Sockers Face Chihuahua on Tuesday in Playoff Battle
Published on April 14, 2023 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers--presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego--begin the Ron Newman Cup Western Conference Finals with Match One of their best-of-three series against the Chihuahua Savage on Tuesday evening from Corner Sport Arena in Chihuahua, Chihuahua MX. The match is scheduled for a 7:05pm PDT kickoff, carried live in Spanish on Twitch on channel @masl_soccer, and in English on Twitch channel @sandiegosockers.
The Ron Newman Cup Playoffs consist of three rounds in two divisions, with each round a best-of-three series. In the quarterfinals, the top seeds play the winner of each division's respective Play-In Game, while the second and third seeds square off against one another. Each individual round consists of two full matches, one in each venue. After the second match, if the series is tied 1-1 the two teams play a 15-minute Knockout Game immediately afterwards to determine the series winner. The Sockers and Savage will conclude their series on Friday, April 21 in San Diego.
The Sockers (22-2, 62 points, 2-0 playoffs) finished the regular season with ten straight wins, earning 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 Ron Newman Cup playoffs. The Sockers won five more matches than the second-best club (Chihuahua, 17-6-1). San Diego is 2-0 in the playoffs, extending their all-competitions win streak to twelve. The Sockers defeated the Mesquite Outlaws 2-0 in the conference semi-finals, winning Match One on the road 7-1 and Match Two by an 8-0 count.
The Sockers and Chihuahua Savage are meeting for the second straight season in the Ron Newman Cup playoffs, once again one round away from the Finals. Last season, the Sockers needed the full distance to take down the Savage, losing Match One in Mexico by a 7-6 (OT) count before rallying for a 6-2 win at home, forcing the Knockout Game. Brandon Escoto broke a 1-1 tie with his goal at 9:28 of the Knockout Game, and Juan Manuel Rojo scored against six attackers twice in the final two minutes to secure a 4-1 victory, advancing to the Finals. San Diego is 6-0 all-time in the regular season against Chihuahua, and 2-1 in the playoffs.
The Sockers went a perfect 12-0 at home and 10-2 on the road in the regular season. The club has won 26 straight at home (counting playoffs) dating back to January 8, 2022. Kraig Chiles led the club in scoring with (21-20=41) points. Tavoy Morgan led the club in goals with 24. Boris Pardo led the MASL in wins (21) and goals-against average (3.80).
Chihuahua (17-6-1, 49 points) finished with the second-best record in the West, and four points ahead of any team in the East. The Savage dominated at home with a 10-1-1 record. Their only regulation home loss came at the hands of the Sockers, 9-8 on February 24. Chihuahua scored a league-high 179 goals, and allowed 124. Their +55 goal differential was second-best in the league, trailing only the Sockers (+61). Forwards Hugo Puentes and Edgar "Torrez" Gonzalez tied for the team lead with 28 goals, Puentes pacing the club with 43 points. Hugo has added a team-leading four goals in the Savage's opening round 2-1 series win over Monterrey. Chihuahua needed a Knockout Game 3-2 win to secure the series. Goalkeeper Berna Valdovinos led the Savage with 18 starts in net, an 11-3-1 record and 4.76 GAA.
Storylines
A Playoff Shutout!
On April 9 against Mesquite, the Sockers authored an 8-0 shutout of the Outlaws to close out the MASL Western Conference Semifinals. It was the sixth playoff shutout in Sockers history and the first of the modern era. The last Sockers playoff shutout was authored by Victor Nogueira on May 22, 1990, a 4-0 win over Dallas in the Western Division Finals. Nogueira also turned the trick in a 1-0 shutout over Dallas on May 20, 1989. Prior to that, it was Jimmy Gorsek on May 15, 1985 against the Minnesota Strikers. Prior to that, it was Alan Mayer in 1983's MISL Championship Series against Baltimore, back-to-back in Games 1 and 2 on May 13 and May 15, 1983. Overall, the clean sheet was the third in modern Sockers history (dating to 2009), and first since Chris Toth blanked the Ontario Fury 8-0 on November 19, 2017.
Shields Up!
With a 22-2 regular season mark, 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 finished with five more wins and thirteen more points than their closest competitor, Chihuahua (62 points to 49). The Sockers have a record of 45-2-1 the past two seasons.
