DEL MAR—For the second time this season, the San Diego Sockers met the defending PASL-Pro champion California Cougars at the Del Mar Arena. For the second time, the game was a back-and-forth thriller that could not be decided in 60 minutes.
And, for the second time, the Sockers were the ones sending their fans home happy in overtime.
Aaron Susi’s twisting free kick, bent around a two-man wall and into the upper-right corner of the net in sudden death overtime, lifted the Sockers (9-0, 8-0 PASL-Pro) to a thrilling 8-7 win over the Cougars. Susi’s second goal of the game, coming with 13:06 to play in OT, capped a wild game that saw five ties and five lead changes.
Susi described the golden goal, coming off a free kick from the left wing outside the penalty area:
The glorious ending for San Diego helped erase the frustration of surrendering a two-goal lead with three minutes remaining in the fourth period. The Cougars (4-2) pulled their goalie for a 6th attacker with 4:35 to play and mounted a furious rally, capped by Vicente Figueroa’s brilliant free kick goal with just three seconds left on the clock.
Anthony Medina (leaping) battles Cougars' goalie Jesus Molina for the ball. Medina scored twice in the Sockers' 8-7 OT victory. (Mark Nord photography)
With the two top teams in the PASL-Pro locking horns, a quality contest was anticipated. However, the hearty crowd of nearly 2,000 at the Del Mar Arena was treated to a game with more twists and turns than a Mexican telenovela.
The Cougars, based out of Stockton, came into the night with a decided rest advantage over the Sockers. Playing their third game in six nights, San Diego came out slowly, missing a couple of open scoring opportunities in the first period. Nelson Santana’s goal on a midfield run-out gave Stockton a 1-0 lead after one.
Kraig Chiles scored a pair of goals in the second period for the Sockers, including a pretty volley plucked out of midair that put San Diego on the board with 13:38 to play before halftime. Chiles league-leading 19th goal of the season made it a 2-2 tie with 1:28 to go, and Susi followed with a roof shot off a Braden Cloutier setup 63 seconds later, giving the Sockers a 3-2 halftime lead.
When Chiky Luna scored on a cross-field setup from Ze Roberto just 25 seconds into the third period, it looked for a moment like the Sockers would take control of the contest. However, California answered 24 seconds later on Figueroa’s first goal of the game, then converted back-to-back power plays into goals to take a 5-4 lead into the fourth.
After a tongue-lashing by Sockers’ coach Phil Salvagio, San Diego opened the fourth period with a flurry of inspired play. Anthony Medina headed home a loose ball for his 10th goal of the season, tying the game 5-5 with 13:46 to play.
Just over a minute later, Dan Antoniuk showed that hard work reaps rewards, staying with an attack that saw his first two shots blocked by the Cougars’ defense. Antoniuk finally found the back of the net with his third straight shot and the Sockers were ahead 6-5. Twenty two seconds later, Medina again scored, and it was 7-5 San Diego.
Riley Swift made 11 saves in goal for the Sockers (Mark Nord photography)
After eight minutes of solid defending, the Sockers saw California turn to a desperation play, pulling their goalie for a 6th attacker. With Santana donning the goalie gloves and controlling the ball at midfield, the Cougars managed to avoid any empty-net goals, leading to a plethora of scoring opportunities.
Sockers’ goalkeeper Riley Swift, who had 11 saves, several of the spectacular variety, talked about the challenge of defending against six attackers:
Brian Farber started the Cougars’ comeback with a pretty header off a Scheer setup, cutting the lead to 7-6 with 2:57 remaining. With Swift making a pair of strong saves, it looked like San Diego would hold on to that slim edge. However, a foul called with 4.5 seconds left gave the Cougars one last free kick.
Figueroa made no mistake with his final opportunity, launching a perfect rocket from the left wing, a left-to-right kick that found the upper-right corner of the Sockers’ goal for a stunning equalizer.
A couple of minutes later, it was Susi striking from virtually the identical spot of the field, and converting almost the identical type of kick.
The Sockers now hold a two-game advantage over Stockton, a critical edge in that San Diego still has two regular season games remaining on the Cougars’ home field.
NOTES: The Sockers’ rugged schedule continues with a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal bout against Estadio Azteca on Sunday (later today) at 1:15pm. Tickets for the game will be priced at $7, and will only be sold day-of-game at the Del Mar Arena. San Diego will travel to Canada next weekend for a pair of PASL games, battling Calgary United and the Edmonton Drillers. Both games can be heard via live webstreaming broadcast on 619Sports.Net!
BONUS: FULL POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
Aaron Susi:
Riley Swift:
