Three-quarters of the way through their toughest month of the 2011-2012 season the San Diego Sockers have managed to keep their perfect record intact, moving within a step of another U.S. Open Cup championship and a PASL Western Division crown.

The Sockers edged the Turlock Express 10-8 on Saturday at the Del Mar Arena before traveling to Phoenix on Sunday for a 9-3 victory over the Arizona Storm. San Diego (11-0), playing its third set of back-to-back games in January, rode the momentum of team captain Aaron Susi's 500th career point scored to defeat Turlock in a game which counted both as a PASL regular season contest and as the semi-final of the U.S. Open Cup for Arena Soccer. The Sockers will face either Detroit or Cincinnati on the road in the Open Cup Championship during Presidents Day Weekend.

Sunday, Ze Roberto and Diego Rovira each had two goals and an assist in the Sockers' 9-3 win over the newly renamed Arizona Storm. Forward Kraig Chiles continued to pace the San Diego offense throughout the weekend, scoring four goals on Saturday and contributing two goals and two assists on Sunday.

As the weekend approached, the Sockers knew their team captain stood at 497 career points, three shy of 500. The gameplan was for Susi to reach the milestone at home, and San Diego featured Susi on set pieces and in a penalty kick shootout during the game. After scoring his sixth goal of the season in the first quarter, Aaron missed on a third quarter shootout but later set up a pair of goals, first with a header to Chiky Luna in the crease then with a flick out of the left corner, finding Eric Wunderle with 1:27 remaining in the third quarter. 

After three frames the Sockers led 10-4 and were in firm control of their bid for a third straight US Open Cup championship berth. Turlock (7-5) narrowed the gap in a 4-0 fourth quarter, with star midfielder Jorge Quiroz contributing two goals and two assists for the game. Riley Swift improved to 9-0 in goal for San Diego, as the Sockers won their 24th consecutive match and improved to 30-0 all-time at the Del Mar Arena.

Sunday's game saw a different lineup take the pitch for San Diego, as head coach Phil Salvagio rested veterans Susi, Nate Hetherington and Chiky Luna, while midfielder Eduardo Velez served a one-game suspension for a red card acquired earlier in the season. Chris Toth got the start in goal as well as the Sockers took on a re-named and re-shaped Arizona Storm side which had shifted management mid-season. 

The Sockers methodically distanced themselves from Arizona (1-9), outscoring the Storm 2-0 in each of the first three quarters. San Diego suffered a scare when Chiles suffered a mild left quad strain in the second quarter, but the league MVP barely missed a shift and still put four points on the board with two goals and two assists. Brian Farber rebounded from a scoreless night, scoring his 19th goal of the year while adding a pair of assists. 

The revelation of the day, however, was defender Ze Roberto, the first-team all-PASL star who is known for his outstanding defense and very rare offensive contributions. Taking advantage of the opportunity afforded by the absence of offensive-minded defenders Dan Antoniuk and John Krause, Roberto is picking his spots to come up into the Sockers attack. The result has been four goals and three assists (seven points) in the last three games. 

Toth (2-0) carried a shutout into the fourth quarter before conceding three goals in the final fifteen minutes. The Sockers won their 12th straight road game in the PASL, a league record, and their 25th consecutive match overall. 

San Diego returns to action after a short week of rest and training, heading to Anaheim on Friday night for the fourth and final matchup between the Sockers and the Anaheim Bolts (3-6). Game time is set for 8:05pm and the game will be carried live both on ESPN Radio 1700 and 619Sports.Net. Saturday night at the Del Mar Arena is Ball Night as the Sockers host the resurgent Revolucion Tijuana (6-4), now in second place in the West. The first 250 kids age 14 and under through the gates at the Del Mar Arena will receive a brand new Sockers logo soccer ball. Tickets are available by calling (866) 799-GOAL or by visiting Ticketmaster via the "buy tickets" button on the home page of sdsockers.com.