Chiles Ties Goal Scoring Record, Sockers Win 9-3
SAN DIEGO (December 9, 2016) With history on the line, the Sockers game against Turlock Express started all wrong. Turlock Express came out firing and scored a goal in the very first minute to shock the home crowd. It took the Sockers players the rest of the first quarter to find their groove. In the end, the Sockers cruised to a 9-3 victory over the Turlock Express and extracted a bit of revenge in the process.
Felipe Gonzalez pulled a goal back, but Turlock Express answered back to take a 2-1 lead after the first quarter. Things changed in the second quarter as the Sockers started to take control of the game.
The Captain. The Star Man. The goal scorer. Kraig Chiles scored off a free kick pass from Matt Clare to even the scoreline in the second. Matt Clare did the rest in the half, scoring two unassisted goals. The Sockers took the 2 goal lead into the half and never looked back.
After the break, the Sockers continued to barrage the Express goal and were rewarded with two more goals. Turlock Express found a bit of respite and scored their solitary second half goal in the 3rd.
After three quarters of searching for the back of the net, Chiles scored his second on the night to tie Sockers legend Branko Segota’s All Time Goal Scoring record at 298 goals. The fans went wild but were nervous with anticipation. Would tonight be the night that history was made with the Sockers?
Sockers teammates continually fed Chiles the ball, hoping that his famous quick turn and shot would find the back of the net for the third time on the night. Although he didn’t find the elusive hat-trick, Chiles has now tied a record that has stood for the greater part of 25 years.
Next week, the Sockers travel up the coastline to rematch against the Tacoma Stars. Kickoff is scheduled for December 18th at 3:05pm at the Showare Center. Last time the two teams played, Chiles scored 4 goals to lead the Sockers to a 5-3 victory.