Sockers avoid losing streak, defeat Sidekicks 6-4
Credit: SD Sockers
For a short time in the second half, it seemed like the Dallas Sidekicks were about to get the better of the San Diego Sockers.
The team that had lost ten straight games before welcoming the Sockers had been exchanging blows throughout the game, but this time, the Sockers held strong.
Two goals from Kraig Chiles paced the San Diego offense while two fourth-quarter goals from Brian Farber broke a tie game to elevate the Sockers over the Sidekicks and finish the three-game road trip with a 6-4 victory.
It didn’t take long for the Sockers to jump out to an early lead. Chiles dropped in a goal from point-blank range in the first 32 seconds of the game while Travis Pittman chipped in a goal of his own off a wall pass from Eddie Velez a minute later.
After two goals in a little over 90 seconds, San Diego went cold on the offense. Dallas, however, roared back to life. A goal from Luis Felipe de Andrade put the Sidekicks on the board, but the tying goal came courtesy of Freddy Moojen off of a corner kick. All of a sudden, the game was tied at two goals each.
At the start of the second half, it was the Sockers who burst out in front with an impressive shot from Leonardo de Oliviera, but another goal from “Lipe” tied the game with his 13th goal of the season.
A blue card gifted to Dallas keeper Juan Gamboa after the goalie handled a ball outside of his box resulted in a San Diego power play. While San Diego has struggled to score with a man-advantage, it was a different story this time. The golden foot of Chiles made quick work of the four-man Dallas defense by bagging his 19th goal of the season.
One last gasp from Dallas saw Victor Almendariz slip through the Sockers’ defense and score a goal off a rebound shot to knot the game up again. The final goal burned up the rest of the energy that Dallas had as Chiles found Farber open for the go-ahead goal. Farber stuck the fork into the Sidekicks with his second goal of the day against an open goal.
After playing nine out of their last ten games on the road, the Sockers play four of their last five games in San Diego. With Monterrey having clinched the top spot of the Western Conference, San Diego can still claim second place for the upcoming MASL Playoffs with five games remaining in the season.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.