PASL San Diego Sockers

San Diego Sockers Game Notes at Toros De Mexico

Published on January 3, 2014 under Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


San Diego Sockers (6-2) at Toros de Mexico (4-3)

DATE: Sunday, January 5th, 2014

PLACE: Unisantos Park, Tijuana, MX

TIME: 1:05pm

BROADCAST: AmericaOneSports.com

www.Sockers.com (internet)

PLEASE VISIT PASLSOCCER.COM FOR UP-TO-DATE STANDINGS

SOCKERS OPEN 2014 WITH LOCAL RIVALRY

The San Diego Sockers (6-2) open the second half of the 2013-14 Professional Arena Soccer League regular season with their first of two matches against the Toros de Mexico. This is San Diego's only appearance of the year in Tijuana; the two sides will rematch at the Valley View Casino Center on February 1st. Last season the Sockers went 2-0 against the Toros, including a 15-9 victory on February 17th, 2013 in their only visit to Unisantos Park. San Diego has beaten the PASL team from Tijuana (formerly Revolucion Tijuana) in ten straight meetings.

LAST GAME: SOCKERS 13, ONTARIO 5

San Diego wrapped up the 2013 portion of their PASL schedule with the team's sixth straight victory, easily handling the Ontario Fury 13-5 in front of a crowd of 3,683 at the Valley View Casino Center. Three-time league MVP Kraig Chiles continued his recent torrid streak, connecting on four goals with two assists in the victory. Evan McNeley added a four-point game (two goals, two assists) for the second straight contest, while Diego Rovira added a goal with two assists. The Sockers are 2-0 against the Fury this season, handing Ontario their sixth straight loss.

McNELEY EARNS STAR OF THE MONTH HONORS

In his first season with San Diego, free agent defender Evan McNeley has already made his mark on both ends of the field as a key contributor to the Sockers. The San Diego Hall of Champions recognized McNeley's efforts on Friday, as Evan was named a Star of the Month for December 2013. McNeley will be invited to the annual February gala for San Diego's top athletes at the Town and Country Hotel. On the season, Evan is tied for second on the team in goals (7) and points (13) and is tied for the team lead in blocked shots (9). McNeley is coming off back-to-back four point games, registering two goals and two assists in wins over Turlock and Ontario. Evan also earns regular shifts on both the Sockers' power play and their penalty killing unit.

CHILES BACK IN MVP FORM

The three-time defending PASL MVP and goals leader is back in form, which is good news for the San Diego Sockers and bad news for the opposition. Kraig Chiles has a goal in every game this season, but has turned it on of late, scoring 22 of his 26 points in the past five games (fifteen goals, seven assists). Chiles had four hat tricks over the five-game span, and now ranks fifth in the PASL in points (26) and fourth in goals (18).

TROUBLES IN TIJUANA: CLOSE GAME TODAY?

In past seasons, games played across the border have regularly come down to the wire. While the Sockers have beaten the team from Tijuana (formerly called Revolucion) ten straight times and own a 5-1 record in Mexico, three of their five victories in Tijuana have come in overtime and five of the six games were tied in the fourth quarter. Last year's 15-9 win was the first time the Sockers had scored more than six goals in a Tijuana game.

PACIFIC DIVISION DOMINANCE

San Diego carries a win streak of 34 consecutive games within the division into Sunday's contest. The Sockers have been listed in both the Western and Pacific Divisions during their time in the PASL, but have not lost a divisional game since December 27th, 2010, dropping a road overtime decision to the now-defunct California Cougars 9-8.

SOCKERS DEFENSE CONTINUES TO SHINE

They say defense wins championships, and the four-time defending PASL champion Sockers have made defense a point of emphasis in 2013-14. San Diego has allowed 40 goals in eight games this season (5.0 per game), fourth trailing Chicago (4.5 GAA), Monterrey (4.5 GAA) and Hidalgo (4.6 GAA) for the top scoring defense in the PASL. The Sockers have not allowed more than six goals in a game this season.

ROVIRA ON THE MOVE

Defender/midfielder Diego Rovira will be with the Sockers for Sunday's game in Tijuana, but his future availability is in doubt after the veteran accepted a new job in the Bay Area, forcing a move from America's Finest City. Rovira remains on call for the Sockers in the 2013-14 season but his future appearances may be limited due to work responsibilities and travel issues.

