MASL San Diego Sockers

Sockers Seek Rebound Result vs. Empire

Published on February 29, 2024 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


The San Diego Sockers-presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego-continue a four-match homestand, looking to regain their footing as they take on the Empire Strykers Friday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego. The match is set for a 7:35pm kickoff, and will be streamed live on Twtich channel @masl_soccer, simulcast in Spanish on canela.tv.

The Sockers (14-3, 40 points) owners of the best record in MASL history all-time at 163-34-5, hold an eleven-point lead over the second-place Chihuahua Savage coming into action this weekend. The Savage hold two matches in hand (15 played to 17 for San Diego), and will take on the Sockers Sunday at Pechanga Arena. After winning the first two MASL Supporters Shields, San Diego is now twelve points behind the 18-0 Monterrey Flash, who are leading the Eastern Conference. The Sockers are 59-5-1 over their last 65 matches.

This is the fourth of six meetings between the Sockers and Strykers, who will meet once again on March 10 and March 17 (in Ontario) to wrap up the season series. San Diego is 3-0 against Em-pire, although the matches have been getting closer all season. The Sockers won 7-3 on Decem-ber 17, 8-5 in Ontario on January 17, and 9-8 (OT shootout) in Ontario on February 18. In the all-time series, San Diego is 34-9 against the Ontario Fury/Empire Strykers franchise.

Coming off a week of rest and rehab after winning three matches in six days the week prior, the Sockers walked into Pechanga Arena a much healthier team last Sunday. They left still with their legs intact, but their pride wounded. The club suffered the worst regular season home loss in franchise history, a 9-4 decision at the hands of the Kansas City Comets. Kansas City broke open a 1-1 tie at halftime, scoring five goals in the third quarter to build aa 6-3 lead. San Diego had a chance to get back in the match with back-to-back penalty kicks in the fourth quarter, but the club went 1-for-2, and the Comets poured two goals into an empty net to seal the result. Ta-voy Morgan and Kraig Chiles each scored two goals in the losing effort for the Sockers. Chiles earned his 700th career point and 475th career goal.

Empire (3-13-1, 9 points) has experienced the bitter taste of close defeat at home in their last two matches, dropping a 9-8 shootout decision to San Diego on February 18, and a 4-3 loss to Kansas City on Wednesday night. Empire scored on an Alan Perez six-attackers goal with 80 seconds remaining, only to concede the match-winner from the Comets' Christian Anderaos with 37 seconds left to play. Marco Fabián has scored at least one goal in every match he has played in the MASL: the former Liga MX and El Tri star has 21 goals and 32 points in 14 matches played. Two of the three wins for Empire this season have come on the road (2-6 away record). Brian Orozco has taken over for Brandon Gomez as the primary goalkeeper for the Strykers.

Excellence is our Baseline

The San Diego Sockers boast an MASL-best 163-34-5 record over the ten-year history of the league. San Diego has won consecutive MASL Supporters Shields, awarded to the club with the best regular season record in the league. The Sockers finished 22-2 in 2022-23, five wins ahead of Chihuahua (17) for the highest mark. The Sockers have a record of 59-5-1 the past 2 1/2 sea-sons, and saw a 16-match regular season winning streak snapped on January 14 against the Savage. The last time the Sockers lost two matches in a row was March 13 and 14, 2021 during the COVID season when the club played only on the road.

The Grand Old Arena Is (Was?) Our Fortress

The Sockers have also been the most dominant home team in MASL history, with an 88-8-1 all-time record. San Diego saw its 25-match regular season home winning streak end on January 14. The club is 50-4-1 at home over the past four+ seasons. However, the Sockers have lost twice this year at Pechanga Arena, one away from the most home losses in a modern regular season (7-3 in 2015-16).

Pretty Good on the Road, Too

San Diego is 8-1 on the season away, with a chance to improve on last year's league-leading road mark. The Sockers' 10-2 road record in the 2022-23 season was easily the best in the MASL. Chihuahua was second-best at 7-5. The Sockers had a 17-match regular season road winning streak snapped in Ontario on February 8, 2023, part of a 4-2 road trip that included regulation wins in Chihuahua and Monterrey.

