Rivalry Heats Up As San Diego Wins 8-6 Over Ontario

The 14-time champion San Diego Sockers (11-2) exacted revenge and ended their short two-game losing streak with an 8-6 win over the Ontario Fury (7-7) before 2,416 at Valley View Casino Center on Sunday night. Kraig Chiles notched his second four-goal game of the season to lead the Sockers.

 The Sockers were slow to start the game, in fact, it was 24 minutes before they scored their first goal to cut Ontario’s lead to 2-1. San Diego’s leading scorer Chiles tallied three of the Sockers four goals in the second period to give them a 4-3 lead at the break. He is third in the MASL with 24 goals. John Sosa also added a marker in the quarter.

Ontario has played better of late and they put high-pressure on the Sockers all game long, which caused problems for San Diego on the defensive end. The Fury’s Adrien Perez showcased his skills with three goals and two assists to keep Ontario in the game. His goal at 12:32 of third gave Ontario a short-lived lead because Cesar Cerda tied the game at 6-6 two minutes later.

San Diego put together a solid fourth period to distance themselves from the Fury. Erick Tovar scored off an assist from goalkeeper Chris Toth to give San Diego a lead they would not lose. Toth had two assists on the evening, he also passed the ball to Cerda to help on his goal in the third quarter. Toth, who allowed eight goals on Thursday against Ontario, earned his team-leading sixth win by making 11 saves. He leads the league with a 3.90 GAA.

San Diego’s Luan Oliveira found the back of the net late in the fourth, and then the tempers flared between the two teams that had played just four days ago. The rivalry has been raised to another level as Ontario is now challenging the Sockers to play better and better in each game.

San Diego travels to Turlock on Friday and then to Monterrey on Sunday for their next two contests. Both games can be seen live on MASL.TV. The Sockers return home on Sunday, February 11 for Alumni Night to face rival Sonora.

       NEXT THREE MATCHES Jan. 26 @ Turlock   I    Jan. 28 @ Monterrey    I    Feb. 9 @ Tacoma
       
      STREAK: Won 1    LAST 5 FORM: WWLLW

       THREE STARS:  1. Chiles, SD, 4 goals    2. Perez, ONT, 3 goals, 2 assists   3. Sosa, SD, 1 goal, 2 assists

       PACIFIC DIVISION STANDINGS: 1. San Diego 11-2    2.  Ontario 7-7      3.  Tacoma  7-78     4.  Turlock 2-13

       FULL STATISTICS: http://www.sdsockers.com/stats#/192/game/138553/boxscore