Steamers Separated as They Reach for the Stars
by Arnold Irish (2/29/1984) St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Ad astra per aspera ("To the stars through difficulties") is the state
motto of Kansas. It might as well be the Steamers' motto when they meet
the Tacoma Stars in a Major Indoor Soccer League game tonight at the
Tacoma Dome. The Steamers, who will try to break a four-game losing streak in the 9:35 game, haven't practiced as a team in a week. In fact, one-third of the squad never reached St. Louis after Saturday night's game in Los Angeles.
"Our flight home Sunday ran into bad weather and was diverted to
Chicago," Coach' Dave Clements explained. "But there weren't enough
seats on the alternative flight to St. Louis, so we left (trainer) Bill
Jennings and seven players in Chicago."
The seven were to catch a later flight home and join their teammates
in practice Tuesday and Wednesday.
"We sat on the plane for an hour waiting to take off, but that flight was
canceled so we flew to Tacoma," defender Neil Cohen reported from
Seattle.
There was an unmistakably Foreign Legion flair to the motley
crew that arrived in Tacoma two days early under the supervision of
Jennings, the company commander.
For one thing, Jennings' clothes didn't fit.
"I got Bill's clothes by mistake and he got mine," said Clements, who is
three inches shorter and 46 pounds heavier than the tall, slender trainer.
"I understand he's had a problem with the trouser length." Not to mention the waist, Coach. But that's the least of the Steamers'problems. An ankle injury prevented All-Star defender Tony Bellinger from making the trip. Also left behind were hobbled forwards Tony Glavin and Don Ebert.
"Ebert (dislocated toe) hurt his foot again Saturday, and Glavin isn't quite
recovered from his injury (strained knee), but both should he ready for
Friday's home game against Wichita," said Clements. Glavin has played only
briefly in a few games since he was hurt Dec.30. Clements left Ebert
home from the team's two-game trip to Phoenix and Los Angeles last week.
"Some of the other players are under the weather, too," Clements said. "Jeff Cacciatore and Carl Rose have both had flu symptoms. So has Timmy Walters, who was ill after shifts at LA."
The Steamers (17-14), second the MISL's Western Division but on
four percentage points behind first-place Kansas City (16-13), can
leapfrog the idle Comets by beating sixth-place Tacoma (11-21) tonight.
"But not unless we begin playing better defense," said Clements, noting
that the team's forte wasn't recognizable on last week's western swing.
Cohen, who is the Foreign Legion's sergeant-at-arms, believes the Steamers' defensive letdown is caused by frustration over a recent inability to score goals.
"Instead of being cautious, we're taking that extra risk to get that goal, and teams are burning us with counterattacks," Cohen said.
"Indoors your team gets punished for attacking unless you go down and
put it away, which we haven't been doing. It isn't like outdoors. In this
game you hit the boards and they're coming back the other way. Our team is kind of like an engine. When one little part is off, that throws the whole thing off. It seems to take all five playing well for us to click. We
don't appear to be a club whose guys can cover for the one player who has a
bad night. And instead of two guys having an off night, a lot of guys play
badly the same night." Cohen said there is no easy way for the Steamers to stop their tailspin.
"I don't know if we have a solution, unless it's to get back to basics again. That and maybe getting more of our best people back. It seems like we've had a lot of injuries and illness. I had the flu at Phoenix, and I was so weak that playing in the game felt like a bad dream.
"Offensively, we must begin being more cautious. Playing more to the
midfielder. Working the ball through instead of trying to force it to the
forwards directly." Cohen doubted that the Steamers'lack of full-team practice will greatly influence the outcome of tonight's game.
"I've seen teams prepared meticulously for a game go out and have a nightmare," Cohen said. "And I've seen coaches throw cold bodies in
there and win."
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