Sockers Advance On Perera's OT Goal

Leonardo de Oliveira scored with 10.1 seconds left in regulation to force golden goal overtime, which Nick Perera won at 9:01 of sudden death, propelling the San Diego Sockers to a dramatic 6-5 overtime victory over the St. Louis Ambush in Match Two of the Ron Newman Cup Semi-Finals at Frontwave Arena. A crowd of 3,621 saw the Sockers squeak their way to sweep the series 2-0 and book a repeat trip to the Ron Newman Cup Finals, where the Milwaukee Wave wait for a best-of-three series.  

Fed a pass on the low-right corner by team captain Cesar Cerda (two assists), Perera grinded two steps to his right with a defender draped on his hip, controlling the ball by rolling it under the sole of his right foot. He created an angle toward the goal wall, then shot back across the frame, potting the soccer ball inside the far post for the match-winner. 

“It was the first clean look I had (all game) with a (sole) roll,” said Perera, who booked the first trip to the MASL Finals in his career. “Every other time, the ball was bouncing on me. I know if I get my roll in, I’ve got the back post.”  

Perera’s dramatic goal was just the latest of a match filled with nervy moments and high drama. Trailing since the 5:28 mark of the second quarter, the Sockers pushed up their effort the entire second half, pushing twice within a single goal only to see the Ambush re-establish a two-goal lead. St. Louis needed a victory to force a 15-minute Knockout Game to decide the series. 

Trailing 5-3 five minutes into the fourth quarter, San Diego leaned on their top playmakers for the big scores. Tavoy Morgan unleashed a wicked left-footed volley into the right-side netting at 7:48 of the fourth to draw the Sockers within a single goal. The Sockers emptied their net for a sixth attacker with 2:54 left, but could never get rhythmic possession, with the Ambush regularly knocking the ball down the floor. With 32 seconds remaining, St. Louis midfielder Colin O’Keefe committed his fourth foul of the half, earning San Diego a power play.  

With the keeper still out and seconds draining off the clock, the Sockers recovered a loose ball with 19 seconds left for one last chance. “Leo” made it count, using a series of ball fakes and power moves to burst twice to his right before firing back across his body and scoring with just 10.1 seconds on the clock. As the crowd screamed in exultation, Leo was mobbed by his teammates, setting up overtime and Perera’s late heroics.  

“Last minute, I’ve got to be shooting,” said de Oliveira, “God blessed me, and now we’re on to the Finals!” 

In overtime, St. Louis had a golden chance to win it when Daniel Torrealba was sprung free on the right wing just outside the Sockers’ crease. Chris Toth, who took over for starting keeper Boris Pardo at halftime, came crashing out while midfielder Charlie Gonzalez pinched in. Torrealba’s point-blank shot was saved by Toth’s leg; the rebound carried up to his hand. The Ambush asked for a video review, but the replay showed Toth’s hand was inside the penalty area, making it a legal play. A veteran San Diego team then pulled out the victory, preventing them from having to reset and play a Knockout Game fifteen minutes later.  

“Man, I’m 39 years old, I turn 40 in a couple months,” said a smiling Perera, “That I can still do it is a testament to the fitness and the hard work we’ve put in all season.” 

A frenetic start to the first quarter saw both teams with golden chances in the opening minute. Leo hit a rebound off the crossbar less than thirty seconds in, and when the ball missed, the Ambush took off in the opposite direction on counter-attack. After an initial wall pass was not cleared, Riley Urie’s shot-pass into the middle was kicked slowly up into the air by Pardo but not out of the crease, and was recovered by Ambush rookie Mario Falsone, who calmly finished his fourth goal of the playoffs at :56 for a 1-0 St. Louis lead.  

A trend that was recurrent throughout the early-and-middle portions of the Sockers regular season then picked an inopportune time to return: the habit of scoring and then immediately conceding a goal on the other end. The Sockers got an equalizer from Luiz Morales, who displayed his one-on-one skills by deking his defender to the left, then attacking the goal on the right foot, slotting home his second goal of the series at 3:05. However, just over a minute later, team captain Cesar Cerda mistakenly kicked a ball over the low wall in his own zone for defensive clearance. St. Louis earned a top-arc free kick as a result, and veteran Lucas Almeida spotted Mehrshad Ahmadi on the back post, who athletically opened up his hips to accept a high-outside pass and one-time it past Pardo into the net at 4:31, regaining the lead 2-1. The Ambush held their lead into the first quarter break, out-shooting San Diego 7-5.  

Back came the Sockers in the second quarter. Forward Nick Perera held up a pin-down pass on the right edge of the crease with his back to goal, and tiptoed a pass to the overlapping Sebastian Mendez, who had the angle to finish left-footed into the far corner of the net for a 2-2 tie at 4:32. Back came the Ambush. Again, Cerda found himself in an enviable position, trying to dribble out of two Ambush pressers and coming up short. Mario Falsone stole and shot in one motion close to goal, and the ball went in at 5:28 for a 3-2 lead, this time with the answer coming just 56 seconds after the Sockers goal.  

San Diego’s hidden weakness down the stretch was a penalty-killing unit that conceded six straight times to Kansas City, overcoming the issue to win four times in overtime. The Ambush scored on their only power play in Friday’s Match One, and earned their first blue card of the night with 4:15 left in the half when Luis “Peewee” Ortega was called for tripping. St. Louis found their way to a fourth goal when Christian Briggs selected veteran midfielder Lucas Almeida just outside the crease, who shot a one-touch ball off Pardo’s right glove and into the net at 11:44. The Ambush led 4-2 at halftime and outshot the Sockers 15-8. 

The second half was an entirely different type of match. With Toth in the net and the Sockers pushing for a tie, San Diego outshot St. Louis 22-8 after halftime. The Sockers shut down the Ambush attack and kept pressuring for opportunities, with Tavoy Morgan scoring at 4:28 of the third quarter to push the deficit back to one at 4-3. The Sockers then earned a power play with 12:32 left in the fourth quarter on a holding call against O’Keefe. St. Louis successfully defended the man disadvantage, then found O’Keefe bursting out of the penalty box for a counter-attack. O’Keefe head-faked a Sockers defender to his right, then cut inside, whipping a goal into the right-side netting at 4:39 to give the Ambush a 5-3 lead. 

San Diego pulled within one on a scramble play that had both teams up in arms. After a save in the Sockers’ defensive zone, San Diego started racing up the field as both teams tried to change personnel. Each team thought the other had too many men on the floor, but during the howling, the ball made its way from Cerda to Morgan on left wing, who took a step and then blasted a left-footed half-volley past goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento (12-of-18 saves) at 7:48 for a 5-4 score. The late heroics from de Oliveira and Perera would follow, pushing San Diego to their fourth MASL Ron Newman Cup Finals and their second in a row.  

Winners of a combined 23 professional indoor championships, the Sockers (16 titles) and Milwaukee Wave (seven titles) will meet in a championship series for the first time in history. Milwaukee will host Match One at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Wednesday, with Match Two coming to Frontwave Arena on Friday at 7:35pm PT. If the series is tied 1-1, Match Three would take place on Monday, April 27. Tickets for the Ron Newman Cup Finals are on sale now at frontwavearena.com and sdsockers.com.