PASL-Pro Weekly - Week 10
January 15, 2010 - Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL) News Release
Sockers Taste Defeat, Remain in Control of West
1/15/10 - The San Diego Sockers have had the Western Division on lockdown all year bolting out to an 8-0 start. Flying to Calgary, however, stripped them of their invicibility. The Sockers still share the PASL-Pro record of eight straight wins, matching a feat the 1790 Cincinnati Express accomplished to open last season.
San Diego lost to the Calgary United 6-4 on Saturday, but righted the ship on Sunday in Edmonton. The Sockers trailed for several minutes in that game before forcing overtime, where the Sockers quickly capitalized on a bad clear by Tristan Ilko. Chiky Luna scored into the vacated net 20 seconds into sudden death to win 5-4 and the Sockers escaped Canada with one win and a still-impressive 9-1 record.
The California Cougars had a big weekend with back-to-back road wins in Denver and Texas to improve to 6-3. How the Western Division shapes up:
San Diego (9-1) The Sockers magic number to clinch the Western Division is five and San Diego has the fewest games remaining of any team in the league. They have three left at home and three away, including two crucial games in Stockton against the Cougars.
California (6-3) The Cougars have been far less explosive offensively without Bernie Lilavois and Aaron Susi and new coach Antonio Sutton has placed more emphasis on defense. The Cougars are still in striking distance, however, with two home games remaining against the Sockers.
Texas (4-3) The Outlaws seem like a team on the verge, but they haven't been able to kick it into high gear yet. They hit the road for four straight before coming home for four of their last five.
Denver (1-5) Unless the Dynamite can reel off four straight against the Saskatoon Accelerators they will be consigned to the role of playing spoiler. They will play eight of their final ten games on the road including four straight at Saskatoon next week.
PASL-Pro Game Action
The expansion Prince George Fury of the CMISL, the PASL-Pro's sister league, made an all around auspicious debut despite falling short on both ends of a day/night doubleheader at the CN Centre.
Attendance at the two games was robust with 1,607 taking in the matinee and 1,838 at the night cap. The Tacoma Stars spoiled the party taking Game 1 9-8 in overtime and cruising 6-2 in Game 2.
Despite the losses Game 1 was a dandy. The Fury raced out to a 4-1 lead only to give up the next seven goals for an 8-4 deficit. Prince George brought the CN Centre to life with a four goal rally that culiminated in a Scott DiBianchi game-tying goal with just 1.7 seconds left in regulation. Needless to say, the fans were treated to a great first impression of indoor soccer.
The Fury, Prince George's first professional team, have two more split doubleheaders at home this season.
KICK STARTERS - Conversations you should be having about the PASL-Pro
Tony Avery, Denver Dynamite
The 30-year old forward and former Kansas City Comet has figured in 39% of the Dynamite's goals this season. Avery leads the Dynamite with 13 goals and five assists in just five games, including four goals in their 7-6 loss against the California Cougars.
1790 Cincinnati Express Streaks On
The Express kept their view from the top in last weekend's other 9-8 overtime extravaganza. Cincinnati blew a 5-1 halftime lead against the Louisville Lightning and needed the extra session to fend off Detroit, St. Louis, and Louisville to stay atop the Eastern Division. Jeff Hughes had three goals and two assists including the game-winning goal and assistant coach Craig Rhodis came out of retirement for the second time this year and assisted on the winning goal. These two teams meet again twice in February.
US Open Update
And then there were nine. The Louisville Lightning and Detroit Waza advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open with easy wins against Ohio and FC Indiana, respectively. The Lightning and Waza will face off in Detroit on Sunday with the winner advancing to the semifinals.
The Week Ahead
Fri, January 15, 2010
7:30 pm Ohio Vortex vs Detroit Waza Canton Civic Center
Sat, January 16, 2010
6:15 pm San Diego Sockers vs Texas Outlaws Del Mar Arena
6:30 pm Denver Dynamite vs Edwards Freedom Westridge Community Center
7:00 pm Ohio Vortex vs Louisville Lightning Canton Civic Center
7:00 pm Calgary United vs Edmonton Drillers Subway Soccer Centre
7:00 pm Tacoma Stars vs Prince George Fury Tacoma Soccer Center
7:30 pm Springfield Demize (MO.) vs St. Louis Illusion
Sun, January 17, 2010
4:00 pm California Cougars vs Texas Outlaws Turlock Indoor Soccer
4:30 pm Detroit Waza vs Louisville Lightning Taylor Sportsplex
5:00 pm Wenatchee Fire vs Prince George Fury Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex
Professional Arena Soccer League Stories from January 15, 2010
- Shaun David Heads to La Raza - Texas Outlaws
- Vortex Victorious on Gillespie's Late Goal - Ohio Vortex
- PASL-Pro Weekly - Week 10 - PASL
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.
