San Diego Sockers Match Notes at Mesquite
February 20, 2020 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers (12-5) make the final leg of their February road marathon when they head to the great state of Texas to take on the Mesquite Outlaws (5-12) and Dallas Sidekicks (2- 15) over the weekend.
Friday evening's match against Mesquite will represent San Diego's first visit to the expansion franchise located just outside the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
This will be the second meeting between the clubs, with the Sockers holding off Mesquite 5-3 on January 19 in San Diego.
San Diego holds a 3 1/2 game lead over Sonora (9-9) to guarantee home field advantage in the opening round of the Ron Newman Cup playoffs with seven matches remaining.
Kraig Chiles leads the Sockers in scoring with 16 goals and 24 points, but has been shut out in each of the club's last two losses, to Florida and Ontario.
Luis "Peewee" Ortega recorded four blocked shots in the loss to Ontario, and leads the Sockers with 20 blocks.
Mesquite has lost seven of their last eight matches, though they have held the score within three goals or fewer in five of the seven losses.
Outlaws F Jamie Lovegrove and GK Pollo Cortes made the MASL Team of the Week with their performances last week.
Inland Empire Blues The Sockers dropped a 7-3 decision to the Ontario Fury on Monday afternoon at Toyota Arena in Ontario, dropping San Diego to a 5-4 road record for the season. The Fury snapped a ten-match losing streak to the Sockers with the result, moving Ontario into the fourth playoff position in the Western Conference.
Ooh-bee-pear-uh-povich
Slavisa Ubiparipovic led the Sockers against Ontario with a goal and an assist. Ubiparipovic ranks second on the club in goals (14) and points (22), trailing team captain Kraig Chiles in each category. A free agent acquisition from Utica, "Slav" has registered at least one point in 14 of 17 matches.
Sockers Sore or Sidelined
Midfielder Brandon Escoto is not making the trip to Texas, and is thus scheduled to miss his first game as a San Diego Socker since being acquired in 2016. Escoto has scored (70-57=127) points in 83 regular season games with the Sockers. In addition, defender Cesar Cerda (leg) and midfielder Hiram Ruiz (leg) are questionable for Friday's match. Goalkeeper Diego Arriaga, defender Emmanuel Aguirre and midfielder/defender Luis Piffer are all inactive due to U.S. visa issues.
Rolling Ten Deep
With an assist in Monday's 7-3 loss to the Ontario Fury, veteran forward Eduardo Velez became the ninth Socker this season to record at least ten points. Velez has four goals and six assists on the season. Taylor Bond is two points away from becoming the tenth Socker in double digits.
Power Play Unplugged
The Sockers have slumped to a .235 conversion percentage on the power play (8-for-34), ranked 15th in the MASL, ahead of only Turlock (.200) and Mesquite (.143). The San Diego penalty kill is also in a slump, down to a .484 kill rate (16-for-31), which ranks 14th in the 17-team league.
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Major Arena Soccer League Stories from February 20, 2020
- St. Louis Ambush Play at Home, on Road this Weekend - St. Louis Ambush
- San Diego Sockers Match Notes at Mesquite - San Diego Sockers
- Busy Weekend Ahead for Wave - Milwaukee Wave
- SeaWolves Travel to Baltimore and Harrisburg on Back to Back Nights - Orlando SeaWolves
- Ontario Fury Face St. Louis Ambush in First Ever Match Up - Ontario Fury
- Tropics Add New #9 with William Eyang and #13 with UPSL Standout Gerritson Craane - Florida Tropics SC
- Sidekicks Battle Turlock Express on the Road - Dallas Sidekicks
- Dallas Sidekicks Game Notes and Preview - Dallas Sidekicks
- Lancers Kick off Ambitious Weekend vs. Utica City FC on Friday Night - Rochester Lancers
- Sidekicks Lose First of Two-Game California Trip - Dallas Sidekicks
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