San Diego Sockers Match Preview at Tacoma
February 12, 2022 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers-presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego- battle the Tacoma Stars in the second of back-to-back matches at accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington tonight at 7:05pm. The match will be broadcast free and live on MASL TV on YouTube.
Tonight is the fifth of six scheduled meetings between the Sockers and Stars. San Diego is 4-0 so far, opening the season with a 10-7 win in Tacoma on December 11, continuing the trend with a 9-3 victory on January 28, then hanging on for a 4-3 overtime victory on February 6. The clubs will face each other a final time on March 20 in San Diego.
Last night, Brandon Escoto netted a hat trick and added an assist, and Christian Gutierrez scored the final two goals of the match, as the San Diego Sockers held off the Tacoma Stars 6-3. Kraig Chiles added his tenth goal of the season on a set-piece, while Boris Pardo stopped 11 of 14 shots for his eighth win. San Diego out-shot Tacoma 31-19 and controlled play in all four quarters, but saw defensive mistakes converted into goals for all three of their concessions. The Sockers built three two-goal leads but needed a last-minute score against six attackers to finally put the victory to bed.
The Sockers (11-0-1, 30 points) are on an eight-match winning streak and enter Saturday tied with Florida for the overall lead in the MASL points standings. Having recently concluded a stretch of five matches in ten days, San Diego begins a flurry of three road matches in five days, facing Tacoma on consecutive nights in Washington Friday and Saturday, and Ontario on December 15.
San Diego puts a perfect road record on the line over the weekend, as San Diego has started the 2021-22 campaign with a 6-0 mark away from home. The season began with a 10-7 win in Tacoma, and has included a pair of wins in Ontario and Chihuahua, including three overtime road victories. The 2018-19 MASL season saw San Diego set the league record with a 12-0 record away from home.
Tacoma (3-7-1, 9 points) played the Sockers nip-and-tuck last weekend, only to succumb to Ontario the next day by an 8-2 score, in which the Fury scored six second-quarter goals. The Stars find themselves three points behind the Milwaukee Wave for the eighth and final playoff spot in the MASL, having just concluded a 1-3-1 road swing.
When keeper Danny Waltman is on his game, the Stars remain a dangerous out. The 40-year-old keeper sports a 6.67 GAA and .639 SV%. Veterans Nick Perera (13-11=24 points) and Alessandro Canale (10-3=13 points) pace an offense.
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