San Diego Sockers Pacific Division Final Game Two- Match Notes
Published on March 12, 2016 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
San Diego Sockers Defender Evan McNeley vs. Soles de Sonora
(San Diego Sockers)
SOCKERS NEED THE WIN TO FORCE THE "MINI-GAME"
Following its 10-5 loss at home to Soles de Sonora on Thursday, the Sockers must win in Mexico on Saturday to force the "mini-game" 15 minutes after the final whistle. If the Sockers can win both Game Two and the "mini-game," they will move onto the semifinals where they will face either the Las Vegas Legends or the Brownsville Barracudas in another two game series.
NO TEAM HAS YET TO SWEEP
History is on the Sockers side. During the regular season, the teams had two home and home series. Neither side was able to complete the sweep.
San Diego won on opening night 7-5 at home, but were pegged back on match day two, 15-8 in Sonora.
Back in San Diego midway through January and it was Soles who prevailed on the Sockers turf 6-5. A week later and the San Diego sprung a huge surprise, handing Sonora its only loss at home with an epic 10-9 overtime victory.
If history repeats itself, we will be going to a "mini-game."
CHILES v. TAYOU: A BATTLE OF THE TOP SCORERS
If the last playoff matchup with Tacoma was billed as a battle between two of the Major Arena Soccer League's best goalies, then San Diego v. Sonora is a battle between the leagues top two scorers.
Franck Tayou finished the 2015-2016 MASL season as the leading scorer and points champion with 47 goals and 15 assists.
Kraig Chiles (who played two less games) finished second in points with 28 goals and 27 assists, just seven points behind Tayou.
Tayou scored nine goals and recorded two assists in four matches against the Sockers during the regular season.
Chiles, who missed the second game while on international duty with the U.S. Futsal National team, scored six goals and dished out three helpers in three matches against Soles.
Tayou won the battle in Game One with four goals to Chiles' one, but the latter's match ended early in the fourth quarter as he was shown a red card for six fouls.
THERE WILL BE GOALS
Soles de Sonora were the only team to finish the 2015-2016 Major Arena Soccer League season with over 200 goals, finding the back of the net an astounding 219 times.
The next closest team was Atletico Baja who scored 178 goals.
San Diego finished sixth in "Goals For" with 138 during the regular season, but have tacked on 24 more in its three playoff games.
In Game One, Soles hit double digits for the 13th time this season.
Franck Tayou and Daniel Lopez scored four goals each in San Diego while Antonio Garcia and Enrique Canez grabbed the other goals.
The Sockers had five different players on target in the loss.
DAMIAN GARCIA AND KRAIG CHILES WILL RETURN TO THE FRAY
Despite receiving red cards in the third and fourth quarters respectively, Damian Garcia and Kraig Chiles are both eligible to feature in Sonora.
Garcia received his marching orders following two blue cards and a yellow while Chiles saw red after committing six fouls.
SOCKERS REMAIN PERFECT IN OVERTIME
With the Game One win over Tacoma in the first round, San Diego is 2-0-1 in overtime proper this season and 3-0 by virtue of the shootout.
The Sockers handed Soles de Sonora its only home defeat of the season with a 10-9 overtime win back on January 23rd.
The only time the Sockers did not prevail in overtime was against the Ontario Fury back on November 28, 2015, but they got the win via the shootout. With the score tied at
seven, neither side could net the winner in overtime, but Kraig Chiles and Matt Clare scored in the shootout to give the Sockers the victory.
BUZZER BEATER BOYS
In game one of the first round against Tacoma, San Diego scored two goals with a second or less left in the respective quarters.
Goalkeeper Chris Toth scored his first ever goal as time expired in the second quarter when he flicked home Even McNeley's kick-in. The goal gave the Sockers a 5-2 lead heading into halftime.
Tacoma was made to pay for not playing to the whistle again in the third. With three seconds left Anthony Medina won the ball along the boards and passed it for Luan Sales Oliveira to finish with one second remaining to give the Sockers a 6-3 lead heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Sonora knows a thing or two about buzzer beaters, taking out the Sockers 6-5 on January 17th with Antonio Garcia's goal eight seconds from time handing the Mexican side a last gasp victory.
It may very well come down to another last minute goal in Sonora.
CARDIAC KIDS
Including the regular season, seven of San Diego's last twelve games have been decided by one goal. The Sockers are 4-3 in those matches.
Overall, the Sockers have been involved in ten one-goal encounters this season, coming out on the winning end in six of those battles.
Two such matches came against Soles de Sonora in the space of a week.
On January 17 at the Valley View Casino Center, Soles de Sonora broke San Diego hearts as Antonio Garcia's deflected volley sped past Chris Toth with eight seconds left to give Sonora a 6-5 victory.
A week later and it was the Sockers who stunned the crowd at the Centro de Usos Multiples. Victor Quiroz flicked home Eddie Velez's cross at the back post to give San Diego a 10-9 overtime victory, handing Soles de Sonora its only loss at home this season.
IT'S ALL ABOUT #24
The Sockers, the MASL and humanity in general was dealt a huge blow when Abel "Shadow" Sebele tragically died in a traffic accident on Thursday, January 7.
Sebele's career with the Sockers was short, but he touched the lives of everyone he met. Shadow made four appearances for the Sockers with his last game coming at Dallas on December 12, 2015. He took seven shots and had two fouls to go along with two minutes spent in the box.
Sebele joined the Sockers from the Wichita B52s where he scored 11 goals and recorded 10 assists in 14 games.
Shadow was also an outdoor star. Last summer, the Zimbabwe native was named Wichita F.C.'s first ever captain and led the club to a Conference Championship with six goals and nine assists in 13 matches.
Sebele excelled at West Virginia University from 2009-2012 where he had 14 goals and 25 assists in 72 games, 67 of which he started. Shadow is etched in the WVU history books in the top 10 in matches started, minutes played, penalty kicks, multi-assist games, game winning assists and game winning points.
Before becoming a Mountaineer, Shadow moved from his hometown in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to attend Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia where he scored an impressive 70 goals in 71 games played.
We greatly miss Shadow both on and off the field.
ABOUT SOLES DE SONORA:
Soles de Sonora are an expansion club based in Hermosillo, the capital city of Sonora, Mexico. Despite being new to the game, Sonora had an incredible first season, winning the Pacific Division with a 17-3 record. This included an eleven game winning streak that went from November 7, 2015 to January 17, 2016.
Soles de Sonora is led by general manager Jose Luis Trevino, the man responsible for building Monterrey's title winning side last season.
Trevino brought with him the man who scored last year's championship winning goal, Gustavo Rosales. Erick Rosas and Goalkeeper Diego Reynoso also came over from Monterrey.
In addition, Trevino did well to recruit the likes of Frank Tayou. The Cameroonian won the league's Golden Boot with 47 goals and his 15 assists helped him to also take home the Points Title.
The former Monterrey Flash manager has also found the very best local talent, meshing the likes of Tayou with Hermosillo based players such as Alejandro Leyva. The 23-year- old kick-started his career with a five goal performance in the 15-8 win over the Sockers and finished his rookie season with 30 goals in 19 games.
Images from this story
 San Diego Sockers Huddle |
 San Diego Sockers Defender Evan McNeley vs. Soles de Sonora |
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- San Diego Sockers Pacific Division Final Game Two- Match Notes - San Diego Sockers
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