(EL PASO, TX) - Like most things in life, soccer is a game of connections. When you're connected, anything is possible.
On a hot June night, down 1-0 late in their first game in two-and-a-half weeks against Seattle, dripping wet with the sweat of their unrequited advances on the unforgiving Sounders' goalposts, the El Paso Patriots had to believe the only thing connected was their finger in an electrical socket.
But, fortunately for the Patriots, Seattle seemed to be borrowing power from their southern neighbors in California. Unfortunately for the Sounders, Cali's just trying to keep it's own sockets juiced right now.
Final verdict: El Paso 3, Seattle 1.
It might have been the climate, much different on America's southern border than it is on the northern
side. It might have been that El Paso coach Alfred Solares just plugged in the right people after 45 minutes of frustration. It might be that, as usual, the truth lies somewhere in between.
Whatever, the connections that El Paso - a team finally venturing into the world of A-League soccer to win at A-League soccer - wanted to work did, beginning with a hookup that used to terrorize the Patriots in the past. Carlos Farias to Muguriel Dumitru. San Diego fans remember that one quite well.
Suddenly, there was Farias, who had been tag-teamed all night, sending a deftly-touched longball to Dumitru at the top of Seattle's six-yard box. Dumitru was shut down point blank on his first attempt, fell on his back, unbelievably kept the ball in his possession, stood up and zipped one past dumbfounded Seattle goaltender Preston Burpo. And after 78 minutes of fuse box repair, the Patriots had flipped the on switch.
Suddenly, as the 90th minute rolled around and El Paso found itself ecstatic to be headed toward yet another overtime, there was Dumitru getting connected with some new teammates for the game-winner. Wily veteran Sal Mercado, who had already worked magic on the Patriots' midfield woes after coming in at the half, found himself wide open at the top of the 18. He shoveled the ball to El Paso native Mark Rowland - the other second half sub - along the right, where Rowland's far post cross did its job getting over the outstretched arms of Burpo and straight to the waiting noggin of Dumitru, who tapped it home.
Suddenly, in the middle of added time that seemed to stretch longer than a baseball telecast and in the midst of a furious Seattle rally, a Patriot clearance connected for an all-El Paso finish. Rowland had the clearance drop from the sky right in front of him along the right wing. Seattle, with everybody up for the tying goal, was caught short. Rowland turned on his considerable jets to bring the ball two-thirds of the way upfield and pinged a perfect cross just inside the box to Victor Mora, who's booming shot beat Burpo to the left.
Three goals in roughly 14 minutes. A full five points, when it looked like there would be none. A tie with Seattle in the Western Conference at 16 points apiece. All in all, an impressive meter reading after having the power turned off for an almost three week vacation.
The power could very easily have stayed off. El Paso hit the post three times on the evening. But the Sounders were also confounded by the Patriots' metalworks twice, one a gaping defensive cavity that went unfilled after Jason Farrell's one-time bullet clanged off the bar.
Make no mistake, Seattle dominated most of the match, and the first 77 minutes were characterized by the first goal - a goal that showed off the Sounders' excellent positioning and the Patriots' rust.
El Paso defender Michael Griego attempted to shield a high, looping ball played toward Patriots' goal. But Griego and goaltender Jesse Llamas had one of those finger-in-the-socket moments. With Llamas coming up, ostensibly for support, Griego touched the ball as it fell. In the split second it took for both Patriots to look at each other to see who would make the next move, Seattle forward Viet Nguyen hooked a hoof around Griego's left thigh, and chopped the ball past both surprised defenders and into the net in the 11th minute.
Seattle dominated for much of the rest of the half, peppering Llamas with a flurry of shots in the middle-going. Jason Farrell and Leighton O'Brien took turns crunching 30-yard-plus bombs at El Paso's beleaguered netminder less than a minute apart, which may have led to a moment of cerebral flatulence by Llamas. In the 21st minute, Llamas touched a ball played back to him by his defense, resulting in an indirect kick just inside the 18. Fortunately for the Pats, the resulting chance went wide. So did the rest of the Sounders' chances.
And that cleared the way for the Man of the Match: the indomitable Dumitru, forced out of San Diego in a numbers game. A stout heart and a solid body, brought in to be something of a lightning rod for opposing defenders to draw attention away from the rest of El Paso's Lilliputian front line, the Romanian did his job, setting off the fireworks twice and tweaking Patriot memories, too.
"Is it July 4th?" he asked after the match. "I guess I just light the fireworks here."
Of course, it was last Independence Day in El Paso when Dumitru scored the only goal of the match - for San Diego. Dumitru, who's apparently no shrinking violet, is also ready to hook up for more goals in a Patriots' kit.
"You know, two years ago, Farias and I had just about all the points for San Diego. Maybe we'll some of that here."
He ended with a statement that spoke volumes about the connections El Paso has been striving to make, not only for this match, but as an organization this season.
"Maybe I shouldn't say this," said the Man Who Would Be "Mugu", "but this is professional sports. I'm just glad to help anybody who pays me."
No, no, no, Mugu. You're perfectly right.
It just shows that in El Paso, an organization yearning for the lights of post-season play to shine past the first round, somebody's willing to step up and pay the electric bill.
