Eastern Division

Before the MSL playoffs began, Sockers Coach Ron Newman figured his team would eventually face the Cleveland Crunch in the championship series. He figured right, barely. Cleveland edged Kansas City, 7-6, in the seventh and deciding game of the Eastern Division championship series Saturday to advance to the MSL finals against the Sockers, beginning Friday at the San Diego Sports Arena.

The Lazers, after winning their second straight home game Thursday night, are back on the road for two games, facing the Minnesota Strikers tonight at Bloomington, Minn., and then playing at Chicago Tuesday night. The Strikers (23-15) are atop the Eastern Division of the Major Indoor Soccer League, leading the Cleveland Force by three games. But the Lazers (17-17) have played them well, winning both meetings this season.

The Lazers, one game away from elimination in the Major Indoor Soccer League playoffs, meet the Baltimore Blast in Game 3 of the quarterfinals tonight at 6 at the Forum. Having beaten the Blast, the Eastern Division champions, two of three times during the regular season, the Lazers lost, 4-3, in the best-of-five series opener Wednesday and were trounced, 12-3, Friday as Paul Kitson tied a playoff record with seven goals. Both games were at Baltimore.

Tatu scored three goals, including the tiebreaker with 5:38 to play in the game, to give the Dallas Sidekicks a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Force Sunday night, sending Dallas into the Major Indoor Soccer League championship series. The Sidekicks, who lost the first game of the series, won the next four to eliminate Cleveland in the best-of-seven Eastern Division championships. Dallas will play the winner of the San Diego-Tacoma series for the MISL title.

The Lazers will try to climb above .500 and win their second consecutive game tonight against the Baltimore Blast at the Civic Arena in Baltimore. After handing the Cleveland Force its fourth straight loss Wednesday night at the Richfield Coliseum in Ohio, the Lazers hope to improve their 2-7 record in Baltimore. Last season, the clubs split four games, each winning two at home. The Blast (8-5) is leading the Eastern Division of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

First Interstate Bank of California, a unit of Los Angeles-based First Interstate Bancorp, has made several appointments of senior officers. William J. Doomey Jr. was named executive vice president in the Global Trading and Distribution department. New senior vice presidents include Edward J. McCaffrey, U.S. Banking Group-Eastern division, New York; John B.

The Kansas City Wizards outscored the New York-New Jersey MetroStars, 2-0, in a shootout after the Major League Soccer game before 9,278 was tied at 3-3 in regulation Sunday. Mark Chung tied the score in the 83rd minute, then scored a shootout goal for Kansas City. Preki also scored in the shootout for the Wizards (17-7), who remain atop the Western Division. The MetroStars (7-15) are last in the Eastern Division. Giovanni Savarese scored two goals for the MetroStars.