Thirst for a Title : His Individual Fame Aside, Splash’s Ervine Seeks Glory for Team

ANAHEIM —  Dale Ervine is considered the greatest American indoor soccer player in history. Never won a professional title.

“I would love nothing more than to be able to run around the Pond and celebrate with the fans there and win a championship,” Ervine said. “It would be a big weight off my shoulders, that’s for sure.”

It is a burden that accompanies greatness, and under it, the Splash’s Ervine treads the line between being a hugely successful individual talent, yet failing in the ultimate team task.

Tatu, indoor soccer’s all-time leading scorer, won two indoor championships.

Steve Zungul (715 goals), surpassed this season by Tatu (722), won nine titles. So did Branko Segota (509).

And even though another foreigner, Detroit’s Andy Chapman (630), has more goals than Segota, he doesn’t command the same historical respect. Like Ervine, he has never won a title.

Ervine, 32, is poised to become the all-time leading American goal-scorer before season’s end. He has 396 goals and trails only Rudy Pikuzinski (405 goals, 11th all-time). Pikuzinski is still active, with Buffalo of the NPSL, but is 37.

“It’s a team game,” Ervine said. “To be mentioned with Zungul, Segota and Tatu is a privilege, and I really hope before I’m done playing that I can accomplish winning a championship. It would be disappointing to go so long and not win one.”

Ervine last won a championship in 1985 during his senior year at UCLA. Since then, it has been a lot of goals and assists (244), but no rings.

Soccer historian Charles Cuttone, managing editor of Sports Vue, Inc., says Ervine’s inclusion among the elite might be a little much, but not because he hasn’t won a championship.

“When you’re talking Zungul, Tatu and Segota, you’re talking Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Ted Williams,” Cuttone said. “It’s a different level. Maybe not a big difference, but a different level.

“Those were the three dominant players in the game of indoor soccer. Dale has never been that dominant. He has been a good, steady all-star performer over a long period of time. That makes him Ernie Banks.”

Ernie Banks is a baseball Hall of Famer. Never won a title.

“I don’t need to win a championship to make this person or that person view me a certain way; I wouldn’t sleep at night if I was so concerned about that,” Ervine said. “I’ve won division championships, but that’s just the first step. Winning championships is not about satisfying other people, except for my teammates. How people view us is irrelevant.”

Ervine is scoring goals at a greater rate (1.86 per game) than in any season in his 11-year career--including 1992-93, when he scored 46 goals in 28 games with Wichita.

This is his ninth consecutive season averaging more than a goal per game, and none of the CISL’s top 20 scorers are scoring at a higher rate. Even Tatu, averaging a league-best 3.6 points per game, trails in the goal department with a 1.78 average. Ervine, averaging 3.0 points, is second overall.

Ervine also has a league-high four game-winning goals.

“The bottom line is this isn’t race car driving or tennis or golf--this is a team game, and we all need to be on the same page,” Ervine said. “We’ve played every team in our division and there’s no reason for anyone other than us to represent the West in the championship series.

“There’s something about this team that makes me feel there is a legitimate opportunity to get to the championship and win it. Our biggest obstacle is to make sure we don’t beat ourselves. For us to be successful we need to play the way we’re capable [of playing] and not worry about other teams, for us to dictate what takes place during the game and not let other teams do that to us.”

Splash General Manager Don Ebert took a similar dictatorial role with his first player personnel decision, which had organization-wide ramifications: He re-signed Ervine, raised in Torrance, and fired Coach George Fernandez, who soured on Ervine in the middle of last season and eventually had him traded to Arizona for Paul Agyeman.

Ebert did so even before he hired Ian Fulton to replace Fernandez. The message was clear--Ervine is the star commodity, and any coach will have to co-exist with him.

Ervine is grateful to be back in the fold. He has been warmly received by fans and the feeling is mutual--made more so after being traded away.

“I never expected anything like that [trade] to take place, and I had no control over it,” Ervine said. “When something’s taken from you and there’s no explanation for it, and there’s no reasoning behind it, and it’s difficult on yourself and your family, and you get the opportunity to come back, it makes you appreciate it even more.”

So he has continued, playing through the sore foot and heel that caused him to miss a game, trying to create and finish opportunities to score goals and a championship.

“Great players make their teams win,” he said. “The Splash has a lot of credibility throughout the league because of our success, but we’re still short of getting to the level of credibility that comes along with winning championships. A division championship is nice, but you don’t have a ring to show for it.

“To say I’m not aware of it would not be honest.”