Sockers Ride The Wave To A Win And A 15-0-1 Record
Tavoy Morgan set a career-high with five goals and an assist, and Leonardo de Oliveira added a career-high six assists, as the San Diego Sockers rolled past the Milwaukee Wave 13-2 on Sunday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego. The Sockers (15-0-1, 42 points) won their 12th straight match, rolling off eight straight goals in the second and third quarters to put away a badly short-handed Milwaukee side.
Morgan set the tone, both with his scoring and his trademark post-goal dance celebrations. The Spanish Town, Jamaica native scored with both feet and even had a possible sixth goal not awarded in the second quarter, though replay showed the ball crossed the line. Morgan is now second in the MASL with 26 goals and is tied for eighth with 32 points.
“I have great teammates and they always look for me,” said Morgan, “It was a good win against a champion team. We knew they didn’t have all their legs, so we came out and gave them our legs, which is more than them.”
Milwaukee (6-8-1, 19 points) was missing twelve players from their regular lineup due to a wave of injury which has swept up key contributors like Marcio Leite, Luan Oliveira, and Alex Bradley. Ian Bennett netted his league-leading 31st goal and 40th point, but was otherwise silent as the Sockers put on a show on both ends of the field, with five players collecting three or more points.
The show began with Charlie Gonzalez picking up a hat trick in the first 24 minutes of the match, including back-to-back second-quarter goals to erase a temporary 1-1 tie. Leo and Morgan took the baton from there, with de Oliveira on the front end of five straight goals, three finished by Morgan and two by Kraig Chiles. The Sockers captain had his sixth straight multi-point game with a hat trick and assist.
Brandon Escoto picked up two goals in the fourth quarter for a six-goal weekend, and Morgan assisted on Chiles’ roofed hat trick to finish the scoring at 10:32 of the fourth quarter. Boris Pardo (12-0-1) allowed one goal in three quarters, his sixth straight match allowing three goals or fewer. Xavier Snaer-Williams finished out the fourth quarter, stopping three of four shots.
The goals were plentiful and the match well defined, but the entertainment welled from Morgan, who paired a new dance to each of his five goals.
“I always score for the fans to get the fans into the game, give them a dance, get them entertained…we have the best fans so we have to give them a celebration.”
The Sockers have no time to celebrate their spot atop the MASL table, five points ahead of Florida for the league’s best record, and 17 points ahead of Ontario in the West Division. The second-hottest team in the league is next on the schedule, as the Chihuahua Savage (7-5-2), winners of seven in a row after an 0-5-2 start, roll into Pechanga Arena next Sunday.
“We just got to go to practice and be prepared for them,” said Morgan, “We know we got some new guys, so we just got to stay healthy and prepare for them.”
The match will take place at 5:05pm next Sunday on Alumni Night, as the Sockers honor the 40th anniversary of their first championship team (1981-82), and welcome back retired legend Kevin Crow, all in anticipation of a highlight match for the league between Chihuahua and San Diego. Tickets are available at sdsockers.com/tickets or by phone at (866) 799-GOAL.