Sockers Drop Second Straight Game in Overtime Thriller
Credit: SD Sockers
Sonora, Mexico
The San Diego Sockers (10-2) were looking to forge past a loss on Thursday, but were unable to prevent the Soles de Sonora (8-6) from scoring an overtime goal and took a hard loss to their rivals. Seven different Sockers scored, but it was clearly not enough.
Sonora got off to a quick start in the first quarter after shots by Bogar Moreno and Franck Tayou floated past goalkeeper Boris Pardo to give Sonora an early lead. San Diego got on the board thanks to some fancy moves by Erick Tovar, who slipped past three Sonora defenders and curved a shot right past the outstretched hands of goalie Bernaldino Valdovinos.
After an equalizer goal by Luan Oliveira, Sonora snatched the lead right back after Enrique Canez took a rebounded shot and whizzed it right past a sprawling Pardo. Sonora would add one more goal before the quarter ended thanks to a strong shot by Christian Segura from the yellow line, placing it just out of the reach of a diving Pardo to make the score 4-2 after the first quarter.
A chaotic second quarter began after Cesar Cerda’s shot was toe-poked by a Sonora defender and landed in the back of the net. This would begin a string of seven goals scored in the quarter, four by Sockers and three by Sonora. A quick barrage of goals were soon to follow as in a little over thirty seconds, Canez, Tovar, and Moreno (in that order) would put the ball in the back of the net. Brandon Escoto would join in on the fun with a goal of his own to pull San Diego closer to Sonora, but Canez would give Sonora the two goal lead after a third goal completed the hat trick for him.
San Diego would inch closer to the lead thanks to John Sosa and his pristine shot from the yellow line that nestled into the top left side of the goal that Valdovinos was powerless to stop. More shots sailed for both sides, but none were cashed in for goals, and the Sockers went into the half trailing Sonora 7-6.
It was San Diego who got the scoring started in the third quarter thanks to excellent passing between Escoto and Eduardo Veles, who crossed up the Sonora defense as Veles would shoot the tying goal. However, Pardo unfortunately allowed opposing goalkeeper Valdovinos to score after the latter took a potshot from midfield and placed it right over the head of Pardo. In response, the Sockers would rattle off three straight goals thanks to impressive power shots from Escoto and Oliveira. Raymundo Reza was credited with a goal as well, but his came thanks to a Sonora defender redirecting his shot into the Sonora goal as it was San Diego who now had a two goal lead over Sonora 10-8.
Sonora would begin to claw back, however, after Victor Quiroz bounced a pass of the wall and Tayou was there to collect it and knee it into the net for a Sonora goal. They would tie it back up after Gustavo Rosales snuck a free kick past a wall of Sockers, which included Pardo, and just like that the game was tied up again at 10 goals apiece. A stubborn Veles wouldn’t take that lying down and challenged Valdovinos with a shot of his own. The shot was blocked, but bounced right back to Veles, who hit a shot that Valdovinos had no chance of blocking.
However, with 54 seconds left in the game, Sonora was able to tie the game back up due to Canez taking a rebounded shot in the middle of the box and spiking it past the Sockers defense and, with this equalizing goal, the game flew into overtime. It wouldn’t last long as 23 seconds in, Tayou slipped past a Socker defender and skidded a shot right past Pardo to win the game for Sonora 12-11.
San Diego looks to get back on track and start a new winning streak as they return to Valley View Casino Center on Sunday, January 21, 5:05 p.m. for the rematch with the Ontario Fury. The game features First Responders Appreciation Night as all first responders who wear their uniform or show their ID at the box office window 7 or 8 will receive a 50% discount on all tickets.
In addition, between 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. in the north parking lot, fans can honor our first responders at a meet and greet and will also feature emergency vehicles. The game will also be streamed live on the MASL.tv YouTube Page.
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.