Sockers Edge Utica For Weekend Sweep
In a season that was expected to be his last, veteran goalkeeper Boris Pardo is proving to the indoor world that he still has more than enough in the tank to rank as one of the top keepers in the Major Arena Soccer League.
Stepping into the net in second-quarter relief, Pardo stopped all twelve shots he faced, and Charlie Gonzalez’s second goal of the night was the fourth unanswered for the San Diego Sockers, who held off the Utica Riggies 4-3 to complete a perfect East Coast weekend back-to-back. The Sockers (5-2-1, 16 points) moved into second place in the MASL standings, awaiting the result of Milwaukee and Kansas City.
Pardo entered the match at 8:08 of the second quarter and immediately stopped a breakaway chance, one of three he successfully defended. The lone goal credited against Pardo came on a second-quarter shootout, as the result of a penalty to his goalkeeping teammate Nathanael Linquist. Pressed into service for the second time in 21 hours after the Sockers fell behind 3-0, the 41-year-old all-time MASL wins leader (142) provided not only a surge of confidence and stability for the San Diego defense, but also excelled physically with strong reactions and outstanding positioning. In five matches since Chris Toth was lost to a broken finger, Pardo has posted a 4-1 record, a 3.34 GAA, and .809 SV% (55-for-68 saves), playing almost 270 minutes.
All of the Sockers offense came in a five-minute period banded around halftime, as San Diego netted two goals in the final two minutes of the second quarter, and two more in the first three minutes of the third quarter. Charlie Gonzalez’s solo blast on a corner kick from the right corner into the upper-left netting proved to be the match-winner at 2:53 of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was a tense and scoreless affair, capped by Leonardo de Oliveira blocking back-to-back shots in the final 30 seconds to hold the lead. Utica (2-3-1, 5 points) was led by Geo Alves with a goal and an assist.
After beating the Baltimore Blast on Saturday night in Towson, Maryland, the Sockers boarded a team bus and negotiated a drive through three states to arrive in upstate New York and Utica just before daybreak on Sunday. The club picked up what sleep they could on the bus and had barely enough time to get unpacked and changed before heading to the arena for pregame warmups. As such, the decision to give a start in net to the 27-year-old backup keeper Linquist made perfect sense both physically and tactically on the whiteboard.
In the early going, it looked like the rookie would make his coaching staff look like geniuses. Linquist was put to the test immediately by a young and hungry Riggies side, who forced four saves in the opening five minutes, including a diving left-handed stop. Linquist made five saves in all in a scoreless first period, and showed a strong arm in distribution, throwing across three lines to set up a Kraig Chiles side-wall pass that just eluded Taylor Bond for a possible goal. The score was 0-0 after fifteen minutes.
The second quarter, however, reminded all in attendance that Linquist is, in fact, a rookie with no indoor experience. Just under three minutes into the frame, the keeper lost special awareness of where he was in relation to his crease, and handled a loose ball outside the right line. The official was standing feet away to immediately issue the blue card and a shootout penalty. Pardo entered the match to defend the shootout, which was taken by Utica vet Gordy Gurson. Gordy took two touches to his right and faked a low shot before roofing his volley under the crossbar for his third goal of the season and a 1-0 lead at 2:54.
The Sockers found themselves a man down once again less than two minutes later, as rookie Andrew Estrella was shown a blue card for a high boot on Utica keeper Brian Wilkin within the Riggies crease. It took little time for Utica to find its second power-play goal of the quarter, as defender Geo Alves called his own number at the top of the crease, sending a goal-wall pass to himself, which drew Linquist and the defense to its right. Alves slotted the self-returned ball at 6:08 for the Riggies’ 2-0 advantage.
San Diego’s fatigue began to take center stage as the quarter wore on. The Sockers earned a top-arc free kick, in which Leonardo de Oliveira’s shot from the corner was parried by a Wilkin leg save. Perera tried to control through a double team in the opposite corner, and when the ball was won away and sent up the wall to Sergio Pinal, the Sockers allowed the burly forward to set up his own shot with a simple stop-and-start move, then unleashed a long volley which eluded Linquist and found side netting at 8:08 for a 3-0 lead. The goal was the last shot seen by Linquist, who was then replaced by Pardo on the call of head coach Phil Salvagio. Moments later, a sluggish pass between the back line allowed Utica’s Meny Silva to steal and come in unimpeded on a breakaway, but Pardo pushed to the edge of his crease to make a critical save, one of six recorded in the second quarter for the 41-year-old veteran keeper.
The change in net and subsequent huge save seemed to spark San Diego’s confidence, and, following the script they used successfully in Baltimore the night prior, the club used two late goals to reframe the debate at the end of the second quarter. On a simple breakout of the Utica zone, midfielder Jesus Pacheco spotted Taylor Bond jumping off the bench on a break up the left wing. Pacheco’s pass gave Bond time to take a touch and then fire a shot just inside right post for his fifth goal of the season, and a 3-1 score at 13:27. One minute later, Leo picked up a pass at his defensive yellow line, took a touch up the middle and then fed a bouncing ball forward to Charlie Gonzalez. The midfielder settled the ball between his legs and crept forward, setting up his right foot to smash a shot again inside the right post and home at 14:40 for his team-leading tenth goal of the season. Just like that, what was feeling like a dominant half for the Riggies (with a 19-13 shot advantage) became a one-goal margin at 3-2.
The third quarter started with the Sockers on the front foot, taking the first six shots of the frame and earning the first two goals. Kraig Chiles lifted a pass out of the corner, which fell to Reyes, who blasted home his fourth goal in three games for the Sockers, and a 3-3 tie at 1:00. At 2:53, it was Charlie Gonzalez bagging his brace unassisted on a corner-kick blast, his team-leading eleventh goal of the season giving San Diego a 4-3 lead. The Sockers had a chance for even more when Utica’s Jose Tavares was shown a blue card for tripping, but the ensuing power play only developed a short-handed breakaway for the Riggies’ Cole Stephens, who was denied by an onrushing Pardo to keep the lead secure. The score held at 4-3 Sockers heading into the fourth quarter.
Tense moments filled the opening minutes of the final quarter, as both clubs threatened. Adrian Reyes (crossbar down-and-out) and Leo (missed goal from close range) had golden opportunities to add a fifth goal for the Sockers, but came up empty. Gordy Gurson had a counter-attack breakaway for Utica and shot his attempt wide left. The final five minutes, by contrast, were a study in how to play keep-away. The Sockers smoothly moved the ball up-and-down the field, holding possession while running the Riggies in circles. Utica pulled their keeper for a sixth attacker with 2:57 remaining, but gave up possession three different times. Both Cesar Cerda and Charlie Gonzalez missed chances to give San Diego a two-goal lead, keeping the result in the balance. In the final minute, Leo stepped up defensively with consecutive blocked shots, keeping the second one far enough away to help the Sockers bleed out the clock, pick up all six points for the weekend, and improve to 2-1 at the halfway point of a six-match road trip.
San Diego will fly home on Monday, then head back on the road Friday morning with a flight to Wisconsin. The Sockers will battle the Milwaukee Wave on Saturday, January 17 from the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, a 4:05pm PST kickoff. San Diego’s next home match is Sunday, February ,1, against the Tacoma Stars. Tickets are available for all remaining home matches at frontwavearena.com or sdsockers.com.