Match Preview: San Diego Travels to Face Soles De Sonora
Soccer News: The San Diego Sockers are set for the back end of its home series with Soles de Sonora to start the 2015-2016 Major Arena Soccer League Season. Kick-off is set for 6:00 P.M. PT.
After taking the first match in San Diego 7-5, the Sockers travel to Hermosillo, Mexico on Saturday, November 7th, for the first ever home match in Soles de Sonora history.
Since the 2011-2012 season, the Sockers are 11-1 against Mexican opposition including a 5-0 record south of the boarder.
One Sockers player that will not be making the trip is Kraig Chiles, whose two goals and two assists helped propel the Sockers to their opening night victory. Instead, the three-time MVP will be in Costa Rica with the U.S. National Futsal team.
“Of course it hurts not having Chiles in the team,” assistant coach Aaron Susi lamented, “but Nick Perera is back in the squad and he is more than capable of getting the job done.”
After missing the first game for undisclosed reasons, last year’s second leading scorer is back in the fold. The Madrid native is looking to build on a stellar 2014-2015 in which he banged in 27 goals while dishing out 22 helpers.
Sockers fans will also get their first look at defender Abel “Shadow” Sebele. The 25-year-old joins from the Wichita B-52s and his versatility will add strength to either the Sockers’ midfield or defensive unites as needed.
In the Sockers’ home opener against Soles de Sonora, the 14-time champions trailed three times before taking the lead at 4-3 and eventually pulled away to win 7-5. Much of this was down to an excellent effort from the special teams who had a perfect evening, going 2-2 on the power play while killing Sonora’s two “man-advantage” situations.
Despite the victory, Susi felt the game should have been more comfortable in the end. “We had our chances, but we didn’t finish and we let Sonora stay in the game longer than we wanted them too.”
The emphasis in training over the last two weeks has been based on making better decisions going forward and finishing off plays, while becoming an even more compact unit at the other end. The Sockers are not just looking to ruin Soles’ party, they want to be out of sight and out of mind well before the business end of the fourth quarter.
Sockers fans can listen to an internet-radio call of the game on www.golivesportscast.com starting at approximately 5:58 PT.
