San Diego Visits Sunshine State
February 15, 2018 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
SAN DIEGO - The Pacific Division Champion San Diego Sockers travel to the Sunshine State to play the Florida Tropics in back-to-back games beginning on Friday, 4:35 p.m., at RP Funding Center. The match can be seen on MASL.TV. The inter-divisional matchup is the first-ever meeting between the two sides. San Diego (14-3) has won two in a row to recover from a small mid-season slump. This is the first back-to-back games of the year for San Diego. Florida, who is battling Syracuse for the final Eastern Division sport, is coming off a 5-2 victory over Harrisburg last Friday night at home.
The Tropics are 5-4 at home and are led by forward Ricardo De Queiroz Diegues' 32 points on 20 goals and 12 assists. Contributing to the offense is forward Freddy Moojen (14-1125), midfielder Victor Parreiras (12-921), and forward Mauricio Salles (13-730). Peter Sliwa has backstopped the Tropics in goal with a 6.00 GAA and a .684 Save %. Florida (9-7) has a game-in-hand over the 10-7 Silver Knights in the fight for the final postseason berth. The teams will not meet each other again this season.
San Diego is finding its stride heading towards the playoffs. New addition Jamie Lovegrove has added to the team's firepower. In his first two games, he has managed to score two goals and one assist. Captain Kraig Chiles continued his 14-game goal streak with two goals against Sonora last Sunday. Chiles, who tallied 11 goals and three assists, was named the San Diego Hall Of Champions Pro Star Of The Month for January. Expect the goalkeeper tandem of Boris Pardo (7-0-1, 3.90, .713%) and Chris Toth (7-2-0, 4.00, .759%) to split the games on the trip. The Sockers have the luxury of having two of the best keepers in the MASL, as the duo is ranked first and second in GAA and second and third in save percentage.
After Saturday's game in Florida, the Sockers will return to Valley View Casino Center on Saturday, February 24, 7:05 p.m. to play the Rio Grande Valley Barracudas. It will be College Night, and the first 2,000 Supporters will receive a FREE pair of Sockers Sunglasses.
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Major Arena Soccer League Stories from February 15, 2018
- Let's play two: Tropics tangle with San Diego Sockers for home weekend doubleheader - Florida Tropics SC
- San Diego Visits Sunshine State - San Diego Sockers
- Wave Looking for Payback against Arch-Rival Baltimore Blast Saturday Night - Milwaukee Wave
- Rampage Sprint to the Finish Line with Four Games in Eight Days - Cedar Rapids Rampage
- Ambush Face Syracuse Twice this Weekend - St. Louis Ambush
- Blast Game Preview and Game Notes - Baltimore Blast
- Syracuse Hosts Two Matches this Weekend vs. St. Louis - Syracuse Silver Knights
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