by Not only did Orf play through pain, but he managed to excel and shut down St. Louis again for a scoreless first overtime period. Orf’s performance during game four would go down as one of the gutsiest in sports history. Otto looks back at playing in such intense pain and what the win meant to him and to the team, “We knew that we had to win that game to close the deal, because if we didn’t win we would have to go back to St. Louis. It was the same scenario from a year before and one we didn’t want to face it again. It was a nerve-racking night and difficult to focus on the positive things, because you’re focused on avoiding the bad things that can happen. It was a tight game as we trailed for the majority of the night.
It was Zoran and Hector connecting on a couple of free kicks to tie the game at 15 and send it into overtime. Both teams were very defensive and hesitant during the first overtime period as no one wanted to make the mistake that would lead to a goal.
To a play a whole quarter with neither team scoring a goal was very rare for both of us. I had tore my hamstring and was in intense pain even with the adrenaline going. I thought I had cramps because of the length of the game and continued to have the trainers stretch me out during extended breaks in the action. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was actually making things worse. Coach Hindley offered to take me out, but there was no way I was coming out of that game.
The final play started with me coming out of the box to head the ball to George Fernandez. I saw the St. Louis guy coming after it and wanted to make sure I got it before he did. Fernandez passed it along to Andy Schmetzer who played it into the corner. He then bounced it off the board where Hector was sitting upfront for the tap in goal to win it.”
Otto continues to share the extreme emotions of the game, “Honestly, as much as I would love to say how much I remember that game, I actually remember much more from watching the tape then actually memory, because I was so focused on not letting up any goals. It was almost difficult to enjoy while playing it because I wanted to win so badly. I did enjoy playing the game and playing for the fns most of the time, but in this specific game I was more focused on not making any mistakes and doing whatever I could to keep the ball out of the goal.
I recall lying on the ground as Hector was running around the field with endless energy in celebration. It was one of the greatest memories for me in my entire career. That game gave me the confidence that I could perform at the highest level as a starting goalkeeper. It gave us as a team the confidence that we could win despite whatever the deficit was that we were facing. It led to numerous championships after that, but the first one set the tone for the rest of my time in Cleveland.”
As the second overtime began, the crowd became louder as the intensity on the field began to grow. It was as loud as any arena in the world for any sporting event or rock concert. The players fed off of that support and excitement from the fans. With the clock running down once again in double overtime, it was now the time for the Crunch to satisfy everyone’s hopes and put the fears to rest. With the ball flying towards Orf in goal, he managed to leap out and head the ball away stopping a fast break chance for the Ambush. Seconds later, Schmetzer recovered the header from Orf and advanced it up the field to set up the winning goal.
Schmetzer played it off the board to a wide open Hector Marinaro, who tapped it in high off the goal into the net. In that one brief moment, Marinaro and his teammates managed to erase thirty years of pain for all Cleveland sports fans. Hector describes the feeling of exhilaration and pressure that he felt playing that game, “The atmosphere in the stadium that day was incredible. From a personal standpoint, it was a sense of urgency thinking back to the year before. We had a chance to win it at home the year before and couldn’t, so we knew that we didn’t want to return to St. Louis.
We knew deep down that if we were going win the series we had to win tonight, because a trip back to St. Louis for game five would have been almost impossible to win. We wanted to win it in front of our hometown fans as the place was packed and going crazy. It was a tremendous atmosphere because of the extremely loud fans. We were down two goals in the fourth quarter 15-11 and couldn’t seem to score. When Zoran Karic came out of the penalty box, he was able to set me up on two re-start goals to tie the game. I remember those goals every bit as much as the game winner in double overtime.
The first overtime was crazy as everyone was on edge not wanting to make a mistake. There were chances at both ends as Otto played unbelievable to hold them scoreless by making some amazing saves. Both goalkeepers played great as everyone was putting everything on the line. George Fernandez, Tim Tyma and Andy Schmetzer played amazing defense.” Hector goes on to describe the double overtime game winning goal, “I still get chills just thinking about it because it was unbelievable. It all started with Otto as a long ball came though and he came out of his goal to head it to George Fernandez. From there, they played it along the side with Andy Schmetzer by his side.
I was waiting inside the box with the St. Louis defender playing me really tight. I saw Andy go deep in the corner so I knew he was going to play it deep off the boards. I spun to lose my defender and found myself literally wide open two feet from the goal with the ball coming off the boards with a spin on it.
It’s funny because even from two feet out, I roofed it and almost missed it. My adrenaline after the ball went in the goal was pumping as I ran around the field twice before anybody caught me. It was a tremendous night! When the on field celebration was over, I went into the stands and hugged my dad. I just broke down crying before going back down on the field, it was just awesome!”
Otto describes what it was like to return to the championship by defeating the St. Louis Ambush and bringing a championship to Cleveland, “In game one of that series, we were down by ten points in the first quarter and I was pulled from the game. It was a turning point for me in my career because at that point I was the starter the year before and we couldn’t close the deal. I let up some goals in that first quarter that I shouldn’t have. The next night, Gary Hindley had to make the decision to go back to me or keep me on the bench. He decided to give me another chance and I was able to capitalize with a very good game.
It was a turning point for me because I had very little sleep the night before with questions from the media about if I had what it took to win in pressure situations like those. Winning the game in St. Louis gave us the home field advantage and me the confidence I needed to have a strong series. As a goalkeeper, you have to try and keep the negative thoughts out of your mind. It is a story that could have gone either way, but I was lucky enough that I was able to use it as a positive motivator as we went on to win the series in four games.”
Zoran weighs in about what it felt like winning the NPSL championship, “I remember every moment of that double overtime game, because it was the greatest highlight of my time playing in Cleveland. We wanted to make the most of our chance to win and end the series because we didn’t want to run the risk of having to go back to St. Louis for a game five. I seemed to be having trouble with the referees all game and spent a large amount of time in the penalty box.
I think I spent an entire quarter in there at one point. I couldn’t wait to get out of the box, because I felt as though I was letting my team down not being able to play. I’m glad that once I got back on the field we were able to score and take advantage of some of those restarts.”
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