San Diego Sockers Face Kansas City
The San Diego Sockers may be San Diego’s championship indoor soccer team with tons of accolades – 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 PASL Champions, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 U.S. Open Cup Champions, 14-time Indoor Soccer Champions – but when they take on the undefeated Missouri Comets (8-0) in Week 10 of the Major Arena Soccer League at the Independence Events Center … it will be an interesting match. On Saturday, December 27th, 2014, San Diego Sockers (6-1) will travel to play against Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski’s team, who have not lost yet this season.
LAST GAME: SOCKERS 17, SEATTLE 10
The Sockers engaged in a run-and-gun battle with a Seattle Impact team playing at full throttle, and the result was San Diego’s highest scoring game in six seasons, with 27 combined goals. The Sockers set a season high for goals, led by captain Kraig Chiles’ six-goal game. Brazilian midfielder Ney had a hat trick and two assists in his Sockers season debut. Gordy Gurson scored a hat trick to lead the Impact, who trailed 17-5 before scoring five goals in the final six minutes of action.
NEY SAYS HEY WITH A HAT TRICK
One of the more anticipated signings of the 2014-15 Sockers season bore immediate fruit in San Diego’s last game, as Brazilian midfielder Mardney Almeida Felix (known as “Ney”) made a dazzling MASL debut with a hat trick and two assists. Ney scored the Sockers’ first goal on a back post run, then electrified the crowd by dribbling three players before setting up Chiles for a tap-in. A first division professional futsal player in Brazil, Ney scored two goals in his club team’s championship to advance their side to Brazil’s top division. Also expected to make his Sockers debut against Missouri is fellow Brazilian defender Gustavo Machado Quieroga (known as “Guto”).
CHILES NAMED TO MASL TEAM OF THE WEEK
Already the all-time goals and points leader in the Sockers’ former league (the PASL), Chiles took a big jump up the points board in the MASL after a six-goal, one assist performance against the Seattle Impact. Chiles was honored after the win, named to the all-MASL team for the week of Matchday Seven. A Hall of Champions Star of the Year for 2014, Chiles is the only Socker to score a goal in every game this season. On the year his fifteen goals are sixth best in the MASL and his twenty points are tied for eighth. Kraig will be facing a teammate tonight in Bryan Perez of the Comets; both players are members of the U.S. National Futsal Team, Chiles a starting forward.
NICK PERERA RETURNS TO FAMILIAR TERRITORY
While the Sockers (in their current iteration) are playing their first game against a former MISL team, tonight’s opponents will be familiar to San Diego forward Nick Perera. Pacing the Sockers with 25 points in seven games (11 goals, 14 assists) so far this season, Perera played in the MISL with Milwaukee Wave from 2011-14, scoring 52 goals with 38 assists in 69 games. Nick continued his steady offensive play with two goals and an assist against the Seattle Impact. His fourteen assists rank third in the MASL overall, trailing Enrique Tovar of Turlock (19 in ten games) and Leo Gibson of Missouri (18 in eight games).
FARBER PLACED ON INJURED LIST
All-league midfielder Brian Farber will be sorely missed on the pitch tonight, as San Diego will be without their speediest midfielder and one of the game’s fiercest competitors. Farber was placed on the Sockers’ injury list retroactive to December 6th with a knee injury. Brian aggravated his knee against the Las Vegas Legends on November 23rd and has been unable to play since.
FOUR DIMES FOR CHIKY
Sockers veteran midfielder Chiky Luna set a season-high with four assists in the Sockers’ 17-10 victory over Seattle on November 13th. Chiky doubled his season total for assists in the game, improving to nine points (one goal, eight assists) in seven games. Luna’s career high for assists is 14, set in the 2012-13 season, when Chiky finished with a career-best 26 points.
