San Diego Sockers Have a Tough Night – Ambushed by St. Louis 8-3
Professional soccer in San Diego – Goalkeeper Greg Crook stopped 19 shots and the St. Louis Ambush (3-5) blocked 18 more in an inspired defensive effort as St. Louis outpaced the San Diego Sockers 8-3 in front of 6,574 at Family Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. Four different Ambush players scored in a first quarter that saw the Sockers (6-3) fall behind 4-2, never to rally.
“It started with the head coach,” said head coach/owner Phil Salvagio, “Give St. Louis credit, they had more speed, more fitness, and their goalkeeper played out of his mind today.”
San Diego’s second straight loss set a number of negative team records. The five-goal loss was the biggest in five+ seasons of play since returning to indoor soccer in 2009. The three goals scored were tied for the fewest in the current franchise history, a mark achieved for the third time. In addition the Sockers lost two straight for only the third time in six years.
Kraig Chiles, Nick Perera and Eduardo Velez all netted goals in the losing cause for the Sockers, who dropped a 10-7 decision in Kansas City the previous night and played without dynamic Brazilian rookie midfielder Ney (ankle).
With eighteen blocks, the Ambush brought a higher level of intensity to the field than the Sockers, which left Salvagio chagrinned.
“That’s the thing, I didn’t think of it (needing to call for effort). We put all our focus into Missouri and not enough into St. Louis. I guess you could say we emptied it out against the Comets and didn’t bring it today.”
“It starts with me, and it goes through every player on this team, including our captains; every single one of us. We (screwed) up.”
San Diego was shut out for over 33 minutes from the end of the first quarter to the start of the fourth, as their attempts at goal repeatedly were blocked by Ambush head coach Daryl Doran’s inspired defense. Chiles’ goal on a power play cut the St. Louis advantage to 6-3 just seconds into the fourth quarter, but Adnan Gabeljic’s goal with 10:13 left put the score line all but out of reach, and a shootout goal by Chad Vandergriffe capped the scoring.
The Ambush also played without two top contributors and had a game the night prior in Chicago but showed little of the fatigue displayed by the Sockers. Combined with Ontario’s 8-7 victory over the Sacramento Surge, the loss drops San Diego into a first-place tie with the Fury in the MASL Pacific Division.
San Diego will return home to open a two-game homestand on January 3rd when they host the Surge at the Valley View Casino Center. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive an “MVP Poster” featuring Kraig Chiles, Brian Farber and Jeff Hughes, presented by BumbleBee Seafoods.
Tickets are available at sockers.com and by telephone at (866) 799-GOAL, as well as the VVCC box office.
Photos: Aaron Jaffe/SD Sockers
