Sockers Meet Tropics on MASL Championship Sunday
May 7, 2022 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers-presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego-take on the Florida Tropics in Match Two of the best-of-three 2022 Ron Newman Cup Finals, from Pechanga Arena San Diego. Match Two is set for a 5:05pm PDT kickoff, carried live on Sirius XM Radio (channel 157) and Twitch (channel @masl_soccer) worldwide. A 15-minute Knockout Game to decide the series would immediately follow Match Two in the case of a Florida victory.
The Ron Newman Cup playoffs feature the top eight teams in the Major Arena Soccer League. Division winners earned the top three seeds, with the five next-best point totals qualifying as wild cards. The opening round saw San Diego, Florida, Kansas City, and Chihuahua all advance, the top four seeds in the bracket, while the semifinals saw the top two seeds San Diego and Florida use the maximum three games to advance. The lower-seeded club hosts the first match, and the higher-seeded club the second. If the series is tied 1-1 after two matches, a fifteen-minute Knockout Game follows to determine the winner. The semifinal winners Florida and San Diego advanced to the Ron Newman Cup Finals.
The Sockers (23-0-1, 66 points) were the top club in the MASL through the 2021-22 regular season, winning the MASL Shield as the regular season champions. San Diego is the #1 seed in the Ron Newman Cup playoffs, with home-field advantage throughout. The Sockers took a 20-match winning streak into the playoffs and swept their quarterfinal against Milwaukee before dropping a 7-6 OT decision in Chihuahua. San Diego has not lost in regulation this season. The club's only other loss was an 8-7 OT setback to the Ontario Fury on January 9. The Sockers have not lost a match in regulation since a 6-4 loss to the Fury in Ontario on March 13, 2021, a stretch of 40 matches.
The Ron Newman Cup Finals began on Monday with Match One from the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida. The Sockers pushed past the Tropics 6-3 to earn the victory and move within one step of a second MASL championship. San Diego conceded an early goal 1:03 into the contest off a free-kick, but rallied back behind a pair of first-half goals from Tavoy Morgan to take a 2-1 lead into the halftime locker room. After a tense and scoreless third quarter, Florida's Zach Reget netted twice in the early minutes of the fourth, giving Florida a 3-2 lead. Kraig Chiles scored the equalizer and assisted on the game-winning goal over the next 1:19 of game time for the 4-3 San Diego lead. The Sockers added a pair of goals against the Tropics' sixth attacker formation to seal the win.
As a result of the victory, the Sockers enter Sunday in an advantageous position. The club is 14-0-1 at home this season, having outscored their opponents 107-47, including an 11-4 win over the Tropics on March 31. Florida will need to beat San Diego in Match Two and then repeat the feat in the Knockout Game to wrest the Ron Newman Cup away from the Sockers. Home teams have gone 5-1 in Games Two of the 2022 Ron Newman Cup Playoffs, with only Kansas City losing at home (in the quarterfinals vs Dallas). The higher seed has advanced in every round of the playoffs so far.
Florida (18-3-2, 56 points) finished the regular season as the #2 seed in the MASL. The Tropics scored the third-most goals in the league with 179, trailing only Chihuahua (185) and San Diego (182). Florida was equally good home and away, going 9-2 at the RP Funding Center and 9-1-2 on the road. MASL Elite IX midfielder Victor Parreiras led the Tropics in the regular season with (29-23=52) points and has added (4-5=9) points in the playoffs. Zach Reget leads Florida in playoff scoring with (9-6=15) points after finishing second on the club in the regular season with
(27-16=43) points. Ricardo Diegues was acquired from Utica at midseason and immediately became a key figure in the Tropics attack, netting 12 goals in 11 regular-season games, and (5-5=10) points in the playoffs. The Tropics have split the net in the playoffs between Rainer Hauss (3-1, 3.73 GAA, .797 SV%) and Jorge Navarette (1-1, 6.10 GAA, .707 SV%). Hauss started Match One of the Finals, stopping 9 of 13 shots against.
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Major Arena Soccer League Stories from May 7, 2022
- Florida's Chad Vandegriffe Named Major Arena Soccer League Defender of Year - Florida Tropics SC
- Sockers Meet Tropics on MASL Championship Sunday - San Diego Sockers
- Tropics Need Two Wins for One Goal, a Major Arena Soccer League Championship - Florida Tropics SC
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