Sockers Win; Segota Is No. 2 on All-Time List
SAN DIEGO — Move over, Fred Grgurev. Next goal, Steve Zungul.
Branko Segota scored three goals and added an assist in the second half of the Sockers’ 7-2 victory over the Baltimore Blast Tuesday night to become the second all-time leading scorer in Major Indoor Soccer League history.
Segota has 27 goals and 15 assists this season for 42 points to bring his career totals to 305 goals and 240 assists for 545 points, passing Grgurev’s 544 points.
Grgurev? He was a teammate of Segota and Tacoma Star forward Steve Zungul when they were with the New York Arrows. Grgurev had 331 goals and 213 assists in nine seasons (1978-87) with Philadelphia, the Arrows, New Jersey Rockets, Memphis/Las Vegas, Pittsburgh and the New York Express.
The only player ahead of Segota is Zungul, a former Socker and Segota’s good friend and fellow Yugoslavian, who has 1,017 points on 607 goals and 410 assists.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Segota, when asked about passing Grgurev. “I started with Freddie and Stevie. I was the young boy.”
Now, Zungul is 33. Segota is only 26.
“I think I have time to catch him,” Segota said, “but I’m not going to worry about that. If I can stay away from injuries, I’ll have seven years to play. But if he continues to play, it will be hard.”
While Zungul had an assist in Tacoma’s 5-4 loss to Wichita Tuesday, Segota put on a show in front of 7,198 fans at the San Diego Sports Arena.
The score was tied, 1-1, at halftime, but Segota took over and led the first-place Sockers (17-6) to their fifth straight victory and 10th in their last 11 games.
At 4:45 of the third quarter, Segota rammed in a left-footer from the crease to make it 2-1. His right-footer from the right corner gave the Sockers a 3-1 lead at 7:22. Just 42 seconds after Segota’s second goal, Hugo Perez’s left-footer from inside the penalty area made it 4-1.
Zoran Karic made it 5-1 at 4:30 of the fourth quarter. Thirty-eight seconds later, Segota tied Grgurev’s mark when he scored off a re-start on a 40-footer from the left wing. It was vintage Segota in that it was powerful and precise. That gave Segota his second straight hat trick and his league-leading fourth of the season.
Segota passed Grgurev when he threaded the needle on a pass to Waad Hirmez, who scored from just to the right of the net at 11:15.
Assist to Segota.
Second place on the MISL scoring list to Segota.
Socker Notes With forward Keder sidelined with a strained knee and ankle Tuesday, veteran midfielder Juli Veee dressed for a game and played for the first time since Nov. 22. “It’s good to be sweating again,” said Veee, who took five shifts Tuesday. “It’s up to the coach, what he wants to do. I paid my dues. I stayed in the penitentiary for six weeks.” Veee was suspended 32 days starting Nov. 24--30 days for slapping assistant coach Johan Aarnio after the game against Minnesota Nov. 22 and two days for a “closed personnel incident” that occured in a Wichita hotel the night before the season opener against the Wings. Since the suspension ended Dec. 25, Veee has been practicing with the team, but Coach Ron Newman has not played him because he said he did not want to break up a winning combination. The Sockers went 13-4 without Veee. In the pregame introductions Tuesday, Veee walked onto the field with his arms raised in his traditional victory symbol. He was greeted by mostly loud cheers, but there was a smattering of boos. When he wasn’t playing, Veee started out standing at the opposite end of the bench from Aarnio. When the second quarter started, goalkeeper Zoltan Toth was standing between Aarnio and Veee. But Toth moved away, leaving Veee standing next to Aarnio. . . . Goalkeeper Jim Gorsek made 7 saves on 13 shots to raise his record to 9-3 and lower his goals-against average to 3.23. . . . The Blast (10-11) got goals from midfielder Billy Ronson and defender Dave MacKenzie.
