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San Diego Sockers Game Notes vs. Toros De Mexico

January 30, 2014 - Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


Toros de Mexico (7-5) vs. San Diego Sockers (11-3)

DATE: Saturday, February 1st, 2014

PLACE: Valley View Casino Center

BROADCAST: www.Sockers.com (audio)

AmericaOneSports.com (video)

PLEASE CHECK PASLSOCCER.COM FOR UP-TO-DATE STANDINGS

SOCKERS WELCOME TOROS ACROSS THE BORDER

The San Diego Sockers (11-3) and Toros de Mexico (7-5) meet for the second time in the regular season Saturday night at the Valley View Casino Center. The current PASL Pacific Division standings suggest a Sockers-Toros opening round playoff matchup on February 22nd. San Diego owns an eleven-game winning streak over the PASL team from Tijuana, dating back to their previous name of Revolucion Tijuana. TJ has yet to beat San Diego north of the border in five seasons.

LAST GAME: SOCKERS 8, MONTERREY 6

In arguably their top performance of the 2013-14 season, the Sockers came to Arena Monterrey and completed a stretch of four victories in eight days across two countries, handing the host Flash their first home loss of the season. Aaron Susi had two goals and two assists while Kraig Chiles continued a torrid weekend with four goals scored. The Sockers completed an 8-0 road schedule, dropping Monterrey to 12-3 on the season.

CHILES NAMED PASL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

When you score eight goals and have thirteen points in two big road wins, honors are sure to follow. For the second time this season, Sockers three-time MVP forward Kraig Chiles was named Professional Arena Soccer League Player of the Week. Chiles tied a career-high with nine points in a 12-4 win at Saltillo, including a career-best five assists. On the year Chiles has a league-leading 34 goals and 53 points in fourteen games.

MILESTONES LOOMING

- Kraig Chiles is three goals away from 200 in the PASL

- Aaron Susi is one point away from 200 career PASL

- Aaron Susi is six goals away from 100 in the PASL

- Chiky Luna is three points away from 100 career PASL

TWO AZTECS BATTLING FOR SCORING TITLE

Three-time defending PASL MVP Kraig Chiles is taking aim at a fourth straight honor and another scoring title, but standing in his way is another former SDSU standout, Las Vegas Legends forward Enrique Tovar. Kraig's huge weekend has moved him on top of the PASL scoring table with 53 points (34 goals, 19 assists), but Tovar has 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) with a game in hand Friday at Dallas.

POWER PLAY CLICKS IN MONTERREY

A key adjustment made by head coach Phil Salvagio led to the Sockers' best outing on the power play all season against Monterrey, as San Diego converted on their last three man advantages, finishing 3-for-5 on the game. After languishing in the bottom four of power play units across the PASL for most of the season, the Sockers' late surge has lifted them to 17-for-47 on the year, 10th best in the 20-team league.

DOWN THE STRETCH IN THE PACIFIC

The chase for the Pacific Division crown will come down to the final two games of the PASL regular season, with the Las Vegas Legends (11-2) holding a 1/2 game lead over the Sockers (11-3). Las Vegas faces Dallas Friday night at Allen Events Center, where the Sidekicks have yet to lose a regular season PASL game. While the Sockers and Legends split their season series 1-1, the Legends captured the season aggregate 17-16, earning the tiebreaker in the Pacific Division.

AARON SUSI A HoC STAR OF THE YEAR

The San Diego Hall of Champions has awarded Sockers captain Aaron Susi a Star of the Year honor for 2013, their highest yearly honor. Susi, a 17-year veteran and five-time PASL champion, will be honored at the 68 th Annual Salute to Champions February 13 th at the Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley.

CHIKY HEATING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME

Veteran Sockers midfielder Miguel "Chiky" Luna had just six points through the first seven games of San Diego's schedule, but last season's playoff hero had been timing his run. Over the past six games, Luna has recorded 11 points (five goals, six assists) including back-to-back three point games. On the season Luna has 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) in 13 games, and he is three points from 100 in his PASL career.

MEDINA MOTORING RIGHT ALONG

Rarely applauded, Anthony Medina keeps chugging along as a key element of the San Diego Sockers' offense. The midfielder/forward has a seven game point scoring streak and ranks fifth on the team with 17 points (13 goals, 4 assists). Medina's 13 goals are four away from his career PASL high, set in 2009-10.

