By LES BOWEN, Daily News Sports Writer
Vinnie Pfeifer believes he saw the Philadelphia Wings come together last Saturday night at the Spectrum, in front of 16,038 screaming fans.
The Wings, winless in their first two Major Indoor Lacrosse League games of 1988, were down four goals early in the third game of their eight-game regular season. Then, suddenly, things started clicking. Pat Lamon scored six goals, including two in eight seconds in the second period. The Wings breezed to a 12-7 victory over the Baltimore Thunder.
“It was the culmination of all our efforts to date,” Pfeifer, the Wings’ goalie, said this week. “It was a united effort.”
The week before, coach Dave Evans had said the vocal Spectrum crowd might have gotten his team too fired up, resulting in silly penalties that contributed to a one-goal loss to Washington. But this time, Pfeifer said, the crowd had an opposite effect.
“They were our seventh player on the field,” Pfeifer said. “They influence the opponent dramatically.”
More than any of the Wings, Pfeifer understands how much the team will need its new-found cohesiveness and its big, loud crowd tomorrow afternoon (1 p.m.) at the Spectrum against the first-place New Jersey Saints (3-1). Pfeifer was the Saints’ goalie last season, then asked to be put back into the MILL draft when plans for graduate school at Loyola (Md.) made playing for the North Jersey-based Saints impractical. The Wings, looking for goaltending help, promptly snapped him up.
Pfeifer said the Saints “have to be respected as the best team in the league . . . All of their players are from the New York area, most from the Long Island area (as is Pfeifer). They’ve played together quite a bit, on one team or another. They have a lot of seasons under their belts.”
Evans called New Jersey “the fastest team in the league,” and Pfeifer agreed.
“They’re a very good one-on-one team, very fast, excellent with the sticks. It’ll be a test of our endurance for four quarters,” Pfeifer said.
Evans will need a strong effort from Pfeifer, but he said that hasn’t been a concern this season. The Wings have been up and down, offensively and defensively, but Pfeifer has been consistently excellent, Evans said.
Pfeifer, 27, played collegiately at Loyola, then played club-level lacrosse while working in real estate in the New York area. He decided to return to Loyola for an MBA, and while he is there, he is serving as head cross country coach, assistant lacrosse coach, and strength and fitness aide. This makes for a busy week, but he said he has no trouble staying in shape.
“I lift six or seven days a week, and I run with the cross country and indoor track teams,” he said.
Pfeifer’s biggest test this year with the Wings was more emotional than physical, as he suffered through the two season-opening losses, each by one goal.
“Your best goalies take it (losing) directly to heart,” he said. “We had to go through a lot of changes (integrating new personnel and a new coach, from last season). Now, those changes have been ironed out.”
WING TIPS: Winger Paul French, who missed last week’s game with a shoulder separation, is questionable for this week . . . Pat Lamon’s record six-goal game gave him the team scoring lead, with 11 goals and one assist. J.C. Conley is second, with five goals and three assists.
(Philadelphia Daily News, February 5, 1988)