Benching Gets Patterson’s Attention
As much soccer as Zodiac forward Steve Patterson has played, he knew he’d eventually go through a scoring slump. But Patterson didn’t prepare for what came next--a benching.
“It’s hard when you go from playing in the MLS to a farm league, then all of a sudden you’re benched,” Patterson said. “I knew I was slumping. But I started playing better, and then the coach took me out.”
The coach, Mike Gartlan, said he hated removing Patterson from his lineup but he had good cause.
“I think Steve was just thinking too much,” Gartlan said. “He’s a real nice kid and he wants people to like him. He was trying to please me and everybody else instead of playing his game within the framework of the team. Then he stopped scoring and then he started to press. That led to other problems. He needed a break.”
Patterson was replaced in the starting lineup by Gustavo Leal for four games--two A-League games and two U.S. Open Cup games.
“[Patterson] didn’t pout,” Gartlan said. “He waited his turn.”
Patterson regained his starting job by creating several scoring chances in the second half of a 4-0 loss to the Dallas Burn in the Open Cup. He didn’t score in his first two games back, but he had a goal and an assist in a 2-1 home victory over Staten Island. He followed that with a two-goal performance in a 3-2 shootout loss at Long Island.
On Monday, Patterson was named to the A-League’s team of the week.
“Steve’s a streaky scorer like a lot of good forwards,” Gartlan said. “We hope he’s on a good streak now. He’s played well since he’s been back in. When he just plays, he’s fine.”
Patterson, 22, has been fine wherever he’s played--at Foothill High, at Fresno State and last year with the Colorado Foxes, for whom he scored 16 goals and tied for fourth in A-League scoring.
“I’ve known Steve since he was 15 or 16 years old and he’s always been known as a goal scorer,” Gartlan said. “This year, we’ve asked him to be more than a goal scorer--to complete his game, to improve himself so that he can get to that next level.”
Patterson has already been to that next level. And no offense to the Zodiac, but he’d like to get back there as soon as possible. Patterson didn’t play for the Colorado Rapids last year, but he was on their playoff roster after being called up from the A-League Foxes.
He tasted the MLS again this spring with the Chicago Fire, who took Patterson in the 1997 expansion draft. But he was released before the season.
Patterson had several offers from A--League teams, but he chose the hometown Zodiac. The Zodiac’s preseason roster was jammed with talented forwards--Leal, Eddie Soto, P.J. Polowski and Mike Matson. But Patterson worked his way into the starting lineup and began the season with four goals in his first 10 games.
Then came the drought and, eventually, the benching.
“It was tough to keep Steve on the bench,” Gartlan said. “He played on other teams at lower levels where he didn’t feel pressure. This is really what it’s like at the high level. You don’t produce, you sit down.”
Through it all, Patterson said he has emerged a better player.
“It was a very big wake-up call,” said Patterson, who is second on the Zodiac in scoring with 17 points. “It felt really good when I finally scored.”
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The Zodiac spent most of the season in first place in the Pacific Division, but suddenly the team finds itself in third place and battling for a playoff berth.
“It would be a shame after all this if we didn’t make the playoffs,” Gartlan said.
The Zodiac is two points ahead of Vancouver for fourth place and seven ahead of San Francisco for fifth. The top four teams in each division make the playoffs.
On the positive side, the Zodiac is only five points behind first place San Diego.
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Only San Francisco and Worcester are averaging fewer fans than the Zodiac, which has drawn only 5,580 fans through 11 home dates for an average of 507.
“We wish we could get larger crowds,” Zodiac goalkeeper Mike Littman said. “But we don’t get into the logistics of what’s going on in the front office. We just worry about whether there’s going to be a paycheck. And there’s hasn’t been any problem in that area.”
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Gartlan said he plans to shore up his defense by signing at least one more defender, possibly two, for the playoff run. One offensive player who won’t be available for Sunday’s home game against California is Soto, the team’s leading scorer with 22 points. He is out of the country playing in a beach soccer tournament.
