January 30, 2023 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – San Diego Sockers News Release
Challenged at home, with first place and multiple winning streaks on the line, the San Diego Sockers came up with the big plays needed to secure not only another win, but a historic marker for their Goalkeeper of the Year.
Charlie Gonzalez netted a first-half hat trick, Christian Gutierrez scored the go-ahead goal 2:50 into the fourth quarter and Boris Pardo saved 15 of 19 shots faced as the Sockers (9-0, 26 points) beat the Chihuahua Savage 6-4 on Sunday night at Pechanga Arena. Pardo won his 100th MASL match in net (100-22-7), the first goalkeeper in history to reach 100 wins.
“This team is special, from the back all the way to the front,” said Pardo, who leads the league in the goalkeeping triple crown of wins (9), goals-against average (3.09) and save percentage (.761), “This is a good statement win, but we have to keep that hungry mentality.”
The Sockers won their 29th straight regular season match, extending their MASL record, and their 15th straight at home. The club is 46-0-4 in their last 50 matches played. And yet, a loss would have dropped them from first to fourth place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. Facing a tenacious Savage team that came in having won 22 of 25 themselves, the result was extra-important for a club looking to win home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
“We expected a challenge from Chihuahua with the firepower they have,” said Pardo, “They’re a great team, and we did a good job defensively to shut them out in the fourth quarter, that was a huge thing.”
The Sockers improved to 5-0 in the regular season against the Savage (7-1-1, 21 points), and looked to have control of the match in the first half. Charlie Gonzalez got the scoring started with a scintillating individual play, as he poked away a steal from Chihuahua defender Adrian Miller, took a touch in on net, and rifled a shot past goalkeeper Berna Valdovinos at 10:04 of the first quarter.
“You want to get that first goal, that’s what gets the momentum going,” said Charlie, who called himself 50-50 to have played in the match due to nagging injuries, “I was really happy to get that steal there, and then my other two goals were great passes from my teammates. It was a great team effort.”
Tavoy Morgan’s point-blank shot just seconds after Gonzalez opened the scoring was parried away by Valdovinos but fell to the crashing Hiram “Pollo” Ruiz, who slashed home his first goal…
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