Sockers Name Ortiz Sockers2 Head Coach

The San Diego Sockers today announced the reinstallation of top assistant coach Rene Ortiz as the head coach of Sockers2, the club’s entry into MASL2. Ortiz returns to the double duty of top assistant to Phil Salvagio as well as the head coach of the Sockers’ developmental squad. 

“Since I was a teenager coming into the MISL, I’ve been a Socker, and I’m proud to be a Socker today,” said Ortiz of the announcement, “It’s humbling to be a part of a great club like San Diego Sockers and to work under a great head coach like Phil Salvagio. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to guide Sockers2 once again. As a product of a Sockers reserve program myself, I understand the importance and significance of this program for any indoor soccer player prospect. We expect to compete hard every game to improve, and ultimately to win another title.”

Ortiz, 52, was the top bench consultant to Phil Salvagio as the Sockers captured the 2021 Ron Newman Cup, going 6-1 through the playoffs while defeating Tacoma, Florida, and Ontario en route to the MASL championship. The season was an especially trying one for players and coaches, as all 17 games of the regular season and playoffs were played away from San Diego. It was Ortiz’s fourth top-division championship with the Sockers, having earned three rings as a player from 1988-90. In addition, Ortiz is the head coach of the Mexican National Indoor Soccer Team, having led the squad to a perfect 7-0 record and the 2019 WMF World Cup championship in Perth, Australia. 

Re-activated after two dormant seasons, Sockers2 looks to pick up where it left off as the dominant and undefeated champions of MASL2. In 2018-19, Ortiz led Sockers2 to a perfect 12-0 regular-season record, and a 2-0 run through the playoffs, culminating with a 7-5 win over Cuervos Juarez at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario in the MASL2 championship game. In the first season of Sockers2, Ortiz guided the club to a 7-5 regular-season mark and a runner-up finish in the MASL2 championship game. Overall, Ortiz is 19-5 as head coach of Sockers2, 3-1 in the playoffs.

Drafted by the Sockers into the MISL in 1987 as a 17-year-old out of Hilltop High School, Ortiz played three seasons under Ron Newman from 1988-90, alternating between the Auto Trader Sockers Reserve team and the first division squad, and earning three championship rings. He also added two seasons with the San Diego Nomads of the Western Soccer Alliance outdoors. Ortiz’s indoor career continued with the Milwaukee Wave (of the then-NPSL) from 1990-94, playing in 133 games with 92 goals scored. Ortiz returned home in the summer to play for the CISL San Diego Sockers in 1993 and 1994, and was drafted to the MLS Dallas Burn in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. Ortiz also played for the US National Futsal Team in 1994, and the US National Beach Soccer Team in 1995. 

The San Diego Sockers, defending champions of the MASL, will return to Pechanga Arena San Diego and raise their fifteenth championship banner on December 19, when the club opens their 2021-22 campaign at home, a 5:05pm kickoff. The full MASL schedule is expected to be announced before the month’s end. Season ticket memberships, as well as opening night single-game tickets, are available by calling (866) 799-GOAL, or online at sdsockers.com/tickets.