MASL San Diego Sockers

Season Finale Serves as Playoff Warmup for Sockers

Published on March 31, 2023 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


The San Diego Sockers--presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego--wrap up the 2022-23 MASL regular season when they host the Tacoma Stars on Saturday night at Pechanga Arena. The match is scheduled for a 7:05pm PDT kickoff, and will be streamed live on Twitch on channel @masl_soccer, with Spanish-language coverage on Twitch channel @sandiegosockers as well as Canela.tv.

The Sockers (21-2, 60 points) have won nine matches in a row, clinching both a playoff berth and the MASL Supporters Shield, awarded to the club with the best regular season record in the league. The only 20+ win team in the league, San Diego will have home-field advantage throughout the upcoming Ron Newman Cup playoffs. In their final match of the regular season, the club's goal is to play their playoff lineup and get tuned up in time for next week's quarterfinals.

The Sockers and Tacoma Stars are meeting for only the second time this season. San Diego prevailed by a 6-3 final score in Tacoma in their previous encounter on April 11. Christian Gutierrez scored a pair of empty-net goals in the final minutes to break open a tense affair. The Stars, depending on the result of the Empire-Mesquite match on Saturday, could be playing for third place in the Western Division, or for their playoff lives. Third-thru-sixth place are all separated by a total of three standings points. Combatants dating back to the days of the original MISL, the Sockers own an all-time record of 71-22 against Tacoma. In the MASL, San Diego is 28-4 against Tacoma, and 4-0 in playoff series (with an 8-1 overall playoff record).

The Sockers are concluding a finishing kick of six matches in sixteen days, dating back to March 17. On Thursday, San Diego completed an undefeated run through the Eastern Division this season, spotting the visiting Milwaukee Wave a 2-0 first quarter lead before rallying for an 11-5 win at Pechanga Arena. The Sockers scored all eleven of their goals in the final three quarters. Tavoy Morgan led the way with a hat trick, but was one of four players with three points in the match, joining Kraig Chiles, Leonardo de Oliveira and Brandon Escoto (one goal, two assists each). Three more Sockers had multi-point matches, with Juan Manuel Rojo and Ze Roberto each adding a goal and assist, while Mitchell Cardenas recorded two assists. Xavier Snaer-Williams started for a resting Boris Pardo in net and earned his first win of the season (1-0), stopping 13-of-18 shots.

Tacoma (12-10-1, 36 points) is in a pitched battle for one of three open playoff spots in the Western Division, and could still finish anywhere from third to sixth place depending on the final set of results. The Stars will qualify for a playoff spot by gaining at least one standings point against San Diego (OT loss or better), or by having Empire beat Mesquite, or Dallas beat Monterrey. Tacoma has won four of their last five matches, but the lone loss was a stunning defeat at the hands of previously winless Dallas, keeping the Stars' playoff identity in question. Former league MVP Nick Perera is on an all-time scoring binge, a 14-match multi-point scoring streak during which he has accrued (23-29=52) points. Perera leads the MASL with 68 points, a full fifteen ahead of second-place Franck Tayou. Ironman goalkeeper Danny Waltman has started all 23 matches for the Stars, with a 12-10-1 record, 5.81 GAA and .699 SV%.

Storylines

Shields Up!

Last Friday, the San Diego Sockers received their second straight MASL Supporters Shield, awarded to the club with the best regular season record in the league. San Diego clinched the honor with a 7-3 win over Empire on March 19. The Sockers have eleven more points than their closest competitor, Chihuahua (60 points to 49). The Sockers have a record of 44-2-1 the past two seasons.

We've Made Our Home a Fortress

The Sockers have been the most dominant home team in MASL history, with a 79-6-1 all-time record. San Diego is currently 11-0 at home and riding a 21-match home winning streak. The club is 42-2-1 at home over the past four seasons.

Not Bad on the Road, Either

San Diego's 10-2 road record in the 2022-23 season is easily the best in the MASL. Chihuahua is second-best at 7-5. The Sockers had a 17-match regular season road winning streak snapped in Ontario on February 8, part of a 4-2 road trip that included regulation wins in Chihuahua and Monterrey. San Diego is the only club in the MASL to pull all the available points out of their road matches in Mexico this season, getting nine of a possible nine out of Monterrey and Chihuahua.

For Your Consideration: Boris Pardo for MASL MVP

How do you select a league MVP from a star-laden team? Look to the one man who is the singular through-line for the club's league-leading defense, and an ironman in net. The defending MASL Elite VI goalkeeper and MASL Goalkeeper of the Year, 39-year-old Boris Pardo has maintained his all-league form in 2022-23. Pardo is 20-2 in 22 starts, starting every match before a rest day on Thursday against Milwaukee. He leads the MASL in wins (20), GAA (3.84) and ranks fifth in SV% (.723). All-time in MASL history, Pardo improved his career record to 111-24-7, seven wins ahead of second-place William Vanzela. Pardo was the first MASL goalkeeper to reach the 100-win plateau on February 3, a feat matched by Vanzela a month ago. In 2021-22, Pardo led the MASL in wins (19-0-1 record) and goals-against average (4.20 GAA), while his .731 save percentage was second in the league. Pardo was even better in the playoffs, starting all seven matches and posting a 6-0-1 record, 3.36 GAA and .767 SV%. In 2018-19, Pardo won his first Goalkeeper of the Year award, winning a league-record 22 games in net (22-1 record).

