San Diego Sockers Match Preview at KC
MASL San Diego Sockers

San Diego Sockers Match Preview at KC

March 8, 2025 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


The San Diego Sockers (16-3-0, 45, 2nd), presented by Kaiser Permanente, conclude their Midwest road trip with a crucial contest for playoff seeding against the Kansas City Comets (13-3-2, 41, 3rd) on Sunday, March 9, 2:05pm at Cable Dahmner Arena in Independence, MO. The teams, which have split the season series with wins at home, are in a battle with Chihuahua for the top seed. The Sockers are playing much better on both defense and offense than they did the last time they visited Kansas City. Tavoy Morgan has been San Diego's offensive sparkplug with 24-5) and is on a seven-game goal streak and a point in 16 straight matches. Boris Pardo, who was rested on Friday, is back in top form with an 11-2-0 mark and a 4.50 GAA. The Comets have lost two consecutive games and are looking to rebound from a loss on Friday in Chihuahua. However, it will be more difficult if their top two scorers Rian Marques (hamstring) and Zach Reget (back) are out. They did not play Friday. In addition, Junior Kazeem (foot) and Chase Peterson (lower leg) are also out. The absences of Marques and Reget will be challenging to replace, as they have combined for 37 goals this season. Next on the scoring charts are Nacho Flores' 19 points from six goals and 13 assists, and Leo Acosta with 10 goals and seven assists.

SAN DIEGO SOCKERS

Head Coach: Phil Salvagio

Last Four: W W W W

Streak: W5

Away Record: 6-3-0

Leading Scorer: Morgan, 24-5)

Leading GK: Pardo, 11-2-0, 4.50

Goals Avg: For: 6.2 / Agst: 4.5

Goal Differential: +30

Expected Goals: 5.5

Power Play%: 47%

Penalty Kill %: 66%

Last Match: 3/7, @STL, 6-3, W

KANSAS CITY COMETS

Head Coach: Stefan Stokic

Last Four: L L W W

Streak: L2

Home Record: 8-0-1

Leading Scorer: Marques, 20-19=39

Leading GK: Ejimadu, 10-0-0, 4.39

Goals Avg: For: 5.9 / Agst: 4.8

Goal Differential: +18

Expected Goals: 5.2

Power Play%: 33%

Penalty Kill %: 88%

Last Match: 3/7, @CUU, 9-4, L

KEY PLAYERS

San Diego:

Kraig Chiles: The veteran captain is having another good season at the age of 40. He is third on the team in scoring with 17-7=24. He has goals and points in 9 of his last 10 matches.

Charlie Gonzalez: The playmaking midfielder has 10-18( for second on the squad in scoring. He has points in 17 of his last 18 games.

Drew Ruggles: The steady defender has shown his offensive prowess with 8-3=11 and is on a two-game goal streak.

Kansas City:

Chad Vandegriffe: A shutdown defender, he leads the league with 59 blocked shots.

Phillip Ejimadu: The talented goalkeeper leads the MASL with a 4.33 GAA

Ramone Palmer: He is hampered by a sore knee, but has tallied 8-6=14. He was pivotal in the Comets win over SD in their last meeting with two goals and an assist.

STRATEGIES

San Diego:

Defense Wins Championships: Must play defense at a championship level to slow down the potent Kansas City attack and set the tone for the unit heading into the postseason.

Capitalize On Set-Pieces & Power Plays: San Diego will have to take advantage of their opportunities outside of the run of standard play, which includes converting set-pieces and power plays.

Possession And Pressure: The Sockers will focus on maintaining possession to run their high-pressure offense.

Kansas City:

Physicality: The Comets are known for their physical play and ability to capitalize on opponents' mistakes

Control The Midfield: Kansas City will look to control the midfield to help create scoring chances and also slow down the Sockers' attack.

Defense Win Championships: Must play defense at a championship level to slow down the potent Kansas City attack and set the tone for the unit heading into the postseason.

FORM

San Diego: The Sockers have won 16 of their last 18 games and have won six of their last eight road games.

Kansas City: The Comets have lost two straight and is 8-0-1 at home.

SOCKERS LAST TIME OUT // at ST. LOUIS 6-3 WIN, MARCH 7, 2025

Kraig Chiles and Tavoy Morgan scored two goals apiece to pace the San Diego Sockers (16-3-0, 45, 2nd) to a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Ambush (6-11-1, 18, 9th) at The Family Arena on Friday night. Xavier Snaer-Williams made his fourth start, as Boris Pardo was rested in preparation for the Comets game on Sunday, making five saves on eight shots and improving his record to 5-1-0.

COMETS LAST TIME OUT // at CHIHUAHUA 9-4 LOSS, MARCH 7, 2025

The depleted Kansas City Comets (13-3-2) fought hard but came up short against the back-to-back champion Chihuahua Savage as they suffered a 9-4 road defeat on Friday evening at Corner Sport Arena

LET'S GO STREAKING - TEAM

Sockers have won 16 of 18 games...have won 10 straight home games...have won 6 of the last 8 away games...have scored 4 or more goals in 19 consecutive games...have scored 3 or more goals in 19 straight games...have allowed 3 or more goals in 18 of last 19 games...have a power-play opportunity in 17 of last 19 games...have a penalty-kill opportunity in 9 consecutive games

