Sockers win 11th championship in first year back
Photo credit: 619 Sports
ASL-Pro commissioner Kevin Milliken (left) hands the championship trophy to Sockers coach/GM Phil Salvagio
DEL MAR–The Sockers are back, and now they’ve got the title to prove it.
Paul Wright had a goal and four assists, Kraig Chiles scored a hat trick, and the San Diego Sockers withstood a furious rally from La Raza de Guadalajara, prevailing 9-8 at the Del Mar Arena to claim the PASL-Pro North American Championship on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Riley Swift, who followed up a 16-save performance in the semis with 21 saves on Saturday night, was named tournament MVP.
“It’s championship time,” said Swift, “These were two tough games, but we knew what we wanted to do, and we made it happen. It’s been way overdue to finally bring a championship back to San Diego, and I hope there’s more to come.”
It’s the 11th major indoor title for the Sockers, but the first for this collection of young talent and aged greatness.
“We worked so hard for this,” said a relieved Wright after the game, “I can’t believe we’re going to raise another banner up here.”
In what very well could have been his last professional game, the 40-year-old midfielder put on a bravura performance. Wright set the tone by converting a power play with a strike from just beyond the penalty box for his 16th goal of the season, making it 1-0 San Diego.
By the time the first period was over, Wright had two assists to go with his goal, the Sockers had converted three power plays into scores, and San Diego was cruising with a 5-1 lead.
“It was my last game,” said Wright, “I hate to say it, but it could be the last one. I told myself before this game, ‘pain is nothing’, and my focus was there from beginning to end all weekend long. What a reward at the end!”
In many ways, the tone of the first period had been set in the previous night. In the closing seconds of San Diego’s 6-5 semifinal victory on Friday over Mexico City, the Sidekicks team had delayed play for minutes arguing with the officiating crew, and La Raza had come down from the stands and behind the bench to support their countrymen.
Determined to avoid such chaos in the final, the officials called a tight game early, but chaos nonetheless erupted. After being called for their second blue-card penalty in the first period, La Raza melted down as a group, coming off the bench to argue and delay play.
A five-minute misconduct was given to top Guadalajara striker Rodrigo Flores, and La Raza then threatened to walk off the field. Finally, after a delay of nearly ten minutes, former Socker Rene Ortiz brought the La Raza team together on their bench, refocusing their efforts on the field.
While Guadalajara returned to the field, it took them quite some time to regain their composure, and in the interim the Sockers erupted for a seven-goal half.
Kraig Chiles (hat trick) swigs champagne on the field to celebrate the Sockers’ 11th indoor title
Kraig Chiles (hat trick) swigs champagne on the field to celebrate the Sockers’ 11th indoor title
Cashing in on their first four power play opportunities, the Sockers built a 6-1 lead. Chiles had two first-half goals, Anthony Medina finished off a Ze Roberto pass at the goal line, and Chiky Luna scored, as did Dan Antoniuk and Braeden Cloutier.
Once La Raza got their offensive game together, the comeback was on. Horacio Alvarez converted a six-fouls Sockers penalty into a late second-quarter goal, cutting the halftime lead to 7-3.
After Rodrigo Flores (hat trick for La Raza) and Chiles traded goals early in the third, the Sockers squandered a golden chance to cinch the game. A straight blue-card penalty was followed by a six fouls blue card, giving San Diego 1:40 of two-man advantage.
Playing passively and bleeding time, the Sockers failed to convert the advantage into a score, and as their second power play expired, La Raza stole the ball and pushed it ahead to Quintin Vazquez, who had just jumped out of the penalty box. Vazquez converted from the left slot to make it an 8-5 game.
Suddenly, Guadalajara could sense the comeback was on. The PASL-Pro North American championships saw a pair of three-goal fourth quarter comebacks over the weekend, and La Raza tried to make it a third as Andony Hernandez scored to cut the lead to two with 11:15 remaining.
“It was not a good feeling at all,” said Aaron Susi of the Guadalajara comeback, “but good teams find a way to hold on, and that’s what we did.”
The Sockers answered with Anthony Medina’s second goal of the game just nine seconds later, but La Raza wasn’t done yet. Flores capped his hat trick on a nifty finish of a Miguel Vaca pass, and when Vazquez potted his second goal of the game, San Diego’s lead was down to 9-8 with 7:42 remaining.
“We were up so much, they had to come at us and we had to play back,” said champagne-soaked head coach/GM Phil Salvagio. “That doesn’t play well for us, but we were able to pull it out.”
With just more than four minutes left, Flores and Vaca buzzed around the net with three point-blank chances. Swift saved two, and Vaca’s rebound shot (with an open angle) missed just wide.
The Sockers took advantage of a late power play to milk the clock, and despite going to six attackers with 1:42 remaining, La Raza was unable to put another solid chance on net.
While the Sockers’ quest for a championship has concluded successfully, there are still games to come for this team. The Sockers are scheduled to play an exhibition against a Mexican All-Star team next Saturday at the Del Mar Arena.
They will then travel to Louisville, Kentucky on April 10 for the final of the U.S. Open Cup, against the Louisville Lightning. That game can been seen and heard exclusively on 619Sports.Net, the home of the 2010 North American Champion San Diego Sockers.
Craig Elsten is a 619 Sports personality and regular contributor to SDNN.