Defense Leads the Way

The Sockers have allowed the fewest goals in the MASL (95), two fewer than second-place Baltimore (97). The Blast play at Utica on Saturday afternoon. San Diego's average of 4.13 goals conceded-per-match compares to a league average of 5.60 goals conceded-per-match. Last season, the Sockers were the only club in the MASL to allow fewer than 100 goals in the regular season (98). If San Diego can allow four or fewer goals in their final match, they will accomplish the feat back-to-back.

Shutting Down Your Target

The San Diego defensive corps will have their biggest challenge of the season on Saturday in trying to shut down Nick Perera, the top target forward so far in 2022-23, but on-ball defenders Mitchell Cardenas and Guerrero Pino have been up to the task. So far, the top defenders have conceded only 11 goals in the run of play all season to the opponent's top target forward, a group that includes Franck Tayou, Perera and Edgar "Torrez" Gonzalez, among others. The accounting removes goals scored against a six-attackers formation, in which the on-ball defender's responsibility changes.

Golden Gutierrez

Sockers forward Christian Gutierrez earned the nickname "Golden" for his ability to finish out overtime matches with the clinching goal, a habit he formed with three last-goal clinchers in the 2021 Ron Newman Cup playoffs. Gutierrez kept his golden habits alive in San Diego's last road meeting with Empire, netting the OT winner 23 seconds into extra time, then stunned the Strykers last Friday with a last-gasp equalizer at 14:43 of the fourth quarter. 17 of Gutierrez's 23 goals have been scored in the fourth quarter or later this season. In San Diego's March 19 win over Empire, Gutierrez scored into the empty net against the six-attacker formation twice in the final two minutes, securing the victory. On the season, Gutierrez leads the club with 23 goals and ranks fifth with 25 points.

Mustache P-P-P-Power

Sockers captain Kraig Chiles is the franchise's all-time leader in goals (457) and points (668), and is on the long approach to 400 points in the MASL (254-135=389 career, fifth-most). After tying the longest scoring drought of his career with three straight matches without a goal or assist, Chiles--sporting a jaunty mustache--began a scoring barrage on February 24 in Chihuahua, making up for the absence of Tavoy Morgan with a hat trick and assist. He followed it up two days later in Monterrey with two more goals and an assist for a (5-2=7) point weekend, and was named MASL Offensive Player of the Week. Chiles extended his multi-point scoring streak to six matches with (11-9 ) points before being shut out on March 24 against Empire. Chiles now is third on the club in goals (22) and second in points (38).

Power Play Sparks Back to Life

Thanks to a 3-for-3 performance on the power play against Milwaukee, the Sockers improved to fifth in the MASL in power play conversion percentage (21-for-46, 46%). The surged ended a stretch in which San Diego had gone 1-for-8 in their last six matches on the power play, dropping from second to seventh in the league during that span. San Diego's 21 power play goals are second-most in the MASL, four behind Milwaukee (25). San Diego's penalty kill is 24-for-34 at preventing goals (71%), third in the league. The Sockers rank second in the MASL with three short-handed goals (Kansas City, four). Last year, San Diego led the MASL in both power play efficiency (27-for-45, 60%) and penalty killing efficiency (16-for-22, 73%) during the 2021-22 season. Charlie Gonzalez leads the club with five power play goals.

Electric Escoto Plugs Back In

Sockers midfielder and Tijuana native Brandon Escoto returned to the scoring column in style against Milwaukee, with a power play goal and two assists. "Churras" was held scoreless in his previous three matches played, after netting at least one point in each of his first fourteen matches this season. Drawing a double card penalty against Empire, Escoto moved up to eight penalty accumulation points, drawing an automatic one-match suspension that was served last Friday. A prolific and dangerous scorer, Brandon has (11-15&) points in 18 matches. In his career, Escoto averages almost a goal-per-match, with 138 goals scored in 149 matches played. Escoto was one of the most balanced attackers in the MASL in 2021-22, finishing in the MASL's top-10 in both goals and assists with (21-23=44) points, good for T-7th in the league. Rebounding from a two-match suspension in February, Escoto recorded four straight multi-point matches, with (2-7=9) points during the surge from February 24-March 9.

Locked in Leo Looking for All-MASL Honors

Brazilian midfielder Leonardo de Oliveira leads the Sockers in scoring with (13-26=39) points, having played all 23 matches so far this season. "Leo" ranks second in the MASL in assists with 26 (Nick Perera, TAC, 37). Last season, Leo led the MASL with 33 assists, earning the league's first-ever "Pass Master" award. Leo's total was six higher than second-place finisher Perera. Combined with 13 goals on the season, de Oliveira's 46 points scored ranked tied for fifth in the league. Leo added his 100th career MASL goal during the season, and has 118 goals and 274 points in his indoor career, an average of 1.8 points-per-match. His 156 career assists are the fifth-most in MASL history.

Who's Out

The Sockers anticipate having their full roster available for potential selection on Saturday.

Player Highlights

Juan Manuel Rojo

Leads Sockers defenders in scoring with (7-9=16) points

Mitchell Cardenas

Contributed two assists to the attack on Thursday, (3-7=10) points and 20 blocks on season

Tavoy Morgan

Has (7-1=8) points during a current four-match scoring streak

Check out the San Diego Sockers Statistics



Major Arena Soccer League Stories from March 31, 2023


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