Sockers Match Preview // vs Tacoma
The San Diego Sockers--presented by Kaiser Permanente--return home to conclude their season series with the Tacoma Stars on Friday night at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside. The match is set for a 7:30pm Star Wars Night kickoff, and can be viewed domestically on the CBS Sports Golazo Network, and outside the United States on Fox Sports Mexico and the Unbeaten Network.
The Sockers (10-4-2, 30 points) are on a six-match points streak (5-0-1), and sit in a tight four-team race for the top spot in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) standings table. While currently in fourth place (due to losing a head-to-head tiebreaker to Milwaukee), San Diego has a path to first place in their own hands. With 16 matches played, the Sockers have two matches in hand on Milwaukee (18) and Kansas City (18), and one in hand over St. Louis (17). The Ambush lead with 33 points, and Kansas City has 31. San Diego will play Kansas City four times down the stretch, and host the Ambush on March 22 for their sole meeting of the season.
Last weekend marked the beginning of a two-week home-and-home series between the Sockers and Tacoma Stars, as the club traveled to the Pacific Northwest for the second time this season. San Diego emerged with a 5-2 win in one of the team’s more efficient defensive performances of the season. Veteran goalkeeper Boris Pardo shined with 12-of-14 saves (.857 SV%), and the Sockers field players shut down the Stars’ speed game and counter-attack ability. Nick Perera led the offense with a brace (two goals), while Sebastian Mendez, Kraig Chile,s and Jesus Pacheco also scored. San Diego improved to 6-3 on the road overall.
Friday marks the fifth and final meeting this season between the Sockers and Stars. San Diego is 3-1 against Tacoma, while the Stars are 1-2-1. San Diego shut out Tacoma 8-0 in the initial pairing on December 30 at Frontwave Arena. The Stars answered back with a 5-4 regulation win at ShoWare Center on January 4, a day when San Diego played the night prior and flew to Washington the morning of the match. On February 1, an injury-riddled Sockers team missing twelve players was pushed to overtime by Tacoma before winning 7-6 on Sebastian Mendez’s golden goal. With the Sockers’ 5-2 win last week, San Diego is 2-0 at home and 1-1 on the road against Tacoma. The Sockers lead the all-time modern series 43-6.
The Stars (7-8-1, 20 points) have fallen to the seventh spot in the MASL table, three points out of the playoff picture with Empire sitting on 23 in sixth place. Tacoma has two matches in hand on Empire, but the club is heading in the wrong direction, turning a 4-1 start into a 3-7-1 record over the last eleven results. Injury has joined the chat, as top keeper Luis Birrueta missed last weekend, as did top forward Tyler John and defender Logan Jones. These key players’ availability will go a long way toward determining the quality of the match on Friday. Tacoma has not won on the road, with an 0-5-1 record and -34 goal differential away from ShoWare Center. Veteran midfielder Jamael Cox leads the Stars with (10-7=17) points. 44-year-old Danny Waltman backs up Birrueta, with a 1-3 record, 8.46 GAA, and .667 SV%.