Penalties, Injuries Hamper Texas' Efforts In 7-5 Loss To San Diego
November 16, 2009 - Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL)
Texas Outlaws News Release
15 November 2009 NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX-The Texas Outlaws took the field Sunday evening at TCG Arena looking to send a message with a win over the San Diego Sockers, a favorite to win the PASL's Western Division. Though the opening minutes looked good for the Outlaws, the Sockers erased an early deficit at the end of the first period, pulled ahead in the second, and held on for a 7-5 victory as the teams traded goals throughout the second half. Aaron Susi managed a hat trick for the visitors, while Anthony Jama led the scoring for the home side with two goals.
Outlaws fans were treated to an early lead in the home opener when Alex Sabando collected a rebound from a shot by Edison Arboleda and slipped it under the Sockers goalkeeper just two minutes into the game. The lead stood until the last tick of the quarter when San Diego's Anthony Medina headed in a power-play goal with under a second remaining. The Sockers stayed on the offensive, scoring again less than a minute into the second period. Three minutes later, Susi scored his first, capitalizing on another Outlaws penalty, giving San Diego a two-goal lead and making them 2-for-2 on the power play. Neither team scored again in the first half, and the Sockers entered the half-time break with a 3-1 advantage.
The Outlaws became more aggressive in the third quarter, closing the gap to one goal when Jamie Harrigan launched a rocket from the right side into the upper corner of the goal on a set-up from Shaun David. It may as well have been a power-play score, but the official time of the goal was one second after a San Diego penalty had expired. The Outlaws pressed for the equalizer, launching 3 times as many shots as their opponent in the third, only to see 9 of 12 blocked by Sockers defenders. Then San Diego opened up their biggest lead of the night when they scored two quick goals just 14 seconds apart with about 6 minutes left in the quarter, leaving the Outlaws on the short side of a 5-2 score. Soon after, an aggressive San Diego tackle resulted in a badly bruised thigh for the Outlaws keeper, Luis Aldaba. It was the second significant injury of the night for Texas (defender Ricky Gallardo left the game early in the first quarter after a collision with two Sockers).
Aldaba finished the third quarter but could not continue into the final frame. Before the end of the period, Jama had gotten Texas and the fans back into the game blasting a low shot from the yellow line that skimmed the right post as it crossed the goal line. Down 5-3, the Outlaws were forced to insert Harrigan as a sixth attacker for the entire 4th quarter. The Sockers bumped the lead back to three, scoring the eventual game winner with 12:17 to go. But the Outlaws weren't done-just 90 seconds later, they were within 2 again when Chuck Salas connected with a streaking Keegan Hudson deep in the San Diego zone with a skillful flick pass. Hudson one-touched the bouncing ball, floating a shot over the oncoming goalkeeper and into the net to make it 6-4. Again the Outlaws pressed, tripling the Sockers shot total for a second consecutive quarter. But the Sockers defense held firm and Susi completed his hat trick with 3 minutes left. The Outlaws' Jama finished the game with a second set of fireworks firing a laser into the upper corner of the goal from several yards behind the yellow line just 4 seconds before the final buzzer.
With the 7-5 win, San Diego improves to 2-0 on the season, while the Outlaws start at 0-1. Texas' next two games feature rivals old and new. They play next on Saturday, 21 November, visiting their current Western Division adversary the Denver Dynamite; then they return home to face last year's Eastern Division rival, the St. Louis Illusion on 6 December. Tickets are available at www.txoutlaws.com or by calling (817) 846-8843.
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