CHICAGO AWARDED NEWMAN CUP HOST DUTIES

The PASL last week announced their decision to grant the Chicago Mustangs hosting rights for the 2014 Ron Newman Cup championships, to be held at the Sears Centre in Chicago on March 15th-16th. The Mustangs (11-0) are the only currently undefeated team in the PASL. As such, the Sockers now know their path to a fifth straight title: they must emerge from the Pacific Division playoff to then win two games in Chicago. The Sockers currently rank second in the Pacific, meaning they would host third-place Toros on Feburary 22nd. The winner of that match would face Las Vegas for the right to advance to the Final Four in the Windy City, likely on March 1st. Playoff dates are tentative.

McNELEY RETURNS, SANTOS BACK

The Sockers got good news last weekend on the defensive back line when Evan McNeley came back from a two-week absence due to injury. While McNeley did not record a point in two games at Saltillo and Monterrey, his man-to-man defense earned rave reviews from the coaching staff. Further bolstering the defensive corps is the return to action of Jonatan Martin, who was unable to make the Mexico trip due to visa issues.

SCOTTY'S WILD RIDE HAD BAD FINISH

A snowboarding accident in December has sidelined one of the Sockers' steadiest and most physical defenders for the remainder of the 2013-14 regular season. Scott Martin's head injuries have not healed sufficiently for him to be cleared by doctors to return to action, and a subsequent exam this week ruled Martin out for the remainder of the regular season. PASL teams must submit their 20-man playoff rosters by February 1 st.

"NO GOAL PATROL" STAYS ON POINT

The Sockers' penalty killing unit stymied their Mexican opponents this past weekend, denying Saltillo and Monterrey on five straight power plays before Genoni Martinez rifled in a concession goal with :05 remaining in Sunday's 8-6 win over Monterrey. On the season San Diego ranks second in the 20-team PASL with a 71.43% kill rate (14-of-49), and the Sockers are tied for the league lead with four short handed goals.

SOCKERS WELCOME ADRIAN GONZALEZ

The Sockers welcome Major League Baseball All Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to Saturday night's Sockers-Toros match. Gonzalez will deliver the ceremonial first kick prior to the 7:05pm kickoff. Adrian, 31, was born in San Diego and raised in Tijuana before moving on to an All-Star baseball career in Florida, Texas, San Diego, Boston and Los Angeles. Gonzalez was a four-time All Star in San Diego from 2006-10 with the Padres and has been selected for every Mexican World Baseball Classic team.

PASL NOTES: PLAYOFF RACES SHAPING UP

With Chicago's elevation to the Ron Newman Cup Final Four, the remaining playoff races are crystallizing and possible matchups are becoming clear. In the Pacific, San Diego will likely host Toros in the 3-v-2 matchup, with the winner taking on Las Vegas. In the Central, Hidalgo is the favorite to hold off Dallas for the division title, with the Sidekicks hoping to keep the Flash in third place. In the East, Cleveland is 1 ½ games ahead of Detroit for the top spot in the divisional playoff, with Cincinnati (4-8) and Harrisburg (4-9) within ½ game of one another for the final playoff berth.

OPPONENT PROFILE: TOROS de MEXICO (7-5)

In line for their second consecutive playoff appearance, head coach Joe Pollard's Toros de Mexico are in search of their first-ever win against the Sockers in San Diego. While Tijuana has one win and a few close calls against the Sockers south of the border, San Diego carries an eleven game overall winning streak against the Toros into Saturday's contest. On the year TJ is 5-2 at home but 2-3 away from Unisantos Park. Top forward Gerardo Villa has the most dramatic home/road splits on the Toros, with 32 points (24 goals, 8 assists) in seven home games and seven points (5 goals, two assists) in five road games. Forward Oscar Rivas leads the Toros with 17 assists (22 points overall). Obie Clibourne has helped stabilize Toros' goalkeeping situation with a 4-4 record and 8.22 goals against average. Toros are 5 th in the PASL (15-for-29, 51.7%) on power play and 14 th (13-for-29, 55%) on penalty kill.

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