December 16, 2022 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers-presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego-return to the floor for the final time in 2022, hosting the Mesquite Outlaws at Pechanga Arena San Diego in a Sunday evening match between early MASL Western Conference leaders. Kickoff is set for 5:06pm, with the match streaming live on Twitch (channel @masl_soccer).
This is the first of three meetings this season between the Sockers (2-0, 5 points) and Mesquite Outlaws (2-0, six points, match Friday at Empire), a club that had suspended operations for the previous two seasons during the COVID pandemic. The two teams will meet again in San Diego on February 3, and then in Texas on February 18. The two sides met twice in the 2019-20 season, with each team winning 5-3 at home.
San Diego began its back-to-back championship defense with back-to-back wins in the club’s opening weekend. Last Saturday in Ontario, the Sockers opened the season in style on the road, handing the Empire Strykers an 8-5 loss at Toyota Arena. Tavoy Morgan had a hat trick with an assist and Leonardo de Oliveira added two helpers as the Sockers built a 7-3 lead before conceding twice against a sixth attacker.
The two clubs traveled to Pechanga Arena last Sunday for the return leg of the home-and-home series, and with both sides playing their second match in 22 hours, legs were heavy and so was the weight of each goal. The Sockers scored early in the first quarter, Empire early in the second, and then the game was scoreless until Cesar Cerda’s overtime match-winner 4:35 into the extra period. Boris Pardo stopped nine of ten shots faced, earning MASL Defensive Player of the Week.
San Diego is tasked with the near-impossible: building upon a record that was in and of itself nearly perfect. The Sockers tied their own MASL single-season wins record with a 23-0-1 mark, then went 6-0-1 in the playoffs en route to a second straight Ron Newman Cup. Along the way, forward Tavoy Morgan was named to the MASL Elite VI, Leonardo de Oliveira won MASL Pass Master, Boris Pardo claimed Goalkeeper of the Year, and the club lifted the first-ever MASL Shield, recognizing the regular season points champion. The Sockers have not lost a match in regulation since a 6-4 loss to the Fury in Ontario on March 13, 2021, a stretch of 43 matches in which they are 39-0-4 (postseason included).
The Outlaws (2-0, match Friday at Empire) impressed their home fans with a…