We've Made Our Home a Fortress
The Sockers have been the most dominant home team in MASL history, with an 80-6-1 all-time regular season record. San Diego is currently 13-0 at home and riding a 22-match home regular season winning streak (26 straight wins including playoffs). The club is 43-2-1 at home over the past four regular seasons.
Not Bad on the Road, Either
San Diego's 10-2 road record in the 2022-23 season (1-0 playoffs) 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. Boris has dominated the playoffs with a 2-0 record, 0.00 GAA and 1.000 SV%, stopping all 17 shots he has faced.
Pardo, Continued
In the regular season, Pardo went 21-2 in 23 starts, starting every match but one. He led the MASL in wins (21), GAA (3.80) and ranked fifth in SV% (.726). All-time in MASL history, Pardo improved his career record to 112-24-7, eight 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 Friday's playoff opener, Pardo posted a perfect save percentage, stopping all seven shots he faced. The only goal scored for Mesquite came while Pardo served a two-minute blue card penalty. 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 allowed the fewest goals in the MASL (99), two fewer than second-place Baltimore (101). San Diego's average of 4.12 goals conceded-per-match compares to a league average of 5.74 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). In the 24-match season schedule era, the Sockers are the only club to have conceded fewer than 100 goals three times (Milwaukee once). In their opening playoff series the Sockers were even more dominant, holding the Outlaws to one shootout goal in two matches.
Shutting Down Your Target
Shutting down the opponent's target forward is always the key task for a defense, and on-ball defenders Mitchell Cardenas and Guerrero Pino have been up to the task. So far, the top defenders have conceded only 13 goals in the run of play all season to the opponent's top target forward, a group that includes Franck Tayou, Luiz Morales, Nick 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. Morales was shut out completely against the Sockers in the opening round after scoring (2-2=4) points in the Play-In Game win over Tacoma.
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 with a last-gasp equalizer at 14:43 of the fourth quarter on March 24, a goal that helped eliminate Empire from the playoffs. 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 ranked second on the club with 23 goals and sixth with 25 points.
Mustache P-P-P-Power
Sockers captain Kraig Chiles is the franchise's all-time leader in goals (457) and points (671), and is on the approach to 400 regular season points in the MASL (254-138=392 career, fifth-most). The club's long-time captain is leading San Diego in playoff scoring through two matches with (5-2=7) points. 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 closed the regular season with (12-14&) points in his final nine matches, all mustachioed. Chiles finished the season third on the club in goals (21) and leading in points (41).
Power Play Quiet in Playoffs
San Diego's power play has struggled in the playoffs, scoring only once in six opportunities (16.7%). In fairness to the attack, twice the Sockers used a late power play to run out the clock without attempting to score. San Diego is 2-for-3 on the penalty kill in the playoffs, with the only goal conceded a shootout goal against Mesquite. The Sockers finished the regular season fifth in the MASL in power play conversion percentage (22-for-48, 46%). San Diego's 22 power play goals are second-most in the MASL, three behind Milwaukee (25). San Diego's penalty kill is 25-for-35 at preventing goals (71%), second in the league. The Sockers rank second in the MASL with three short-handed goals (Kansas City, five). Charlie Gonzalez leads the club with six power play goals.
Locked in Leo Looking for All-MASL Honors
Brazilian midfielder Leonardo de Oliveira ranked second on the Sockers in regular season scoring with (13-27@) points, having played all 24 matches this season. "Leo" ranks second in the MASL in assists with 27 (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 275 points in his indoor career, an average of 1.8 points-per-match. His 157 career assists are the fifth-most in MASL history. Leo had a goal and two assists in the series victory over Mesquite.
Who's Out
As usual, traveling to Mexico means the Sockers will be without two key performers who cannot travel south of the Border: midfielder Juan Carlos "Charlie" Gonzalez and defender Guerrero Pino. In addition, midfielder Leonardo de Oliveira was injured in the second quarter of Match Two against Mesquite and is questionable for selection in Match One at Chihuahua.
Player Highlights
Cesar Cerda
Defender scored twice in Sockers' 8-0 win over Mesquite to close out the first round
Charlie Gonzalez
Leads the club with three playoff assists
Tavoy Morgan
Has (10-1=12) points during a current six-match scoring streak, seeks return to lineup after missing Match Two vs Mesquite due to injury
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from April 14, 2023
- Sockers Face Chihuahua on Tuesday in Playoff Battle - San Diego Sockers
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