MASL San Diego Sockers

San Diego Sockers Game Notes at Sacramento

Published on January 24, 2015 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


San Diego Sockers (10-3) at Sacramento Surge (3-10)

DATE: Saturday, January 24th, 2015

PLACE: McLellan Park, Sacramento, CA

TIME: 7:05pm PST

0 ESPN Radio 1700-AM (radio)

GoLiveSportsCast (video)

PLEASE CHECK MASLSOCCER.COM FOR UP-TO-DATE STANDINGS

SOCKERS TAKE ON SACTO TONIGHT AND SUNDAY

The San Diego Sockers (10-3) play their second of a three-game, three-day weekend road trip through the Central Valley of California, taking on the Sacramento Surge for the first time at their new venue, McLellan Park. The same two teams will meet again on Sunday afternoon at 3pm to conclude the road trip. This is the second meeting of the season between the Sockers and Surge. San Diego prevailed 18-5 in the first meeting on January 3rd at the VVCC.

LAST GAME: SOCKERS 10, EXPRESS 3

The Sockers faced the Turlock Express on Friday night in a critical game for Pacific Division playoff positioning, and San Diego handed the hosts their first home loss of the season in emphatic fashion, 10-3. The Sockers took a 5-0 lead into halftime and defended over thirty minutes against Turlock's sixth-attacker formation. Nick Perera scored a hat trick with an assist and Ney potted a pair of goals in the win, while Chris Toth earned his eighth win in goal with thirteen saves.

58 STRAIGHT WITH A POINT FOR CHILES

With a last-second touch, Sockers captain Kraig Chiles extended his record streak on Friday night at Turlock. According to MASL/PASL Stats, Sockers captain Kraig Chiles has recorded at least one point in 58 consecutive matches dating back to November 19th, 2011 when he was held pointless in a 7-6 OT win against the Anaheim Bolts. The streak is the longest in PASL/MASL history. Kraig was held to a single point against the Express, getting a touch on Raymundo Reza's midfield chip for a header goal with 2.7 seconds left in the first half. Chiles has also managed an thirteen-game goals streak, having scored at least one goal in every Sockers game this season. In his past seven games Chiles has 23 goals, pushing his season total to 21, second-most in the MASL (Gordy Gurson (SEA/STL)-38, Lucas Totti (TEX)-30).

SALVAGIO WINS 100th ON SOCKERS BENCH

Sockers head coach Phil Salvagio earned his 100th career coaching victory with the San Diego Sockers courtesy of Friday's 10-3 win over Turlock. Salvagio's all-time record on the Sockers bench improves to 100-14. His mark includes the U.S. professional record for a team sports winning streak (48 consecutive wins, 2010-13), and is an "all contests" record including U.S. Open Cup, FIFRA Championship and PASL playoff victories. Salvagio was a two-time Coach of the Year in the PASL (2011-13) and is the head coach of the U.S. National Arena Soccer Team for the 2015 World Cup. Phil has a ways to catch the Sockers' all-time coaching leader, Ron Newman, who accrued 373 career regular season wins.

PIFFER SCORES IN SOCKERS DEBUT

The Sockers made a trade with the Ontario Fury over the past weekend, acquiring Brazilian defender Luis Piffer in exchange for midfielders Guto and Johnny Topete. In his debut under the Sockers shield, Piffer netted a goal from midfield in the fourth quarter against the Express, his tenth of the season but first with San Diego. A two-way defender with a big left shot, Piffer is in his second season of PASL/MASL action and was second on the Fury this year with nine goals and fourteen assists (23 points) in fourteen games. In his career Piffer has 22 goals and 19 assists (41 points) in 27 games with Ontario and Las Vegas.

FARBER BACK WITH A VENGEANCE

Out since November 23 rd due to a knee injury, Sockers midfielder Brian Farber returned to the pitch exactly two months later and picked up as if he had never left. The former 2008-09 PASL MVP had a goal and two assists in his return to action, linking up with Nick Perera on all three of his scores. It was Farber's first multi-point game of the season. Brian will be held out of Saturday's lineup with the hope of playing again on Sunday afternoon.

