MASL San Diego Sockers

Sockers Host Empire, Visit Monterrey this Weekend

Published on March 22, 2023 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


The San Diego Sockers--presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego--conclude their three-match homestand and begin another two-match weekend as they host the Empire Strykers for the final time this season on Friday night. The match is scheduled for a 7:35pm kickoff from Pechanga Arena, and will be streamed live on Twitch on channel @masl_soccer. San Diego will travel after the match to Mexico for a Sunday afternoon contest in Monterrey.

The Sockers (18-2, 52 points) have won six straight, clinching both a playoff berth and the MASL Supporters Shield, awarded to the club with the best regular season record in the league. San Diego will have home-field advantage throughout the upcoming Ron Newman Cup playoffs. With four matches remaining in the season, San Diego's goal is to ensure full health while also remaining in proper form for the playoffs.

Friday notes the sixth and final meeting in the regular season between the Sockers and Strykers. San Diego is 4-1 against Empire, although two of their three wins have come in golden goal overtime. The Strykers broke up the Sockers' perfect season on February 8 with a dominant 10-4 win in Ontario, then rallied with four consecutive fourth quarter goals to tie up the March 9 match at Toyota Arena, only to see San Diego escape with an 8-7 win on Christian Gutierrez's golden goal. The Sockers scored the last six goals of the match to beat Empire 7-3 on Sunday. The two clubs met one another twice to begin the season, with the Sockers emerging victorious by scores of 8-5 and 2-1 (OT) on December 10 and 11.

In their last meeting on Sunday, March 19, the Sockers and Strykers played an intense match which saw Empire stride out to a 3-1 second quarter lead, only to be worn down in a 5-0 second half by San Diego for a 7-3 final score. Kraig Chiles netted the go-ahead goal and added three assists to pace the Sockers' office, while Christian Gutierrez salted the match away with back-to-back empty net goals against a six attacker formation. Tavoy Morgan added two goals for San Diego, while Boris Pardo stopped 9-of-12 shots against in net for his 18th win of the season. The victory officially clinched the MASL Supporters Shield for the Sockers. Defender Israel Sesay scored a pair of goals for the Strykers, but top goal scorers Franck Tayou and Gabriel Costa were held off the scoresheet.

Empire (12-7-2, 36 points) started the season 0-3-1 before rattling off wins in 12 of 14 contests. The Strykers (formerly Ontario Fury) have since lost three straight contests. Empire resides in third place in the Western Conference, and Chihuahua has a magic number of one point to clinch second place. The Strykers lead Mesquite by three points for third place, but the Outlaws have a match in hand over Empire. Franck Tayou leads the MASL in goals (34) and ranks second in points (48). Rookie midfielder Gabriel Costa has 17 goals and 18 assists, and torched the Sockers' defense for three goals and three assists on March 9. Fallbrook native Chris Toth sports a .749 SV%, second-best in the MASL, with a 12-4-2 record. Toth made seventeen saves on Sunday to keep Empire in the match. Mohamed Ndiaye, signed to be a forward, has revamped the Strykers defense since being moved to defender. He has contributed 13 blocked shots with (7-14=21) points.

Storylines

Shields Up!

The San Diego Sockers will receive the MASL Supporters Shield for the second straight season in a ceremony that will take place prior to kickoff on Friday night. San Diego clinched the honor with their sixth straight win on Sunday night. The Sockers have eight more points than their closest competitor, Chihuahua (52 points to 44). The Sockers have a record of 41-2-1 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 77-6-1 all-time record. San Diego is currently 9-0 at home and riding a 19-match home winning streak. The club is 40-2-1 at home over the past four seasons. The Sockers close the season with three of their final four matches at Pechanga Arena San Diego.

Mustache P-P-P-Power

Sockers captain Kraig Chiles is the franchise's all-time leader in goals (456) and points (665), and is on the long approach to 400 points in the MASL (253-133=386 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 has extended his multi-point scoring streak to six matches and now has (11-9 ) points in his last six. Chiles now is tied for the club lead in goals (21) and leads the club in points (35).

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. 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 18-2 in twenty starts, having played all but 95 minutes total in net this season while starting every match. He leads the MASL in wins (18), GAA (3.95) and ranks sixth in SV% (.716). All-time in MASL history, Pardo improved his career record to 109-24-7, five 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).

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. In addition to being tasked with patrolling the defensive side of the floor, Gutierrez is a potent counter-attack striker who often opens up matches late in the fourth quarter, especially against the empty net. 15 of Gutierrez's 21 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 is tied for the club lead with 21 goals and sixth with 23 points.

Defense Leads the Way

The Sockers have allowed the fewest goals in the MASL (84), eleven fewer than second-place Baltimore (95). San Diego's average of 4.2 goals conceded-per-match compares to a league average of 5.86 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).

Power Play Could Use a Spark

The Sockers have dropped to seventh in the MASL in power play conversion percentage (18-for-42, 43%). San Diego has gone 1-for-7 in their last four matches on the power play, dropping from second to seventh in the league during that span. San Diego's eighteen power play goals are tied with Utica for second in the MASL, six behind Milwaukee (24). San Diego's penalty kill is 20-for-30 at preventing goals (67%), second 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 Unplugged Last Weekend, Out Friday

Sockers midfielder and Tijuana native Brandon Escoto was held scoreless on Friday and Sunday after netting at least one point in each of his first fourteen matches played this season. Drawing a double card penalty against Empire, Escoto moved up to eight penalty accumulation points, drawing an automatic one-match suspension to be served on Friday. A prolific and dangerous scorer, Brandon has (10-13#) points in 16 matches. In his career, Escoto averages almost a goal-per-match, with 137 goals scored in 147 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 two points off the Sockers' scoring lead with (12-21=33) points, having played all 20 matches so far this season. "Leo" ranks second in the MASL in assists with 21 (Nick Perera, TAC, 32). 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 117 goals and 268 points in his indoor career, an average of 1.9 points-per-match. His 151 career assists are the fifth-most in MASL history.

Who's Out

Midfielder Juan Carlos "Charlie" Gonzalez missed the Sunday match against Empire (lower body) and is doubtful for selection on Friday. Midfielder Brandon Escoto serves an automatic one-match suspension for penalty point accumulation on Friday.

Player Highlights

Felipe Gonzalez

His (10-8=18) points are the most in his Sockers career

Cesar Cerda

Leads Sockers defenders in scoring with (4-9=13) points

Tavoy Morgan

Two goals on Sunday were his first scored since February 18

Check out the San Diego Sockers Statistics

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Major Arena Soccer League Stories from March 22, 2023


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