BACK LINE SHORT HANDED FOR TJ TRIP

The Sockers' corps of defenders is being tested in the middle of the PASL campaign. Top defender Scott Martin is out indefinitely after suffering an off-field head injury during a vacation snowboarding accident. Defender Mike Mercuriali (hamstring) was unavailable against Ontario and will be a game-day decision against Mexico. Defender Ze Roberto is on a trip to Brazil for a family matter and will miss Sunday's game as well, but is expected to be back for the Las Vegas game on 1/11. Veteran Antonio Sutton is expected to get the call for Sunday.

VELEZ RETURNS FROM ONE GAME SUSPENSION

With so many issues on the back line heading into Sunday's game, the return of Eduardo Velez from a red card suspension will be welcomed with open arms by the Sockers. Velez was shown a red during the Sockers' 9-6 win over Turlock for an elbow. The tenacious defender leads the Sockers with 12 fouls committed in 2013-14, and has added four goals and four assists in seven games. Velez was a former star and co-owner of Revolucion Tijuana and plays in his hometown on Sunday.

OFFENSE CONTINUES MIDSEASON WARMING TREND

The 2012-13 Sockers tallied 188 goals in 16 regular season games (11.75 per game), while the 2013-14 version has managed just 62 goals in eight games (7.75). PASL teams overall are averaging 7.34 goals per game so far in 2013-14. Game Nine represents the first time the Sockers have been over the league scoring average. A positive trend: the Sockers have scored 48 goals in their last five games (9.60 per game).

"NO GOAL PATROL" ON POINT

The San Diego Sockers are one of the toughest teams to score on in the PASL, even when they're a man (or two) short on the field. San Diego has killed off 23 of the 30 power plays they've faced this season, allowing only 7 goals, a 77% kill rate that ranks fourth best in the PASL. The Sockers were especially effective against Ontario, stopping all five power plays against, including a two-man disadvantage for 1:45 of game time.

POWER PLAY FINALLY FINDING A SPARK?

As good as San Diego's penalty killing has been, their power play has been a source of frustration instead of offense in 2013-14. The Sockers managed their first "plus" power play effort of the season against Ontario, fashioning three goals in five attempts. On the season, however, San Diego has converted on just 25% of their power plays (7-for-28), good for 16th best in the 20-team league.

PASL NOTES: PLAYOFF FORMAT ANNOUNCED

The PASL this week announced its playoff format for 2013-14. One of four sites (San Diego, Dallas, Chicago, Ontario) will be chosen as the host city for the PASL Final Four (semifinals and finals). The host city will receive an automatic berth in the final four. Within each of the three divisions, the regular season division champion will be given an opening bye, with the third place team playing at the second place team, and the winner advancing to face the division champ on the road. All rounds will be single elimination. In the host city's division, a fourth place team will be added to the tournament as needed.

SOCKERS GAMES BROADCAST FREE ON AMERICAONESPORTS.COM ALL YEAR

The San Diego Sockers will have all of their games broadcast live for the fourth consecutive season, and the franchise has taken the additional step of making all of its online video broadcasts, home and road, available for free on the PASL's online partner AmericaOneSports.com. Other PASL games are also available at AmericaOne for an $8 per game or $90 season pass fee, but all Sockers games will be shown free of charge. In addition, every Sockers game will have an audio simulcast streamed live and archived on the Sockers' Livestream channel. Craig Elsten returns for his fifth season as the voice of the Sockers, joined by a rotating group of Sockers veterans for color commentary on home games.

OPPONENT'S PROFILE: TOROS de MEXICO (4-3)

The Toros are currently positioned to make a second straight trip to the PASL playoffs as the third place team in the Pacific. Tijuana is 2-1 at Unisantos Park this season, beating Ontario 18-4 and Turlock 16-8 while losing to Monterrey 10-6. Forward Gerardo Villa leads the Toros with 15 goals and 21 points in seven games. Fellow forward Gerardo Guerrero is second on the team with 10 goals and 12 points. Goalkeeper Obie Clibourne is 3-3 with a 7.44 GAA as the Toros' primary keeper. The Toros are tough on special teams, ranking fifth in the PASL in both power play offense (10-for-21, 47%) and defense (5-for-15, 67%).

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Professional Arena Soccer League Stories from January 3, 2014


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