PERERA HAT TRICK IN TURLOCK

Top target Nick Perera had missed one game in Tacoma due to a commitment as team captain of the U.S. Beach Soccer National Team, but his return to the lineup was seamless. With his second hat trick of the season and one assist, Perera notched his fifth game of four or more points this season. Nick is second on the club in points (39) and leads the Sockers in assists (20). His 39 points rank seventh in the MASL in scoring, and his 20 assists are third best in the league. Perera has already blown past his previous career highs for goals and points in a season.

TWO MORE GOALS FOR NEY

Brazilian midfielder Mardney Almeida "Ney" Felix has been an offensive force in the first few games of his professional arena soccer career. With a pair of goals against the Express, Ney now has scored eight goals in his first five games. Ney came to the Sockers from first-division professional futsal in his home country of Brazil. The 28-year-old has eleven points (8 goals, 3 assists) in his first five starts.

HUGHES RETURNS TO LINEUP TONIGHT

The Sockers have rotated their veterans into the lineup this weekend to keep legs fresh for the unique three game-three day road trial. After missing the Turlock game, veteran midfielder Jeff Hughes will return to the lineup for the weekend games in Sacramento. Recording a goal and assist against the Tacoma Stars on the 16th, Hughes improved his season totals to ten goals and eleven assists (21 points) in twelve games. Hughes' totals include three power play goals, second-best on the club. Jeff has a seven-game point scoring streak and has picked up ten points in his past three games (four goals, six assists).

POINTS STREAK FOR MERCURIALI

Mike Mercuriali is a veteran defender who earns his starts for his work on the back line and in marking top attackers. Scoring was never the forte for the San Diego State veteran known as "Merc", but after scoring a goal in Tacoma, Mercuriali picked up an assist Friday in Turlock, creating his first-ever career point-scoring streak. With points in two straight, Mercuriali is only 56 behind Kraig Chiles' team record points streak.

SOCKERS ON THE RADIO AND WEB

Friday's game and all 20 regular season MASL Sockers games will be carried live on ESPN Radio 1700-AM in San Diego. Audio streaming is available at www.espnradio1700.com. In addition, every MASL game has video streaming live on GoLiveSportsCast.com, including all Sockers games.

HEY ROOKIE! NADJAFI TO MAKE DEBUT

Rookie midfielder Arman Nadjafi has been added to the 20-man roster and will make his Sockers debut tonight. Nadjafi, who celebrated his 24th birthday last weekend, will be making his first professional start at any level. A native of Germany, Arman moved to the United States as a youth and was named Palomar League Player of the Year while at Rancho Bernardo High School in 2009. The Sockers removed Jonathan Santos from their 20-man roster to make room for Nadjafi.

MASL NOTES

- Missouri's Leo Gibson has surged back in front of the pack for the MASL scoring lead with 57 points (31g, 26a) in just 14 games. Gordy Gurson, formerly of Seattle and now on the St. Louis Ambush, follows with 52 points (38/14/52), then Texas striker Lucas Totti (30/14/44).

- Two teams remain undefeated in the MASL, Missouri (14-0) and Baltimore (12-0). The Comets face the 14-1 Monterrey Flash in Monterrey in the showdown game of the week. Harrisburg (0-11) is the league's only winless side.

- With 233 goals in his Sockers PASL/MASL career, Kraig Chiles is approaching Juli Veee's club record for goals scored (254).

OPPONENT PROFILE: SACRAMENTO SURGE (3-10)

The Sacramento Surge (3-10) will play host to the Sockers for the second and third time in club history this weekend. San Diego was victorious 11-4 in their only other appearance vs. the Surge in the state capitol. Sacramento defeated Seattle Impact 10-7 on January 10 th in the final game for the Impact, but followed that effort with an 18-4 loss in Las Vegas to the generally low-scoring Legends. The Sockers beat the Surge 18-5 in their first meeting on January 3 rd. Striker Matt Germain is the Surge's primary offensive force, with 19 goals and 24 points in 12 games. Sacramento is more proficient offensively at home, averaging eight goals per game as opposed to six goals per game away. The Surge have conceded eighteen power play goals, one less than the MASL leaders (Ontario, Tacoma 19).

Check out the San Diego Sockers Statistics

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