Another Round Number for Kraig Chiles: 700

Sockers captain Kraig Chiles is in his fifteenth season with the Sockers, ranking as the franchise's all-time leader in goals (475) and points (700). He reached 700 with a penalty kick goal against Kansas City on February 25. It was the second "round number" celebration for Chiles this season, as on January 17, Chiles reached 400 MASL points with an assist against Empire (272-149=421 career, fifth-most). Chiles joined Franck Tayou, Ian Bennett, Leo Gibson, and Nick Pere-ra in the MASL 400-point club. (Tayou opened the MASL 500-point club earlier this season.) Last year, Chiles once again paced the Sockers attack, leading all scorers with (21-20=41) points. It was the eleventh time in his career he averaged at least 2.0 points per match. After a lull that saw the captain held to two assists in three matches, Chiles began to show the return of a midseason mustache, which has often preceded a scoring binge. He has responded with points in nine straight matches, netting (13-8=21) points during the surge.

Playmakers Down

The Sockers have been battling injuries during a busy February, and the primary impact has been in the midfield. Brazilian pass masters Leonardo de Oliveira (13 assists in 10 matches) and Gabriel Costa (13 assists in 11 matches) are both recovering from long-term injuries. "Leo" has missed the last three matches after missing all of January with a knee issue. Costa is running while recovering from a broken wrist. In addition, club assist leader Charlie Gonzalez (14) missed two matches last week with hamstring trouble. Midfielder Sean Callahan is out for the season with an ACL injury in his knee. Last but not least, defender Drew Ruggles aggravated a leg injury in training this week and is listed as doubtful to play vs. Empire.

Escoto Excellent Again

Sockers midfielder Brandon Escoto has always had a flair for the dramatic and showed it again on January 28 with a header goal at 14:55 of the fourth quarter to equalize the match against Ta-coma and send San Diego toward victory. "Churras" took his soccer artistry to new heights against Empire on January 17 with an audacious bicycle kick from behind the attacking line in the fourth quarter. Escoto's bid hit the dead center of the net after sailing over the goalkeeper's head for the MASL Goal of the Year to date. Brandon leads the Sockers with 21 goals and ranks third with 29 points on the season.

Terrific Tavoy

Forward Tavoy Morgan is second on the Sockers with nineteen goals and owns the club lead with (19-14=33) points. Morgan has at least one point in every match he has played this season. Tavoy has already set a personal high with 14 assists on the season, and appeared in his 100th MASL match on February 25 vs. Kansas City.

Pardo Two Wins From 100 With Sockers

Sockers two-time defending MASL Goalkeeper of the Year Boris Pardo returned from a three-match suspension to take the net for the last four matches, posting a 3-1 record. In thirteen starts this season, Pardo has a 10-2 record and 5.12 GAA, with a .665 SV%. A now three-time winner of the top goalkeeping honor in the MASL, Pardo is the league's all-time leader in wins (122), including a 98-16-5 mark with the Sockers. Boris led the MASL in wins in 2022-23 with a 21-2 record, marking the third time in three full 24-match schedules that he reached the 20-win plateau. The 39-year-old also led the league in goals-against average (3.80) while finishing fifth in save percentage (.726). In 2021-22, Pardo earned his second straight championship, while picking up his second career award as MASL Goalkeeper of the Year. He again led the MASL in wins (19) and goals-against-average (4.20), and his .731 save percentage ranked second in the league.

Power Play Not Popping

Normally a franchise strength, the San Diego Sockers power play is currently last in the MASL with a .270 conversion percentage (10-for-37). The Sockers lead the league with 37 power play attempts. The club has scored three penalty kick goals and a shootout goal this season.

Gabi Goal Gone (For Now)

In his second MASL season, midfielder Gabriel Costa has proven himself to be a consistent high scorer, averaging almost two points per match. Costa picked up two assists on January 28 in Ta-coma after a team-best goal and two assists vs. St. Louis on January 27, then added a power-play goal against Texas on February 1. Costa's (8-13=21) points are T-3rd on the Sockers and his 13 assists are tied for the club lead. Having recently suffered a broken wrist, Costa had successful surgery on February 2. Costa is expected to miss six weeks but return in time for the Ron Newman Cup playoffs.

A New Flavor of Player

The Sockers on February 7 announced the signing of midfielder Flávio Guzman to a MASL player contract for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. Guzman comes to the Sockers from the Dallas Sidekicks, where over two seasons he scored (16-8=24) points in 19 matches played, including (4-1=5) points in five matches this season. The 30-year-old Texas native made his debut on February 9 in Chihuahua and scored his first Sockers goal on February 15 vs the Outlaws. He has one goal and one assist in five matches with the Sockers.

Player Highlights

Cesar Cerda

Leads Sockers defenders with 8 goals, 15 points

Guerrero Pino

Club blocked shots leader with 31

Charlie Gonzalez

(52-40') points in 51 matches as a Socker

Check out the San Diego Sockers Statistics

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Major Arena Soccer League Stories from February 29, 2024


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