Sockers to Battle UCFC Sunday
March 12, 2022 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers-presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego-conclude a pair of difficult East Coast matches this weekend by taking on Utica City FC on Sunday, 11:00am kickoff in San Diego from Adirondack Bank Center. The match will be carried live on MASL TV on YouTube.
The Sockers (17-0-1, 48 points) have won fourteen consecutive matches, the longest active streak in the MASL. San Diego has only lost once all season, an overtime 8-7 setback to Ontario on January 9, and enters the weekend in the top spot of the MASL standings table, five points ahead of Florida (43 points) and ten points ahead of Kansas City (38 points). The Tropics have two games in hand on the Sockers, having played 16 times to San Diego's 18. The win streak has included four overtime victories, three in sudden death and one in a shootout.
The Sockers are a perfect 9-0 on the road this season, the only undefeated road team in the MASL (Florida is 6-0-1 on the road). San Diego's unblemished road record has been hard-earned, as the Sockers have won three times in overtime, including a shootout victory at Ontario.
On Saturday, Felipe Gonzalez scored a pair of goals, Leonardo de Oliveira a goal and two assists, and Kraig Chiles added a goal and assist, as the San Diego Sockers won their fourteenth straight match in the Major Arena Soccer League, a 9-6 decision over the Baltimore Blast on Saturday night at SECU Arena, on the campus of Towson University.
The Sockers fell behind 5-3 in the third quarter before rolling off four straight goals, including the eventual game-winner from Christian Gutierrez, a straightaway smash off de Oliveira's second assist of the night, a magical behind-the-back no-look backheel pass into the crease. "Leo" set a new career-high with his 25th and 26th assists of the season, the leading total in the MASL.
Last weekend, the Sockers shut down the other hottest team in the league, ending the Chihuahua Savage's seven-match winning streak with a 6-2 decision on Sunday at Pechanga Arena. San Diego completed a 4-0 regular season against the Savage behind another dominant effort from goalkeeper Boris Pardo, who stopped fifteen of the seventeen shots he faced. Kraig Chiles had two goals and an assist, Charlie Gonzalez two goals, and Cesar Cerda a goal and two assists to pace the San Diego attack.
Utica City (6-12-0, 17 points) is in desperate straits for a playoff berth, sitting in 10th position and five points outside the table. While UCFC is only 2-5 at home this season, they will have a significant "laying-in-wait" advantage, as the Sockers will have played Saturday night and traveled six hours to reach upstate New York in time for the Sunday 2pm ET kickoff. UCFC beat the Heat on 10-5 on Friday night in Harrisburg. UCFC has struggled mightily on offense all season, averaging only 4.6 goals-per-match with a -41 goal differential.
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Major Arena Soccer League Stories from March 12, 2022
- Sidekicks Finish Double Header in Chihuahua Mexico - Dallas Sidekicks
- Sockers to Battle UCFC Sunday - San Diego Sockers
- Sockers Take the East Coast by Storm, 9-6 - Baltimore Blast
- Sockers Stop Blast For 14th Straight Win - San Diego Sockers
- Sidekicks Fall 8-2 against the Savage - Dallas Sidekicks
- Wave Struggle in Kansas City Friday Nght; Lose 5th Straight - Milwaukee Wave
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