MASL San Diego Sockers

Medina Has Hat-Trick in Final Game as Sockers Rout El Paso 10-3

Published on March 4, 2018 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


SAN DIEGO - The Pacific Division Champion San Diego Sockers (19-3) concluded their 2017-18 MASL regular season with a 10-3 rout of the El Paso Coyotes before a season-high crowd of 5,218 at Valley View Casino Center on Saturday night. Anthony Medina, who announced his retirement after nine seasons, scored three goals in his final game.

San Diego finishes the season with the second-best record in the league and now has the possibility of having home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if they can win the best-of-three Divisional Championship Series against the Tacoma Stare beginning Thursday in the Pacific Northwest.

Medina was the story of the evening, as he was honored between the first and second periods with a short ceremony and video, scoring San Diego's first and last goals.

The Sockers ran out to a 5-1 halftime lead on goals from five different players. In addition to Medina, Hiram Ruiz, Luan Oliveira, Kraig Chiles and Brandon Escoto put balls past El Paso goalkeeper Eduardo Arevalo.

San Diego tallied five times in the second half to put away the Coyotes. Matt Clare and Jamie Lovegrove added goals along with another each from Chiles and Medina.

Kraig Chiles was the team's leading scorer with 38 goals and 18 assists for 56 points. He led the league with seven game-winning goals.

San Diego now turns its attention to the postseason and a matchup against the Tacoma Stars. Game One is Thursday in Tacoma. Game Two and a possible Mini-Game will be played at Valley View Casino Center on Saturday, March 10, 7:05 p.m. Tickets priced at $20 for reserved seats or $10 for general admission open seating are on sale now at AXS.com.

Over 30 celebrities played in the annual All-Star Celebrity game at halftime. Team Cal Coast Credit Union and Team Kaiser Permanente played to a 1-1 tie in the 12-minute contest. Geoff "Cabana Boy" Allen and Gus Castaneda scored the goals.

Check out the San Diego Sockers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major Arena Soccer League Stories from March 4, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central