SOCKERS RAISE BANNER, THEN DROP FOE
The San Diego Sockers celebrated their improbable 2021 Major Arena Soccer League title on Sunday night, handing out rings, dropping the team’s 15th championship banner from the Pechanga Arena rafters and showing off the silver Ron Newman Cup.
Sockers 4, Chihuahua 1
Because of COVID protocols, it had been 652 days since the Sockers played a home match.
Then after a sluggish start, they treated the 1,627 in attendance to a defense-dominated 4-1 win over the firstyear Chihuahua Savage.
“I’ve got to be honest, it was a distraction,” Sockers owner/ coach Phil Salvagio said of the lengthy pregame ceremony. “It was hard to feel like the homefield advantage because we were on the road so much. (On the road) we’d be in our hotel room and could focus on the game more.
“Today, we were worried about who needed tickets. I had a phone call two minutes before introductions. Too
much of a distraction.”
Or as goalie Boris Pardo said of the team’s mood when tied 1-1 at the half, “We had to smack ourselves.”
Chihuahua goalie Ivan Munoz, who finished with 15 saves, made it close with an array of spectacular saves.
“He kept them in it,” said Salvagio.
But with 6:58 remaining in the third period, Leonardo de Oliveira threaded a shot from the slot past Munoz for a 2-1
lead. Munoz stopped numerous harder shots, but seemed distracted with the Sockers’ Brando Escoto perched to his left on the post.
The Sockers (2-0) put the game away with two powerplay goals in the fourth period. Kraig Chiles scored the first one with 6:24 to play. Christian Gutierrez capped the night by beating Munoz with 4.7 seconds to go.
Escoto finished with four assists.
Chiles’ goal was a bit of redemption. Eighteen seconds before he scored he missed on a penalty shot.
“I was disappointed (with the missed PK),” said Chiles. “It was an epic drop-off. Then I had to rise back up knowing we had a power play in front of us.”
The Sockers opened the season eight days earlier with a 10-7 win against Tacoma. While the win was nice, giving up seven goals did not meet the team’s standards.
“It’s a cliché,” said Chiles, “but defense wins championships.”
Defenders did a nice job of keeping Chihuahua (0-2) outside the goal area. Goalie Boris Pardo did his part by stopping 12 shots.
“The fans know if we keep it low scoring, we’re going to come out on top,” said Pardo. “We’ve got plenty of firepower.”
For his part, Pardo was happy the Sockers left the emotional evening was behind them.
“The memories never go away,” he said. “But we have to go on. Once we got more into a rhythm, it was game over.”