VELEZ SURGING BACK OFFENSIVELY
After scoring just five goals in a season spent adjusting to a position change, Eduardo “El Vaquero” Velez is back to his high-scoring antics, much to the dismay of the opposition. With seven goals and seven assists, Velez ranks third on the Sockers with 14 points. Eddie’s seven goals rank fourth among MASL defenders and his 14 points rank sixth overall in the position group.
ROOKIE KRUGER RATES WELL
Only 22 years old, Argentine rookie Matias Kruger has been developing into a force on the field week by week. Kruger picked up three assists against the Seattle Impact, improving his season totals to five goals and six assists (eleven points), the fourth-highest total on the team. “Mati” saw a four-game goal-scoring streak come to an end against Turlock, but has contributed four assists since and continues to impress with his ability to win the ball back in the midfield. Kruger joined the Sockers after spending five seasons on Argentina’s National Futsal Team.
HUGHES RETURNS TO MISSOURI
Jeff Hughes is a former Missouri Comets player, having spent nine weeks with the team in 2012-13, helping the Comets reach the MISL finals. In his second season with the Sockers, Hughes is healthy and playing once again at a high level. With a goal and two assists against the Impact, Hughes increased his season totals to five goals and four assists in seven games (nine points). Hughes has seen time on the power play unit recently and responded against Seattle with a power play goal and assist.
SOCKERS ON THE RADIO AND WEB
Saturday’s game and all 20 regular season MASL Sockers games will be carried live on ESPN Radio 1700-AM in San Diego. Audio streaming is available at www.espnradio1700.com. In addition, every MASL game has video streaming live on GoLiveSportsCast.com, including all Sockers games. Aaron Susi joins Craig Elsten for all home broadcasts and is on the trip for radio commentary Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas as well.
SPECIAL TEAMS CRUCIAL TONIGHT
When handicapping Saturday’s contest against the Comets, the performance on power plays could be a determining factor. If previous results predict future performance, that could be bad news for the Sockers. San Diego scored a season-best three goals with a man advantage against Seattle, but on the season the Sockers are 8-for-19 (42.1%), 11th in the 23-team MASL. Missouri, meanwhile, is the league’s best power play unit, with 18 power play goals and a staggering 72% conversion rate (18-for-25). Missing Brian Farber, who captained San Diego’s penalty kill unit, the Sockers have allowed a 50% opponent’s conversion rate on power plays, tied for 15th in the MASL. The Comets have allowed five power play goals (71% kill rate, 6th-MASL) but have scored three goals short-handed.
MASL NOTES
· The Sockers need at least one win on this weekend road trip to maintain sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division. Ontario has won five straight to move to 6-3 on the season, and the Fury will play on the road at Turlock and Sacramento while San Diego takes on Missouri and St. Louis.
· Las Vegas (5-5) moved back into the Pacific playoff picture with a pair of key road wins last weekend in Mexico, beating Saltillo Rancho Seco and the previously undefeated Monterrey Flash. The Legends are tied with Turlock for third place.
· Hidalgo La Fiera ceased operations this week after having their previous weekend’s result vacated upon protest regarding an unfit facility. An attempt to restart the team is underway.
· Gordy Gurson of the Seattle Impact remains the MASL scoring leader after a four-point game Friday against the Sacramento Surge. Gurson has a league-best 28 goals and 41 points in nine games.
OPPONENT PROFILE: MISSOURI COMETS (8-0)
The defending MISL champs have torn through the MASL in their first eight games, winning by an average of 7.75 goals per game. Forward Leo Gibson is second in the MASL with 36 points (18 goals 18 assists) including a league-record 11 power play goals. Keeper Danny Waltman (8-0, 4.80 GAA, .741 save%) was the U.S. National Arena Soccer Team starting goalkeeper and is the MISL all-time wins leader in net. Forward Max Touloute and midfielder Vahid Assadpour are tied for second on the team with 20 points. Defender Brian Harris is deadly from outside and leads all MASL defenders with 13 goals. Bryan Perez (10g-6a-16p) and John Sosa (5g-11a-16p) are key power play contributors.
Photos: Aaron Jaffe/SD Sockers
