Sockers Dominate To Advance
The San Diego Sockers - presented by Kaiser Permanente - excised past MASL semifinal loss demons with a dominant performance over the #3-seeded Baltimore Blast in an 11-3 win before 2,684 at Frontwave Arena. San Diego advances to the best-of-three Ron Newman Cup Finals for the first time since 2022 to play the #1-seed Chihuahua Savage beginning Sunday, April 13, 5:05pm at Frontwave Arena. Games 2 and a Mini-Game, if needed, will be played the following Sunday, April 20 at Corner Sport Arena in Mexico.
At 4:37 of the first, Charlie Gonzalez blasted a free kick from inside the yellow line, into the upper right corner to give San Diego a 1-0 lead. Baltimore equalized on a slow rolling shot by Victor Parreiras that slid past two defenders and Boris Pardo just inside the near post at 8:48. Christian Gutierrez showcased his playoff offensive prowess with hard work against the side wall to win the ball and then he dribbled three-lengths of the field before launching a shot to the far right side netting to put San Diego up 2-1. On the power play, Kraig Chiles took two shots to score his first playoff goal at 12:58. After receiving Leonardo De Oliveira’s short pass inside the box, his first chance went wide, but he followed it up with a one-time shot for the tally. The period ended with San Diego holding a two-goal advantage.
Blast goalkeeper Julian Rodriguez was called for a handball outside the area at 1:41. Chiles’ shootout attempt was saved by replacement Mike Zierhoffer. However, San Diego would convert the power-play opportunity 38 seconds later on a Luiz Morales marker from the right corner. Gabriel Costa was credited with the assist. Baltimore would cut the lead to one with two goals in a span of 26 seconds. Juan Pereira (4:46) and Chad Poarch (5:12) found the back of the net to give the Blast new life. The Sockers would answer with a Sebastian Mendez score from the right wing off an assist from Tavoy Morgan at 6:44 to make it 5-3. At a crucial moment in the match, defender Luis Ortega blocked a Blast shot headed for the goal off the line with four minutes remaining to keep San Diego up by two.
The “Captain” got his brace on a nutmeg goal off a free-kick from the top of the arc to increase the Sockers’ lead to 6-3 at 5:01. Morales ran over the ball before Chiles slowly approached to place his shot between the defender’s leg and into the goal.
De Oliveira would add to his point total with a banger of a goal from the right side to open the fourth quarter. Leo worked hard along the boards to free himself, then turned his defender before placing a wicked blast into the far upper corner. Baltimore went to the sixth attacker with under 11 minutes remaining to attempt a comeback. The plan backfired as Gutierrez scored his second and third goals of the game at 5:28 and 7:14. Costa joined the party with scores at 9:35 and 11:41 to finish the Sockers’ onslaught.
After the match, Chiles discussed the upcoming challenge of playing the Savage. He stated, “We need to review game film and look at our performance in Mexico this year, be ready to enter the lion’s den in Chihuahua, and be ready for some competitive games.”
Tickets for Game One of the MASL Ron Newman Cup Finals match on Sunday, April 13, 5:05pm, at Frontwave Arena are available at AXS.com, FrontwaveArena.com, or SDSockers.com/tickets.