San Diego Sockers Match Notes v Ontario
March 12, 2021 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers (3-4), presented by Kaiser Permanente, enter a defining week of action as they travel up the I-15 to Ontario, California and Toyota Arena for a pair of weekend matches. On Saturday evening the Sockers will battle the Ontario Fury, before taking on the Tacoma Stars in a neutral-site match from Toyota Arena on Sunday afternoon. Both matches are closed to the public due to COVID restrictions, but available for streaming on MASL Facebook Pay-Per-View.
San Diego is coming off a bye week in Week 10 of the 2021 MASL regular season. In Week 9, the Sockers traveled to St. Louis, Missouri for a pair of contests against the St. Louis Ambush. Despite two hard-fought games that were both tied late into the fourth quarter, the Sockers were unable to emerge with a result, dropping decisions by 4-3 and 6-4 final scores. Brandon Escoto netted four goals over the weekend, including a hat trick in the 6-4 loss.
San Diego is looking for an upgrade offensively heading into the Ron Newman Cup playoffs. The Sockers are currently the top-ranked defense and bottom-ranked offense in the Major Arena Soccer League. Averaging just 3.4 goals-per-match, San Diego has yet to score more than five goals in a single contest. By contrast, the Sockers are allowing just 4.0 goals-per-match, best in the league and a full goal-per-game better than Ontario (5.0 per match). Regular team leaders such as Kraig Chiles, Slavisa Ubiparipovic and Brian Farber have combined for just two total goals on the season. The offense has largely come from two sources, midfielder Brandon Escoto (nine goals in seven games) and forward Leonardo de Oliveira (three goals, team-high six assists).
This week's action will set the dominoes in place for the upcoming Ron Newman Cup playoffs, as all seven positions should be all-but-decided at the conclusion of Sunday's games. The Florida Tropics clinched first place and an opening-round bye in the MASL playoffs with a 6-3 win over Ontario on Wednesday, followed by a 7-5 victory against Tacoma on Thursday. The Fury (5-3 entering Friday) are led by defending MVP Franck Tayou (13 goals), and top-scoring defender Maicon de Abreu (11 goals,18 points). Tacoma (3-6 entering Friday) will be playing three games during their Ontario trip, wrapping up their regular season. Nick Perera leads the Stars with 7 goals and 17 points in eight games played.
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from March 12, 2021
- St. Louis Ambush Close out Regular Season with a Win - St. Louis Ambush
- San Diego Sockers Match Notes v Ontario - San Diego Sockers
- Tropics Will Head to MASL Playoffs as Regular-Season Champs After 7-5 Win over Tacoma Stars - Florida Tropics SC
- Stars Lose 7-5 to Florida, Split Season Series with Tropics - Tacoma Stars
- St. Louis Ambush Host Dallas Sidekicks in Regular Season Finale Friday - St. Louis Ambush
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