LET'S GO STREAKING - INDIVIDUAL

Morgan has a 7-game goal streak...Morgan has a 16-game point streak...Mor0les has a 2-game goal streak...Morales has a 6-game point streak...Chiles has a goal in 9 of 10 games...Chiles has points in 9 of 10 games...De Oliveira has a point in 5 of his last 7 games...Ramin has a point in 2 of last 4 games...Cerda has a point in 3 of 4 games...Gonzalez C has a point in 16 of the last 17 games...Costa has a point in 13 of the last 16 games...Mendez has a point in 9 of the last 12 games...Ruggles has a 2-game goal streak...Ruggles has a point in 7 of the last 10 games...Gutierrez has a point in 1 of 2 games...Pardo has won 11 of his last 13 games...Snaer-Williams has won 5 of last 6 games and 3 of 4 straight that he has started

MASL MILESTONES WITHIN REACH (Complete List On The Next Page)

Cesar Cerda, 200 Games Played, 1; Cesar Cerda, 100 Assists, 2; Chiles, 300 Goals, 5

PARDO NAMED WEEK 14 GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK - MARCH 3

Boris Pardo was named the MASL Goalkeeper Of The Week for his performance against the Tacoma Stars with 17 saves and two assists.

SOCKERS UNVEIL NEW NAVY BLUE TURF

As part of the preparations for hosting the MASL Ron Newman Cup Playoffs, the Sockers and Frontwave Arena unveiled their new navy blue turf on February 16 vs Chihuahua. The turf features the Sockers script logo in white in the center circle. Both goal boxes are white with a FAN CLB, a team partner, logo in black. Click for photos.

THREE PLAYERS REACH MASL MILESTONES IN THE SAME GAME

Gabriel Costa, Tavoy Morgan, and Drew Ruggles reached milestones during the February 16 match vs. Chihuahua. Morgan hit the 150-career goal mark. Ruggles reached the 150-career point mark. Costa tallied his 50th assist.

PARDO REACHES MASL GK MILESTONE - 10,000 GK MINUTES PLAYED

Boris Pardo became the first goalkeeper in MASL history to play 10,000 minutes. He achieved the accomplishment on 1/17 vs. Texas at 3:36 of the third quarter. He would leave the game after playing 37:01 and making seven saves on 10 shots.

MORGAN HITS 200 CAREER POINTS

Tavoy Morgan scored his 200th career point with a goal on January 5 against the Chihuahua Savage.

LEO REACHES 300 CAREER POINTS

Leo DeOliveira hit the 300 career point mark on January 20 with an assist on Gontán's first-period goal vs. Empire.

CERDA, COSTA & MORALES NAMED MASL ALL-STARS

Cesar Cerda, Gabriel Costa, and Luiz Morales were named to the MASL All-Star Game, which was played on 2/12 in Utica, NY. However, the trio did not participate due to travel to Chihuahua for the 2/14 match.

SOCKERS 2023/24 SEASON REVIEW

The Sockers had a strong 2023/24 season, finishing with an impressive record of 18 wins, 5 losses, and 1 overtime loss, securing 52 points, and clinching the Western Division regular-season title. This performance highlighted their dominance in the league, continuing their legacy as one of the most successful teams in history.

THREE DOT NOTES...

Pardo was named GK of the Week for week 12...Chiles is 3/4 on shootouts, he converted on 3/7 at STL, on 3/1 at TAC, and had two shootout attempts (1/2) on 1/15 vs KC...Christian Gutierrez (200) and Gabriel Costa (50) reached career games played milestones on 3/1 vs MWE...Acquired All-Star defender Kristian Quintana in a trade with Dallas on 2/27...Cerda was named Defensive Player of the Week, Week 12, 5 Blocks...Chiles and Morgan have two hat tricks this season...The Sockers are 1/3 on PK's (Chiles 2/16 (goal), Gonzalez C 2/8 & Chiles 2/2)...had a 10-game winning streak from 12/14-2/7...The Sockers have scored two shorthanded goals this season, while allowing two...The Sockers had two hat tricks in the same game vs TEX on 1/25 (Chiles & Mendez)...Eddie Velez made his season debut on 2/7 at KC...Travis Pittman and Eli Zamora made their season debuts on 1/17 vs Texas...Seven players, the most this season, had an assist at Tacoma on 1/10...San Diego has six hat tricks this season (Mendez 1/25, Chiles 1/25, Morgan 1/17 & 1/5, Ruggles 1/10 & Morales 12/4)...The Sockers are averaging 2,876 fans at Frontwave Arena (1,587 last year in their final season at Pechanga Arena)...Pardo earned MASL GK of the Week honors for week 8...Snaer-Williams earned MASL GK of the Week honors for week 5...Sebastian Mendez notched his first point as a Socker with an assist against Tacoma on 12/10...Former Sockers Emmanuel Aquirre, Gerardo Jurado, and Andy Reyes return to San Diego to face their old teammates...The crowd of 4,508 on 12/14/24 (home opener) was the largest ever to watch a soccer match at Frontwave Arena and the second highest in history behind the SD Clippers G-League game with a sellout of 5,500 on 2/8...The season-opening loss in Tacoma was the first since 1/29/21 at Kansas City...During the off-season. the Sockers acquired M Sebastian Mendez and F Luiz Morales from Texas...Returning to San Diego are F Taylor Bond (UCFC), M Travis Pittman (Free Agent), and D Ben Ramin (Milwaukee)...Other free agent signings include Spanish international M/F Keko Gontán and D Eli Zamora...Brandon Escoto is away from the team due to immigration issues, but is playing with the Sockers2. He can play in any Sockers games in Mexico.

Check out the San Diego Sockers Statistics



Major Arena Soccer League Stories from March 8, 2025


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