April 20, 2023 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers–presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego–conclude the Ron Newman Cup Western Conference Finals with Match Two (and a Knockout Game if necessary) of their best-of-three series against the Chihuahua Savage on Friday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego. The match is scheduled for a 7:35pm PDT kickoff, carried live in English on Twitch on channel @masl_soccer, and in Spanish on Twitch channel @sandiegosockers.
The Ron Newman Cup Playoffs consist of three rounds in two divisions, with each round a best-of-three series. In the quarterfinals, the top seeds play the winner of each division’s respective Play-In Game, while the second and third seeds square off against one another. Each individual round consists of two full matches, one in each venue. After the second match, if the series is tied 1-1 the two teams play a 15-minute Knockout Game immediately afterwards to determine the series winner.
The Sockers (22-2, 62 points, 2-1 playoffs) finished the regular season with ten straight wins, earning the MASL Supporters Shield, awarded to the club with the best regular season record in the league. The only 20+ win team in the league, San Diego will have home-field advantage throughout the Ron Newman Cup playoffs. The Sockers won five more matches than the second-best club (Chihuahua, 17-6-1). San Diego is 2-1 in the playoffs and the Sockers swept Mesquite in their opening round series. The club saw their all-competition winning streak ended at twelve on Tuesday in Chihuahua, when the Savage beat the Sockers 6-5 in Match One. As such, San Diego must win Match Two in order to force a Knockout Game to decide the series. A win in either match by the Savage sends them through to the Ron Newman Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.
The Sockers and Chihuahua Savage are meeting for the second straight season in the Ron Newman Cup playoffs, once again one round away from the Finals. Last season, the Sockers needed the full distance to take down the Savage, losing Match One in Mexico by a 7-6 (OT) count before rallying for a 6-2 win at home, forcing the Knockout Game. Brandon Escoto broke a 1-1 tie with his goal at 9:28 of the Knockout Game, and Juan Manuel Rojo scored against six attackers twice in the final two minutes to secure a 4-1 victory, advancing to the Finals. San Diego is 6-0 all-time in the regular season against Chihuahua, and 2-2 in the…