Perera Reaches Milestone in OT Win
Published on February 1, 2026 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
Nick Perera of the San Diego Sockers
(San Diego Sockers, Credit: Ryan Young)
OCEANSIDE, CA - Nick Perera scored two goals with three assists, netting the equalizer with five seconds left in the fourth quarter, then assisting on Sebastian Mendez's golden goal at 2:53 of overtime, as the San Diego Sockers pulled out a heart-stopping 7-6 win on Sunday night at Frontwave Arena. A crowd of 3,023 rose as one in overtime when Perera held a forward pass on the left wing and rolled it out to the onrushing Mendez, who slotted a skipping shot inside the right post for his second goal of the night and the match-winner, eliciting a shirt-throwing celebration.
On a night when the Sockers (7-4-1, 21 points) needed everything he could possibly provide, the veteran Perera gave them everything they needed, earning a major MASL milestone as a result. Perera's last-gasp equalizer, on a redirection of a wild centering pass from San Diego's Gabriel Costa with six attackers on the field and an empty net behind him, was the 500th point of his career, making him the third player in league history to reach the figure. His third assist of the night was career point #501 (247-254=501).
"It was a scary moment there, and the game was on the line," said Perera, "I'm really, really happy to get that goal and give us a chance to play, and then obviously, Sebastian with a huge goal to win the game."
The Sockers started the night with eleven players down due to injury and lost career club points leader Kraig Chiles to a first-quarter knee injury for an even dozen out, including six all-MASL performers. Missing both Chiles and fellow forward Tavoy Morgan up top, the Sockers best chance for offense came by feeding Perera on the low block as often as he could get his 39-year-old frame on the field.
"I'm just healthy," said Perera of his outsized role, ignoring the flu bug he battled all week, "I'm available to be selected. That's the best way I can lead the team right now."
The loss was a heartbreaker for the Stars (7-4-1, 20 points), who held all three points until the final five seconds of regulation, only to fall to 0-3-1 on the road for the season. Tyler John scored two goals with two assists for Tacoma, using his size and speed to constantly bull-rush his way toward the goal on counters.
Both clubs put their legs and energy into a high-pressure strategy in the first quarter, which was filled with ten minutes of tense passes, onrushing defenders, and last-second escapes. In the eleventh minute, the dam burst. San Diego got caught deep in their zone on an attack, and when Logan Jones controlled a blocked shot and raced up the middle, he had open blue turf in front of him and a counter-attack runner to his right. Jones fed Tyler John, who raced into the corner and sent the ball back to Jones in front of the net for a tap-in goal at 10:35 and a 1-0 Tacoma lead.
Seconds later, the entire field was stunned when San Diego goalkeeper Boris Pardo pushed a ball exactly to his yellow line before firing a long pass to Nick Perera. The Stars players all thought as one the ball would be ruled a three-line pass and froze in place, but as the officials correctly ruled the ball properly in play, Perera was able to trap the ball, turn, and shoot home his sixth goal of the year relatively unimpeded at 11:20, knotting the score at 1-1. The quarter ended with a one-man play from Leonardo de Oliveira, who stole a pass along the bench wall and weaved his way in on goal. With a Stars defender literally jumping on his shoulder, Leo unleashed a wicked half-volley which smacked the underside of the crossbar and caromed into the net for a true golazo at 12:41. The Sockers led 2-1 and carried the lead into the quarter break.
While the second quarter started auspiciously for San Diego, it also carried the portent of the challenge to come. The Sockers jumped to a 3-1 lead at 2:18 when Costa and defender Drew Ruggles found themselves on a 2-v-1 counter-attack. Costa's perfectly weighted pass from left wing diagonally across the floor hit Ruggles in stride, and the lefty swinger shot wrong-footed with his right to push home the goal. However, before the minute ended, Tacoma had the answer, as captain Alex Caceres held a ball between a Sockers double-team defense and slithered a pass between the two to Nani Mendoza on right wing, who punched in his seventh goal of the season at 2:59 for 3-2.
While the Sockers outshot the Stars 11-6 in the second quarter, every missed chance seemed to spawn a counterattack the other way. The last of the half was the most successful, as Yahir Romero rolled a ball from the left mid-wall to the far post, where Tyler John crashed in at full speed, doing a feet-first slide to push the ball in at 14:08. The match was tied 3-3 at halftime.
The third quarter resembled a ping-pong match, with goals being scored left and right. Perera set up Mendez on a yellow line free kick for a goal from the right wing at 5:25 for a 4-3 Sockers lead. John pushed a Tacoma counter-attack downfield before squaring a ball to Adrian Correa for a tap-in goal at 7:05 to equalize 4-4. Perera's second assist of the quarter was a set-up for rookie Adrian Reyes' sixth goal of the season and a 5-4 lead at 9:38. But back came the Stars, with John weaving his way between defenders across three lines before firing a straightaway shot past goalkeeper Boris Pardo (11-of-17 saves) at 10:04 to tie things 5-5. Lastly, Jamael Cox made the best of a secondary break, picking up a loose ball off yet another John counter and firing it to the back post, where defender Chase Hanson knocked in his second goal of the season at 13:01. The Stars had the lead 6-5 after three quarters.
The fourth saw the Sockers put whatever was left in the reserves of their legs into the gas tank, only to be rebuffed time and again by Tacoma's defense. San Diego killed a power play against mid-quarter and kept the lead at one before going for the all-or-nothing six attacker formation with just under three minutes left. The Stars did well to break the time remaining into segments and furiously defended the final ninety seconds. With ten seconds left, a cross from the right wing was deflected off Perera to Gabriel Costa, and his re-feed to the middle saw Perera create just enough space to have his leg and hip open for a deflection. Perera pointed to the roof for career point #500 as he was mobbed by his teammates.
And yet, the match was still not done. Restarting with 5.4 seconds left on the clock, the Stars sent a long forward pass into the right corner, and got a cross off to defender Nestor Hernandez, whose re-direction bounced twice before heading inside the left post and past Pardo for the match-winner...but the horn had sounded on the second bounce, half a second before the ball crossed the line. Tacoma ran around the field in celebration before official review confirmed the no-goal call, sending the game to overtime.
The Sockers will do their best to mend some injured players between now and their next match, a Saturday night home game on Alumni Night against Utica City FC. The match will kick off at 7:00pm and broadcast on MASL TV, with tickets available at sdsockers.com or frontwavearena.com.
Images from this story
 Nick Perera of the San Diego Sockers (Ryan Young) |
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from February 1, 2026
- Perera Reaches Milestone in OT Win - San Diego Sockers
- Stars Drop Overtime Thriller to Sockers, 7-6 - Tacoma Stars
- Strykers Fall 8-2 Away to Ruthless Blast - Empire Strykers
- UCFC Falls to Milwaukee - Utica City FC
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