De Oliveira Nets Game Winner In Overtime For 4-3 Win

Leonardo De Oliveira scored the game-winning goal at 4:39 of overtime to lift the San Diego Sockers past the Rio Grande Valley Barracudas 4-3 at Pechanga Arena San Diego on Sunday night. Newcomer Christian Gutierrez's two tallies in the third period surrounded a Kraig Chiles goal to give San Diego (1-0) a 3-0 lead. In the fourth quarter, Rio Grande Valley (1-2) got a pair of goals from Erick Jhon Ponce and a tying marker from Moises Gonzalez using a six attackers formation to force the extra session. Oliveira's heroics were set up a back pass from Brian Farber, in which he collected the ball and powered a shot into the goal for the winner. Goalkeeper Boris Pardo recorded seven saves on the 10 shots he faced for the win. A crowd of 3,221 was on hand for Ron Newman Night. The legendary coach, who passed away in August, and his family were honored in a pregame ceremony, in which the playing surface was renamed Ron Newman Field.

The Sockers play their first road game of the season on Thursday, December 20, 7:00 p.m at Ontario, before returning home to play Tacoma on Saturday, December 22 at 7:05 p.m. at Pechanga Arena San Diego. Supporter Season Memberships, group, and single game tickets are on sale now by calling 866-799-GOAL (4625) by visiting Sockers.com or AXS.com (Search: Sockers).