DEL MAR–The San Diego Sockers didn’t start well last night, on or off the field. A missing piece of scoreboard equipment led to a near 45-minute delay to the start of Friday night’s game against the defending PASL champion California Cougars. Then, stymied by Cougars’ goalie Jesus Molina, the Sockers found themselves trailing 4-1 heading into the fourth quarter.
Suddenly, the Sockers stepped up their intensity and mounted a furious comeback. Goals by Anthony Medina and Aaron Susi cut the lead to one with 13:26 to play. Then, it was time for Kraig Chiles to go from zero to hero. The former SDSU striker netted the equalizer with 2:37 to go in the fourth, then finished off a rebound from Paul Wright with 7:26 to play in overtime, giving the Sockers (4-0, 3-0 PASL) a hard-earned 5-4 win over California (0-1, 0-1) in front of approximately 1,500 fans at the Del Mar Arena.
Chiles talked to 619 Sports about the game-winning goal:
Hear more from Chiles, head coach Phil Salvagio and forward Aaron Susi after the jump:
Chiles’ great night started with San Diego’s first tally, a power play goal early in the 2nd quarter, but things went south from there. Chiles wasn’t finishing his chances and wound up taken off the Sockers’ power play in the fourth quarter. The move by head coach Phil Salvagio led to some words on the bench:
While Chiles missed a wide-open opportunity in overtime, shooting a ball over the goal on a great feed from Ze Roberto, he kept his emotions in check and was able to come back with the golden goal just a couple of minutes later.
Playing out of Stockton but adopting the entire Golden State with their moniker, the California Cougars are the defending Professional Arena Soccer League champions. They demonstrated great defensive tenacity through three quarters, preventing the Sockers from mounting any easy attacks on goal. When San Diego did have a chance in front of the net, goalkeeper Jesus Molina was making great saves, both at point blank range and diving to stop longer shots.
Aaron Susi, a member of last year’s league champs, was amazed at how Molina was able to repel the Sockers’ attack:
The fourth quarter had a completely different look and feel from the first three, as the Sockers managed to possess the ball and step up the attack in the California zone. Anthony Medina got things started by converting a rebound with a header goal at 14:45, cutting the lead to 4-2. Just over a minute later, Susi found the top of the net on a power play goal, his team-leading 5th of the season, to narrow the gap to just one.
Meanwhile, tremendous San Diego defense was keeping the Cougars from mounting any type of consistent attack on the other end. Chiles praised the defense for allowing the Sockers’ strikers to finally mount a comeback:
Salvagio saw something else on the pitch in that fourth quarter: a veteran Sockers team that, despite its age, is showing they have the fitness level to outrun younger squads at the end of the game.
The Sockers will have a chance to prove their collective fitness when they take on the Las Vegas Knights at the Del Mar Arena this evening, playing back-to-back games for the second time this year. It’s a 6:15 start time with tickets starting as low as $8. You can find out more information on the Sockers’ website.
SOCKERS NOTES: The Sockers hung their retired jersey banners at the Del Mar Arena on Friday night and honored their storied past, with Julie Veee making a personal appearance on the field.
BONUS SOCKERS COVERAGE: listen to the entire postgame interviews from 619 Sports:
Kraig Chiles
Aaron Susi
Phil Salvagio
