Anybody remember this logo from '78?
The San Diego Sockers are back, making another run at the heart of San Diego soccer fans. Featuring a number of veterans from previous incarnations, the Sockers played Sunday night for the first time in their new home, the Del Mar Arena, beating Tijuana club La Cabana 11-5. The exhibition game, staged for the San Diego County Fair, drew a curious and yet boisterous crowd, who watched as indoor soccer returned to San Diego, and the team with 10 championship banners again took the field.
Well, there was a little problem there. Only 8 of the banners could be located by the team, said head coach Phil Salvagio after the game. Two are missing and unaccounted for. They hope to find the missing two in time for the November 7th regular season opener, when the Sockers join the Premier Arena Soccer League.
The 8 remaining banners were hanging in the rafters of the new roof on the Del Mar Arena, which has been renovated into a 3,543 seat open-ended venue that seems perfectly San Diegan. On a nice night, it will be a beautiful and fun place to watch a fast paced, exciting indoor soccer game. The team plans a beer garden in the north end of the arena, with booths and concessions in the south end. It may get chilly in the winter on some nights, but that should only boost the sales of the team sweaters, said Salvagio.
“I don’t think you can beat this, it is unbelievable. It plays well for us, a 3,500 seat arena, and I looked around and saw about 2,000 people here today. It was a good atmosphere, and loud on the field. We were pleased.”
Salvagio, the coach, GM and co-owner of the team, played for some of the old great Sockers teams, ending when one of the more recent incarnations folded in 1998. He played one more year in Sacramento and then hung up his cleats, but despite becoming a successful businessman Phil kept his passion for soccer.
“I always wanted my kids to see me play,” said Salvagio, “and this is the next best thing.”
Chiles: Former Aztec hero in the opener
The game itself started slowly, with San Diego leading 4-2 at the half. Then the Sockers exploded for six unanswered goals in the second half to build a 10-2 lead. La Cabana scored three straight late in the fourth quarter, before Anthony Medina’s fourth goal of the game sealed the scoring. SDSU grad Kraig Chiles added three goals for the Sockers, and Josh Barton had a pair.
“The locker room was very quiet today, we had nerves,” said Salvagio, “We were a little shaky on the field to start with, but as the game went on I was really proud of some of our rookies and our veterans.”
Salvagio could also take pride in his personal effort and that of the Del Mar Arena crew, as the team had less than 24 hours to convert the arena from a horse show the previous day to an indoor soccer arena. Starting at 10pm on Saturday night, they worked overnight to put together a simple but clean looking field, with Salvagio personally putting down part of the field turf around 4am.
Things will be different come November, with time to really prep up the arena as a soccer venue. On Sunday, the Sockers gave fans both a glimpse of their past and their future, and if you squinted you could see something really fun come together.
– Elsten
Listen here to head coach Phil Salvagio’s comments on the field after the Sockers’ 11-5 win over La Cabana:
