MISL Preview : Buss’ Money Suddenly Flows at Lazers’ Feet
The Los Angeles Lazers posted the worst record in the Major Indoor Soccer League last season, a pitiful 13-35.
But when they start their fifth season Friday night against the New York Express at the Forum, they will have something they didn’t have before--the full-fledged financial support of owner Jerry Buss.
Buss was reluctant to offer support in the past, but he says now that the league is stable enough to warrant a bigger chunk of cash, and thus a better chance for the Lazers.
“It’s time I throw my hat into the ring,” Buss said at a recent press conference. “In the coming years, we’re going to bring in as many quality players as possible.”
Meanwhile, with the team payroll increased from one of the lowest to one comparable to the league’s elite, Coach Peter Wall has signed some players he believes will make a difference for the Lazers this season.
“We’ve made some significant changes,” Wall said. “We’ve now got some players who have already proven themselves.”
Three of them played with the defunct Pittsburgh Spirit, the most notable being goalie David Brcic. Last season, Brcic posted the league’s third-best goals-against average, 3.77, while playing for a 23-25 team.
Also picked up from the Spirit were defenders Erhardt Kapp and Adam Topolski, who ought to help shore up the Lazer defense. It was the league’s worst last year, allowing 270 goals.
And to bolster the lackluster Lazer offense, which scored only 197 goals last season, Wall got forward Paul Kitson, a six-year veteran, from the Baltimore Blast. Kitson will team with Poli Garcia, the Lazers’ leading scorer last season with 36 goals and 21 assists, and with Beto, who had 23 goals and 19 assists.
Willie Molano and Stuart Lee, who has rejoined the team, also figure prominently in the attack. Lee, reclaimed by the Lazers as a free agent after playing last season with two other teams, is the club’s record-holder for most goals in a season with 42.
“We’d like to have an entertaining team that scores a lot of goals, like San Diego,” Wall said. Getting Kitson, who has 193 goals and 124 assists in 249 games, would seem to be a step in the right direction.
Also signed was Darko Birjukov, a 23-year-old Yugoslav, and first-round draft pick Jim Kavanaugh. Neither, however, figure in the Lazers early season plans.
The Lazers have left room in their budget--there is newly imposed salary cap of $1.275 million--to sign possibly two more players.
Altogether, the Lazers have 12 returning players and 8 new ones, one of whom is Lee.
So, with a rebuilt team and a new start, the Lazers are looking to turn things around.
One reason for Buss’ sudden involvement would seem to be the scheduling of the MISL All-Star game at the Forum this year. The Lazers had the league’s lowest attendance last season, averaging fewer than 5,000 a game, but Buss said that the All-Star game will be a success. “We will have a sellout,” he said. “And it will be a spectacular show.”
The Lazers’ opening-game opponent, the Express, is starting its first season but has some experienced players, notably Ricky Davis, who led the St. Louis Steamers in scoring each of his three seasons there, and veteran goalkeeper Shep Messing.
THE OTHER TEAMS
San Diego will be the team to beat again this season. Although Steve Zungul, last season’s top scorer, was sold to Tacoma midway through last season, the Sockers managed to score a league-leading 308 goals and went on to win their fifth straight indoor title, counting North American Soccer League play, and their second straight title in the MISL.
Led on offense by Branko Segota (60 goals, 46 assists last season), Hugo Perez (41 goals, 25 assists), Jean Willrich (27 goals, 30 assists) and Juli Veee (23 goals, 31 assists), the Sockers should again be dominant on offense.
Tacoma will most likely be the Sockers’ closest competition in the Western Division. After buying Zungul from San Diego and hiring Alan Hinton as coach midway through last season, the Stars showed immediate improvement. They finished last season tied for third with St. Louis but disposed of second-place Wichita in the playoff quarterfinals in four games. Zungul finished with 55 goals and 60 assists. He and second-year forward Preki (41 goals, 30 assists) and newcomers Godfrey Ingram and Gerry Gray figure to plague opposing goalkeepers.
Wichita finished second in the Western Division, mostly because of Eric Rasmussen, who led the league in goals with 67. With some depth in the defensive position, the Wings figure to have a somewhat similar season.
Minnesota came within one game of winning the MISL championship last season. The Strikers have added defenders Helmut Dudek and John O’Hara to shore up a defense which allowed 242 goals (they scored 232). The Strikers should contend again this season.
St. Louis has obtained Louie Nanchoff from Dallas and Angelo DiBernardo from Kansas City, which should help the Steamers offense, but five-time all-star goalkeeper Slobo Ilijevski will have to regain his form after having an off year last year with a 4.50 goals against average.
Kansas City will try to rebound from its 18-30 season with the help of Jan Goossens, obtained from Minnesota, and Jorgen Kristensen. Goossens had 21 points in the playoffs last season and Kristensen is the league’s third all-time assist leader with 261. Their presence should help the Comets, who scored the third-fewest goals in the league last season.
Cleveland finished last season with a 27-21 record, the best in the Eastern Division (in which all six teams were within four games of each other), and figures to be involved in the scramble again this season. Returning to the Force is forward Craig Allen, who was fourth in league scoring last season with 50 goals and 31 assists.
Baltimore is another possible contender, but the retirement of forward Stan Stamenkovic has hurt its offensive capability. The Blast will rely on last season’s league-leading goalkeeper, Keith Van Eron (14-10, 3.66 goals-against average) and defender Bruce Savage to protect against goals, and on forwards Mike Stankovic and Richard Chinapoo, and newcomers Paul Child, Andy Chapman and Keith Furphy to score them.
Chicago, led by Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chico Moriera and former Lazer Batata, could also be in the race.
Dallas improved from a 12-36 record in two seasons ago to a 25-23 record last season. Tatu was fourth in scoring and will be relied on again this year to carry the offense, while goalie Krys Sobieski will counted on to anchor a sometimes unreliable defense.
