December 11, 2022 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – San Diego Sockers News Release
Tavoy Morgan netted a hat-trick and Christian Gutierrez added a pair of goals, as the San Diego Sockers held off the Empire Strykers 8-5 on Saturday night at Toyota Arena. The Sockers (1-0) opened their back-to-back championship defense with a 6-1 goals run after trailing 2-1 early in the second quarter.
“It feels great to be back and get the first win of the season,” said Morgan, who led the Sockers with 39 goals and 49 points last season, earning MASL Elite VI honors, “It was a good performance, but we could do better, and we’ll work on that tomorrow.”
The Sockers and Strykers will face one another on Sunday evening at Pechanga Arena San Diego Sunday at 5pm to wrap up the weekend home-and-home back-to-back. Empire (0-2) has lost ten straight matches dating back to last season, when they were named the Ontario Fury.
Defending MASL Pass Master Leonardo de Oliveira picked up where he left off, gathering a match-high three assists. Cesar Cerda had a goal and two assists, and Charlie Gonzalez added a goal and assist.
The Sockers, facing a club in Empire that had started the season ten days before them, showed some rust in conceding early goals in periods and a pair of goals against a sixth attacker, but were buoyed by their veteran goalkeeper and defenders. Defending MASL Goalkeeper of the Year Boris Pardo collected six saves, while defenders Mitchell Cardenas and Guerrero Pino each blocked goals off the line, and Cardenas had a sweeping block of a wide-open Strykers player in the final minute to seal the win.
“A little sloppy, but it’s to be expected,” said Cardenas, “It’s always good to win and learn on the way, and we’ll have a quick turnaround for tomorrow’s match at home.”
The Sockers got their season’s scoring ledger going quickly, as Tavoy Morgan opened his account just 1:14 into the first quarter, converting a low ball fed by Leo on a top-of-arc free kick. The Sockers led 1-0 just like that, and held the lead through the opening fifteen minutes behind a pair of Boris Pardo saves.
The second quarter was a different story, as Empire netted twice in the opening 52 seconds, turning the match upside down and forcing a Phil Salvagio timeout. Gabriel Costa took advantage of great service from his target forward, as Franck Tayou fed the diminutive midfielder a ball in the center of the box unmarked for the equalizing goal. Just seconds later on the restart, the Sockers…