Wave Win 9-4, Slam Playoff Door Shut
March 26, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
San Diego Sockers News Release
(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) - The Sockers took a huge hit as far as their playoff hopes are concerned with a loss to Milwaukee on Thursday night, 9-4. San Diego (13-21), in a must-win situation, just could not keep up with the Central Division-leading Wave (24-9) who jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.
Before the game, the Milwaukee Wave honored Sockers¹ goalkeeper Victor Nogueira by retiring his number 27. Nogueira spent 11 seasons with Milwaukee where he compiled a record of 252-111.
³It¹s kind of an odd situation playing against someone whose number is being retired, because he really hasn¹t finished playing yet,² said Wave Head Coach Keith Tozer.
After making the commendatory gesture, the Wave wasted no time showing Nogueira and the rest of the Sockers why they had the best record in the League. At 2:09, Matthew Stewart put in the first of Milwaukee¹s nine goals. Semir Mesanovic followed less than two minutes later from Todd Dusosky. Dusosky then fed Matt Schmidt for a goal at 7:30 to give the Wave a 3-0 lead. Eighteen seconds later, the Sockers stopped the Wave¹s run momentarily as Paul Wright scored his 21st of the season. Marcello Fontana, however, answered back for Milwaukee with a goal three minutes later that put them up 4-1 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, Brad Flanagan brought the Sockers to within two goals after finding the back of the net at 8:22 off an assist from Wright. Milwaukee¹s Chris Morman extended the lead back to three with a goal eight seconds before the halftime buzzer (5-2).
Joe Hammes increased Milwaukee¹s lead to 6-2 after scoring a goal at 3:28 of the third quarter. The Sockers kept fighting and stayed within reach after Nino DaSilva put in their third goal of the night at 9:54, but Milwaukee had an answer for that as well. Joe Reiniger gave the Wave a 7-3 lead once he scored of a Fontana pass at 11:31.
Larry Inlow scored his first goal since being acquired by the Sockers 3:17 into the fourth quarter off a pass from Kevin Sakuda. Milwaukee put the Sockers away for good with the final two goals of the game. Johnny Torres scored at 11:35 and Fontana capped the night off with his second goal at 12:45.
San Diego now trails the St. Louis Steamers by three games in the loss column and the Cleveland Force by two and a half games for the final playoff spot.
The Sockers return to San Diego to play their final home game of the 2003-04 regular season against the Monterrey Fury on Friday, April 2. San Diego has been victorious in four of the five meetings so far this season and look to win their third straight at home versus the Fury. The evening, dubbed ³Union-Tribune Youth and Family Night,² begins at 7 p.m. The Sockers will give away a free Hyundai to a lucky fan.
For more information on the sweepstakes, or to buy tickets to the April 2 game, log on to the Sockers website at www.sockers.com.
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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 26, 2004
- Force defender has successful surgery - Cleveland Force
- Playoff-hungry Steamers prepare for season home-finale vs. Milwaukee - St. Louis Steamers
- Wave spoils Nogueira's night with 9-4 win over Sockers - Milwaukee Wave
- KiXX host back-to-back set this weekend - Philadelphia KiXX
- Force to steam past Central Division opponent - Cleveland Force
- Wave Win 9-4, Slam Playoff Door Shut - San Diego Sockers
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