable with it in his sophomore year.

Khapsalis has been hampered by injuries in this, his first season indoors, but probably wouldn’t have been playing, anyway. When he has made his way on to the carpet, he has looked like a scientist’s pet trying to find its way through a maze.

Two of the three C’s go to defenders, which is somewhat strange considering the Sockers’ defense is ranked first, yielding an average of 6.29 goals per game.

But David Banks and Ben Collins are not playing up to the standards they set a year ago.

Although he was well short of leading the team in any statistical category a year ago, Collins was able to control the game at crucial times and was recognized with the Most Valuable Player trophy of the championship series.

This season Collins has provided only glimpses of his 1990-91 form.

The same also seems to be true of Banks. After surprising the coaching staff with a rapid adjustment to the game as a rookie, Banks seems to have lost some of his fortitude and has been beaten several times in front of his net.

Also in the C range is first-year forward John Kerr, who started quickly, scoring seven goals and assisting on two others in his first eight games. But Kerr has been lost since and after 20 games he has added only two goals and two assists.

Forward Thompson Usiyan, defensive runner Terry Woodberry and midfielders Paul Dougherty and Tim Wittman earn B’s.

After a slow start, Usiyan has begun to affect the offense the way he was expected to when Newman traded Branko Segota, the league’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer, for him during the off-season.

Before Tuesday’s victory, Usiyan had racked up six goals and two assists in the previous five games, bringing his totals to nine goals and nine assists in 15 games.

Like Usiyan, Woodberry is new to the Sockers this season after spending his first three in the MSL with the Dallas Sidekicks. Woodberry is rarely noticed in statistical categories (nine goals and an assist). He also remains incognito on the field, which, in his case, is an indication he has blended into the system.

Another first-year Socker, Wittman, is arguably the team’s most important addition. His speed and hustle have helped immensely as the Sockers continue to evolve from moving the ball forward with quick, one-touch passing, to going on the attack with sheer foot speed.

Not only is he scoring (10 goals and 10 assists), but he also is getting back on defense (19 blocks, second most on the team).

After building a reputation of picking up trash goals in front of the net during his first five seasons, Dougherty has stepped up his efforts in the midfield and already is nearing his career high in assists. He now has 17, seven away from the 24 he had in 56 games during the 1987-88 season.

The A’s go to Wright, defender Kevin Crow, goalie Victor Nogueira, midfielder Jacques Ladouceur and defensive runner Wes Wade.

Wade is by far the most improved over a year ago.

The league does not keep track of turnovers, but no one forces more than Wade. After stealing the ball, Wade has the speed to go on a break-away. But too many of his one-man counter-attacks last year dissipated when he couldn’t control his dribble.

That no longer is a problem, which Wade proved in a 6-5 victory over Dallas one month ago. He handled a difficult pass from Kevin Crow, shielded the ball from a defender coming at him and, from an improbable angle, let go of a shot that trickled through the legs of goalie Joe Papaleo.

Ladouceur already has surpassed his career high in goals with 14, two more than he had in 52 games in 1989-90, and his nine assists is two shy of the 11 he contributed in that same year. He has improved his game while being marked as the guy who would be responsible for a smooth transition from the Brian Quinn era.

Although Newman insists Wright still is honing his skills, he has established himself as a dominant scorer. His goal production has climbed from eight in 1988-89, his rookie season, to 24 in 1989-90 and to 38 last year. He already has 30 this season with 19 games to go.

So far, he has yet to find anyone in the league who can run as fast as he can dribble.

Nogueira and Crow, who leads the team with 43 blocks, are the steady anchors of the league-leading defense. As was the case a year ago, Nogueira’s goals-against average is going down. It now is 4.75.

More importantly, while the Sockers’ veteran goal scorers have left the team one-by-one over the years, the team increasingly has become dependent on defense. Crow and Nogueira are the veterans who have tutored the younger players and shaped the unit into the MSL’s stingiest.

What about the coach? This year’s roster represents Newman’s best effort in molding a first-place team. He lost back-bone players Branko Segota and Waad Hirmez. He lost Glenn Carbonara, unsung hero in the championship series, and Rod Castro, a steady forward.

One replacement, Woodberry, didn’t sign until opening day, then played without practicing with the team.

Two other players, Wright and Quinn, didn’t join the team until the second game of the season and, like Woodberry, did not practice before playing.

Quinn signed only for the first half of the season and left after the club won five in a row. Rather than fall apart without their top player, the Sockers have extended their streak to seven.

A grade? The team’s standing and Newman’s nine championship rings speak for themselves.