Sockers Pull Out Insane 8-7 OT Win from Tacoma

January 29, 2024 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – San Diego Sockers News Release

KENT, WA – One of the craziest and most controversial finishes in Major Arena Soccer League history saw the San Diego Sockers pull out a wild 8-7 overtime win against the Tacoma Stars on Sunday night at accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. Brandon Escoto’s header goal with five seconds left in the fourth quarter-short-handed after a flurry of penalty cards-tied the match 7-7, and Tavoy Morgan netted the match-winner 2:26 into golden goal overtime.

A total of 16 penalty cards were shown to the two clubs in a match that took almost three hours to complete, with over an hour for just the fourth quarter. The Sockers (9-1, 26 points) were shown a total of eight cards in the final quarter, with goalkeeper Boris Pardo ejected on a red card for dissent, midfielder Charlie Gonzalez on a red card for contact, and a shootout penalty called against defender Drew Ruggles with thirty seconds to play and the Sockers down 7-6.

Stars captain and MASL MVP Nick Perera took the shootout against Sockers backup keeper Xavier Snaer-Williams, but as he used footwork to get around the keeper to his left, Sockers midfielder Gabriel Costa hustled from behind to block his shot. Tacoma announcers insisted that Costa left the midfield stripe early before the shootout whistle blew, but play continued, the Sockers ran on an extra attacker, stayed on attack, and Costa netted a goal from the center of the attacking zone at 14:59 to tie the match and trigger a wild celebration.

A video review then took place, which did not invalidate the shootout block but did take away the goal, instead giving the Sockers the ball back with 13.9 seconds remaining, once again trailing 7-6. Again, Snaer-Williams ran off for an extra attacker, defensive captain Cesar Cerda (hat trick, assist) looped a long forward pass that hit off the frame of the goal, bouncing down directly to Escoto’s head for a point-blank header and another improbable equalizer, this one at 14:55.

In overtime, Costa weaved his way down the left wing before feathering a pass to Morgan in the middle, who simply toe-tapped it through traffic into the net from the middle of the crease for his only goal of the night at 2:26.

The fourth quarter began with Tacoma (5-4-1, 16 points) leading 6-4, looking for their first win over the Sockers this season and to break a losing streak dating back to 2021. Sockers captain Kraig Chiles netted a power-play…