April 7, 2024 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers-presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego-continue the 2024 Ron Newman Cup playoffs with Match Two of the best-of-three Western Division semifinals, taking on the Texas Outlaws. Texas leads the series 1-0. Match Two will kick off at 7:35pm PDT from Pechanga Arena in San Diego, streaming on Twitch channel @masl_soccer with Spanish-language coverage on canela.tv. If the series is tied 1-1 after Match Two, a fifteen-minute Knockout Game will follow Match Two, beginning fifteen minutes after the final whistle. The Sockers must win both Match Two and the Knockout Game to advance, while Texas will advance with a win in either.
The Sockers (18-6, 52 points, 0-1 playoffs) clinched the Western Division with three matches to go in the regular season, but are at their lowest point of form in four seasons. The club is on a three-match losing streak, the longest since the COVID season of 2021, when San Diego lost four in a row. San Diego is 9-6 over their past fifteen matches. The Sockers have won eight consecutive opening-round series in the Ron Newman Cup playoffs, last bowing out in 2014-15 in a single-elimination home loss to the now-defunct Las Vegas Legends.
The Sockers and Texas Outlaws are meeting for the second straight season in the opening round of the playoffs. Last season, the Sockers swept the Outlaws in two matches, winning by scores of 7-1 away, and 8-0 at home. San Diego went 3-0 against Texas during the regular sea-son, winning 6-5 in Mesquite on February 1, and by scores of 5-4 and 8-4 on February 13 and 15.
The Outlaws rode a career-best performance from goalkeeper Eduardo “Pollo” Cortes in Match One en route to a 6-4 victory on Saturday night at Mesquite Arena. Cortes stopped 29-of-33 shots against him, besting his career high for saves by five (24 vs Kansas City, 12/10/22) and posting a career-best save percentage of .879 (minimum 15 saves). Cortes’ defensive effort was bolstered by defender Uzi Tayou, who was credited with ten blocked shots in the contest, as the Sockers out-shot Texas 53-32. The Outlaws got a pair of goals from midfielder David Ortiz, including the clinching empty-netter in the fourth quarter. Vini Dantas, Andy Reyes, Dar-ren Mitchell and Emmanuel Aguirre also netted for Texas, while Drew Ruggles, Charlie Gonzalez, Kraig Chiles and Mitchell Cardenas scored goals for San Diego.
Texas welcomed the return of both Cortes to net and top…
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