Scott Sealy has heard it all. That his goals are lucky, cheap and involve marginal skill. Anyone could kick most of them into the net. Soccer might be "the beautiful game." But even Sealy concedes that his opportunistic style doesn't lend itself to the most artistic, highlight-reel-quality goals. But he scores them.
The Earthquakes, you may have noticed, haven't been counting very high. Their offense can be summed up this way: nil. The team has a league-low 11 goals in 17 games, which is why it recently added reinforcements in the form of Sealy, English forward Darren Huckerby and Brazilian midfielder Francisco Lima.
The three are expected to make their home debuts when the expansion Earthquakes (3-9-5) face the New York Red Bulls (5-6-6) on Sunday at Buck Shaw Stadium. Sealy is eager to show why San Jose General Manager John Doyle and Coach Frank Yallop had been trying for months to pry him from the Wizards.
"He gets those scrappy goals that aren't pretty," said Earthquakes defender Nick Garcia, who played with Sealy in Kansas City. "He might not hit a laser from 30 yards out, but he will pin one that rebounds off the post from 3 yards. He does all of his work within the 18-yard box."
Sealy, 27, a native of Trinidad and Tobago who played collegiately at Wake Forest, has 28 goals and five assists in 88 Major League Soccer games over four seasons. But a quadriceps injury slowed him early this season, which helps explain why he scored just twice in 13 games for the Wizards.
But, Yallop said, "I think there's goals in Scott for us."
Good strikers might have different styles and come in all shapes and sizes. But Yallop said they all share one trait.
"They always are in the right place at the right time," he said. "The good ones will tell you that they don't know how they do it. Being in the right spot is just an instinct. They always seem to find space where others don't."
That seems to describe Sealy. And he does struggle a bit with a description for how he does it.
"I just find balls," he finally said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm a poacher."
While excited about the trade, the timing couldn't be more difficult for Sealy. His wife, Kaomi, gave birth to a daughter, Diem, just six weeks ago. (They also have a 5-year-old son, Dante.) He's living in a San Jose hotel and the family is back in Kansas City.
"Leaving my family is hard," Sealy said. "But that's professional sports. This is my job and what I choose to do. And it's always good to go to a team where you're wanted."
That pragmatic attitude carries over to Sealy's future. His contract is up after the season. Yallop said the Earthquakes wouldn't have made the trade if they didn't want Sealy here "for years to come." But for his part, Sealy said he's concentrating on the rest of this season.
"Anything's possible," he added. "The long term will sort itself out. I just want to contribute and score goals as quickly as possible and help the team rise from the bottom of the table. uot;
Yallop calls the next three weeks "make or break" if the Earthquakes hope to make a playoff run. Games against New York and New England at Buck Shaw sandwich an Oakland date with David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy.
"We need at least two wins and a tie," he said. "We do that, then we've got a chance. But we have to start winning games. We can't just tie."
That means scoring goals - which is Sealy's job.
"I consider myself a very streaky guy," said Sealy, who made his first Earthquakes appearance in a 0-0 tie at Toronto last Saturday. "I just need one or two to really start me going. I'm just focused on getting the first one."
He doesn't care if it's pretty or not. As he said, you don't get anything extra for style.