Monday Matinee against Fury
February 16, 2020 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers (12-4) begin a three-match road trip with a Presidents' Day matinee in Ontario against the Fury.
The 1pm kickoff at Toyota Arena will represent the third of four meetings between the two Southern California MASL clubs, and the only meeting of the regular season scheduled for the Inland Empire.
In their previous two encounters in December and January, the Sockers emerged with victories by tight score lines of 4-2 and 4-3. The Sockers and Fury will close out the season against one another on March 22. San Diego has prevailed in ten straight contests against Ontario, dating back to 2017.
The Sockers enjoyed a brief pit stop at home, beating the Baltimore Blast on Wednesday, February 12 by a 5-1 count.
It was the lone home match in a stretch of ten contests for San Diego, who went 3-3 on a two-week sojourn through the Eastern Conference and Mexico. The Sockers will move on to Texas for weekend matches against Mesquite and Dallas.
San Diego's captain Kraig Chiles has multi-point games in seven of his last eight matches, and leads the club in goals (16) and points (24). Defender Cesar Cerda has built up a new personal club best with 10 assists and 17 points.
Ontario is led offensively by forward Franck Tayou, who has 27 goals and 35 points heading into a weekend road match in Turlock. Former Sockers keeper Chris Toth recorded a 15-save shutout against the Mesquite Outlaws, and ranks third in the MASL with a .722 save percentage. The Fury are 4-3 at home, while the Sockers are 5-3 on the road.
Kaptain Kraig
Sockers captain Kraig Chiles is having a resurgent second half of the MASL season. With a goal and assist against Baltimore, Chiles now leads San Diego in both goals (16) and points (24). It was Chiles' seventh multi-point game in his last eight matches, during which he has accumulated (13-6=19) points.
Pardo Locks Down Net
Defending MASL Goalkeeper of the Year Boris Pardo had his strongest match of the season against the Blast, notching fifteen saves on sixteen shots while allowing just one goal, a season-low for the Sockers. On the season, Pardo is 8-4 with a 5.11 goals against average (GAA) and .683 save percentage (SV%).
Struggling Special Teams
San Diego is slumping on the man advantage, having converted only one of their last 17 power play opportunities, which came on a direct kick by Kraig Chiles. The Sockers rank 13th in the 17-team MASL in power play conversions at 21.9% (7-for-32). Of equal or greater concern, San Diego is 13th in the league in penalty killing, having killed just 14 power plays in 27 attempts against (51.9%).
Cerda Reaching New Heights
With an assist in San Diego's 5-1 win over the Baltimore Blast, defender Cesar Cerda recorded his tenth assist of the season, taking over the club lead in that category. Cerda has set a Sockers career- high with 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists) in 16 matches. In addition to his offensive contributions, Cerda is frequently asked to mark the opponent's top scorer, and logs up to 30 minutes of floor time per match.
Hiram "Pollo" Ruiz Makes SC Top 10
Ruiz scored a spectacular bicycle-kick goal against the Blast on February 12, which earned him the #9 spot on the nightly ESPN Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays.
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Major Arena Soccer League Stories from February 16, 2020
- Wave Take Down First Place Florida Tropics in Overtime - Milwaukee Wave
- Monday Matinee against Fury - San Diego Sockers
- Comets Clobber St. Louis, Support Charity - Kansas City Comets
- Tropics Nine-Game Win Streak Ends in OT as Milwaukee Nips Florida, 6-5 - Florida Tropics SC
- Stars Drop Sunday Matinee in Mesquite 5-2 - Tacoma Stars
- Ambush Fall to Comets Sunday in Independence - St. Louis Ambush
- Mesquite Outlaws Halt Losing Streak with Win vs. Tacoma Stars - Texas Outlaws
- Stars Go for Weekend Texas Sweep Sunday in Mesquite - Tacoma Stars
- Heat Lose to Blast in Baltimore 7-4 - Harrisburg Heat
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