The San Diego Sockers went into the locker rooms for halftime after a four-goal second quarter, but the Fury came back with vengeance in the second half and overcame a four-goal deficit to end their two-game skid in overtime in the second game between the two storied rivals in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL).
The Sockers (3-0-1, 1st West) were one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the MASL going into Sunday’s match. In the club’s first three games, they averaged just below four goals allowed per game, the second-best mark in the league.
The Fury (3-2, 2nd West) won their first two games, but quickly fell to .500 before Sunday’s match after two road losses to the Florida Tropics and Sockers. They capped their four-game long road trip Sunday.
Kraig Chiles and the Sockers opened the scoring in the first quarter, heading in the game’s first score after redirecting a perfect pass from defender Mitchell Cardenas. Ontario responded with 11 seconds left thanks to defender Jeff Hughes’s first goal of the season.
San Diego’s Tavoy Morgan and Christian Gutierrez put the Sockers up 5-1 with two goals each in the second quarter. Morgan scored a power-play goal while Gutierrez’s second goal came shorthanded while on a penalty kill. The Fury’s Jesus Pacheco put an end to the Sockers’ 4-0 run and finish the first half down three.
Ontario fared better in the third quarter, taking away from the San Diego lead while playing flawless defense. Midfielder Justin Stinson scored his fifth goal in as many games, and defender Juan Topete earned a point in his fourth consecutive match. The once four-goal San Diego lead was down to one.
Brandon Escoto gave the Sockers some breathing room when he scored the club’s sixth goal of the night and gave San Diego a two-goal lead. However, the Fury responded with three straight goals to take a 7-6 lead with under two minutes remaining. Goalkeeper Boris Pardo moved to the bench for an extra-man advantage. Former Fury and San Diego’s sixth attacker earned the Sockers a point in the standings with his game-tying score with 11 seconds remaining and forcing the match into overtime.
The Fury, however, did not let overtime last long. Midfielder Jorge Deleon scored the golden goal for Ontario 32 seconds in on the first shot of the overtime period. It was his second game-winning goal for the Fury this season.
The Sockers’ best success came with the penalties. They were 1-for-1 on the power play and went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill that included a shorthanded score. San Diego is now 5-for-7 on the power play this season, the third best mark in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) this season.
Sockers goalkeeper Boris Pardo made 14 saves, a season-high. However, he also gave up a season-high eight goals, the most in a single-game since Jan. 25, 2020, in Baltimore.
Forward Leonardo De Oliveira was named the second star of the game for his three assists. Oliveira has seven points through the first four games.
The Sockers and Fury finish the three-game set on Sunday, Jan. 16 at 3:05 p.m. PT at Toyota Arena. It will be Ontario’s first home game since their season opener on Dec. 15.