Fan Favorite San Diego Sockers Keep Winning as Season Continues
San Diego Soccer News: The excitement continues to thrill fans as America’s Finest City’s professional soccer team keeps winning and now has a 9-0 record!
The 14-time champion San Diego Sockers improved to 9-0 with a 10-1 win over the Turlock Express before 2,652 at Valley View Casino Center. The Sockers, who outscored Turlock 27-5 in the last three contests, have scored eight or more goals in seven of their wins.
The Sockers released their victory with the headline:
SOCKERS TAKE THE EXPRESS TO A 9-0 RECORD WITH 10-1 VICTORY
Balanced Scoring And Solid Goalkeeping Extends Division Lead To Five Games
San Diego’s Schedule Becomes Harder With Four Games In Nine Days Against Tough Opponents
For the first time in three matches with Turlock, the Sockers had a comfortable halftime lead of 5-1. The Express had been competitive in the first halves of the last two games against San Diego, but tonight without their leading scorer Ivan Campos they had an uphill battle.
The teams traded opening goals before San Diego notched nine unanswered goals. Captain Kraig Chiles, who opened the scoring at 5:17, paced the Sockers with two goals and two assists.
Chiles now has a nine-game point streak.
“It was a great team effort last night,” said Chiles. “We are really playing for each other on both sides of the ball. The coaching staff has made defending and getting 5 guys behind the ball a priority and the defensive numbers show that.”
San Diego’s balanced attack featured two goals each by Matt Clare, Brian Farber and Hiram Ruiz; and single tallies by Raymundo Contreras and Luan Oliveira.
“Defensively we were solid once again and going forward we are starting to connect more and everyone is playing their part in going after a trophy,” said Clare. “It was another team effort.”
“It was a night not to be selfish,” said Farber. “We made the extra pass and made sure that we spread the ball around to give everyone a piece of the action. The crowd was fantastic.”
“The new winning streak is great but not our focus — our focus is on winning the championship,” said Farber. “Winning a game is a result of maintaining our focus on training and what we do in the game. We want a home field advantage going into the playoffs. We are really looking forward to this Friday’s game when Tacoma is coming down. They will be looking for a win and now they have added former Sockers’ player Nick Perera to their roster. Nick brings something that the team was missing – a true target goal scorer.”
“I thought it was a good game for us to get our legs back and knock off the rust with having almost a month off,” said Sockers; third-generation goalkeeper Chris Toth who is also focused on the championship. “My goal for the season is to win the championship. Nothing more,” added Toth.
Toth won his fourth game of the season and dropped his league-leading GAA to 2.75.
Looking ahead as the road to earning the championship is still ahead, the team is preparing for success. “We have such a deep roster that guys like Farber, Toth and myself are able to rest games and we are confident the guys will get the job done,” said Chiles. “Being healthy and fit at the end of the year is crucial.”
The schedule will get tougher as the Sockers will have four matches in nine days against quality opponents in Tacoma, Ontario, Sonora and Ontario again.
Sockers Took on Turlock and Won
Just two days earlier, the Sockers tallied six times in the second half to outpace the Turlock Express, 8-2, on Friday night at the Turlock Indoor Soccer Center.
Luan Oliveira scored four goals as San Diego remained undefeated (8-0) in the MASL. Tovar, Escoto and Ruiz made a big impact on this match with a combined 3 goals and four assists. TURLOCK (Friday, January 5, 2018 – #17- MR08) –
NEXT HOME SAN DIEGO SOCKERS MATCH:
The Sockers are back in action on Friday, January 12, 7:35 p.m., at Valley View Casino Center against longtime rival Tacoma for Military Appreciation Night.
The first 1,000 supporters will receive a free Cal Coast Credit Union Sockers Camo Hat. It will also be the first $2 Bud Light Night of the season.
Parking is always free ($15 value), courtesy of the team. Gates open at 6:00 p.m.
