Anthony Medina signs autographs after a 15-2 win over Las Vegas/(619 Sports photo)
When you’re hitting restart on a long-time San Diego sports tradition, there’s no better way to do it than with a bunch of wins. Conjuring memories of their tremendous teams and 10 indoor soccer championships from years ago, the San Diego Sockers improved to 5-0 (4-0 PASL) on Saturday night with a breezy, easy 15-2 victory over the Las Vegas Knights at Del Mar Arena.
Anthony “Nino” Medina and Kraig Chiles each had three goals for the Sockers, and 10 different Sockers in all found the back of the net against a woefully undermanned Vegas team. Veteran San Diego players such as Paul Wright and Chiky Luna were allowed to sit out most of the entire second half, getting an early jump on the Thanksgiving break.
For Medina and the Sockers, it was a welcome respite after three straight tough games, two on the road:
Hear more from Medina, along with fellow hat trick scorer Kraig Chiles, after the jump:
Scotty Martin got the Sockers going in the first quarter with a long-range blast from well outside the penalty area, making it 1-0 San Diego. 6 minutes later, Medina picked up his first goal of the night when he spotted Vegas goalie Ezequiel Sanchez out of position and away from his goal. Medina lofted a rainbow over the scrambling Sanchez, who helplessly watched it drop into the net for a 2-0 lead.
The tone of the second quarter was set instantly, when Paul Wright took the ball right off the whistle, dribbled into the penalty area and scored with an easy right-footer. The goal, seven seconds into the quarter, sparked a five-goal onslaught from the Sockers which drained any remaining will from the Vegas bench.
By the second half, the Sockers were trying creative plays, headers, and fancy footwork. Vegas offered little to no defensive pressure on the night and seemed content to run around on the field with San Diego and eat their loss. Medina got the crowd of over 1,500 into a lather when he converted a header off a nifty lob pass from Aaron Susi, making the score 15-1 in the fourth.
Medina talked about his fancy goal and hat trick:
Chiles, meanwhile, was active all game long as the Sockers’ second-line forward. He scored three goals, two in the fourth quarter, and probably had seven or eight more chances. Chiles, a former outdoor star, talked about the conversion to the indoor game:
With a blend of indoor veterans and rugged players who are being converted from the outdoor game, the Sockers appear to have greater depth and endurance than their Professional Arena Soccer League-Pro opponents so far. If Friday’s defensive slugfest and tense overtime victory against the defending champion California Cougars revealed what the best opponents in the PASL have to offer, then Saturday’s game was a reminder that in some corners of the league the outfits are ragtag at best.
Medina likes the direction the Sockers are taking early in the season, coming together quickly:
Chiles says the Sockers are growing in confidence with every win:
The Sockers now take the Thanksgiving week off, before returning to Del Mar on December 5th to take on the Denver Dynamite. The Sockers will be holding a holiday food and toy drive for the game, with the first 100 people who bring a canned food item or toy appropriate for boys age 10-22 will receive a Sockers T-Shirt.
BONUS SOCKERS COVERAGE: Listen to the complete postgame interviews with Sockers stars!
Anthony Medina
Kraig Chiles
