WEST VALLEY CITY — Sterling Wescott is a very critical soccer player.
And the Freezz midfielder proved it following Utah's 6-5 victory over the Sacramento Knights on Friday.
"I was terrible tonight. I did not make the transition as well as I would've liked," said Wescott. "But that's how indoor soccer works, you score two goals and you're a star."
Even though Wescott shined statistically, his overall feel for indoor soccer was missing. He has a valid excuse.
For the past five months he's played outdoor soccer with the Utah Blitzz. That all culminated last Saturday with the Blitzz claiming the D3 Pro League Championship with a 1-0 win over Greenville. Wescott assisted on Utah's only goal.
Now he must adjust to the indoor game, and he believes it's a work in progress.
"There's no days off, it's right back to work," said Wescott.
Wescott may have been struggling, but at least he solved the Freezz's scoring hex against Sacramento.
Throughout the opening half Utah played well enough to be leading, but instead it trailed 2-0 heading into halftime.
"We just couldn't get one in," said Utah coach Jeff Betts. "There was no magic wand to wave, we just didn't get one on target."
It took Wescott all of 17 seconds to change all that in the second half. His goal on a free kick seemed to ignite the struggling Freezz. During the first seven minutes of the second half, the Freezz found the net a whopping seven times to go up 5-2.
"We came out in the third quarter and did the same thing as the first half, but we were able to put one in," said Wescott.
In addition to Wescott tallying another, Beau Brown, Simplice Djahanou and Betts each added another goal during Utah's scoring frenzy.
Sacramento rallied to cut the deficit to 5-4 early in the fourth quarter, but Justin Labrum spoiled any comebacks. His blasted in a pass from Wes Sechrist midway through the final quarter to put Utah up 6-4, which proved to be the game-winner after the Knights tied it late.
Labrum also had the game-winner during the Freezz's season-opening 5-4 win against Sacramento on Aug. 17.
For the Freezz, and particularly Wescott, there's no time for rest. Utah hosts the up-start St. Louis Steamers Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. in the E Center.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com