SOCKERS DOUBLED UP BY WAVE, 8-4
Rookie Oscar Flores netted a pair of goals in his indoor soccer debut, and Alex Steinwascher added a brace as the Milwaukee Wave rode into Frontwave Arena and coasted to shore with an 8-4 victory. The Wave (1-0, 3 points) shut out San Diego in the second half, earning a win for first-year head coach Marcio Leite in his debut match.
"It’s definitely a work in progress, and we’ve got some guys injured,” said goalkeeper Boris Pardo, who stopped 13-of-20 shots on the night. “It’s going to be a slow start, but making the playoffs is all that matters. We’ve got to take better advantage of playing at home and showing up for the crowd.”
Charlie Gonzalez scored twice with an assist for San Diego (0-1-1, 1 point), who stunned the partisan crowd of 2,770 with lackluster defense and disconnected offense. Once the possessors of the best home field advantage in U.S. indoor soccer with a 15-0 record last season, the Sockers have turned a fortress into a house with a leaky roof, and their hopes of grabbing control of the Major Arena Soccer League are similarly taking on water.
“We still have some work to do, obviously,” said captain Kraig Chiles, “It’s a game of small details, and we’re a work in progress. (This loss) is maybe honestly what’s needed to put it together by the end of the year.”
Trailing 5-4 at halftime, the Sockers saw the match turn at the end of a scoreless third quarter, when Jesus Pacheco was assessed a blue card penalty for holding with 1:46 remaining after an ill-timed pass out of the back was intercepted by the Wave’s Alex Sanchez, forcing the foul. While San Diego defended all but a second of the man advantage, an inadvertent elbow to the head by the Sockers’ Sebastian Mendez gave Milwaukee a one-second two-man advantage and a free kick less than 15 feet from the goal. Ricardo Carvalho blasted the shot through the short-handed wall for his second goal of the match. Importantly, the score occurred before the penalty ended, giving Milwaukee another full two minutes of power play time. San Diego never saw their way back into the action, conceding twice before the final quarter ended.
For the second straight match, the Sockers came out strong and grabbed the early lead. Defending a Milwaukee set piece, Boris Pardo made the save and spotted two open runners ahead, lifting a perfect outlet pass to Sebastian Mendez, who was running clear with Charlie Gonzalez. The two played the ball back-and-forth to one another in front of Banahene before Charlie tapped it in at 4:06 for a 1-0 lead. The goal triggered a hail of new socks, tossed onto the floor by fans to be distributed by the arena to local homeless organizations.
Less than two minutes later, Milwaukee found the equalizer, as Mario Alvarez passed Alex Steinwascher into the zone on left wing, who used a shoulder fake to turn rookie Mohammad Roknipour and free an unfettered lane onto the goal. His perfectly placed shot settled inside the right post at 5:30 for a 1-1 tie.
San Diego got the lead back before the quarter ended with a touch of fortune, as Drew Ruggles’ shot deflected off his defender and over Banahene for his first goal of the season and a 2-1 lead at 10:54. Meanwhile, Milwaukee rued their ill fortune as they hit right post, crossbar, and left post in the quarter without joy.
Undaunted, the Wave put their best foot forward in a four-goal second period. It started with Venezuelan rookie Oscar Flores netting his first goal of his MASL career, sent in on a controlled run forward by second-year midfielder Max Ludwig at 2:55 of the quarter for a 2-2 tie. Less than five minutes later, the Sockers shot themselves in the foot to surrender the lead. Off a Milwaukee foul deep in the Sockers’ zone, San Diego quickly restarted and passed to Ruggles in the crease, who lost the ball to Ludwig while trying to juggle it away. Ludwig’s shot was wide off the boards, but veteran Ricardo Carvalho was waiting to slam the walla-scora home at 7:30 and give the Wave their first lead of the season at 3-2.
The action kept heating up with four combined goals in a span of 2:43. On the power play after a Tony Walls blue card penalty, the Sockers tied the score on a lovely Keko Gontán goal from the low-right corner of the field, smashing a volley into the upper 90 at 10:02 for a 3-3 tie. Less than a minute later, San Diego gave the tie right back as Jose Gonzalez’s attempted goal wall clearance turned into an inadvertent pass to Wave legend Ian Bennett, who was waiting in the crease for a one-touch score and his 422nd career MASL goal. It was 4-3 Milwaukee just like that at 10:57.
San Diego’s soggy defense leaked once more at the 11:42 mark, as Andre Hayne beat Ruggles down the middle of the floor, leaving the ball off to Ludwig for his second career Wave goal, and his third point of the quarter. Now it was the Sockers’ turn to answer, as forward Tavoy Morgan left his feet to keep a ball in play, feeding it back to Charlie Gonzalez, who measured an inch-perfect shot inside the right joint of crossbar and post for his third goal of the season. Morgan had a glorious chance in the final minute of the frame but missed an open net in the closing seconds, and Milwaukee took a 5-4 lead into the halftime locker room, before which Sockers head coach Phil Salvagio said to the TV audience watching, “We’ll see if we wake up.”
The answer was apparent less than an hour later.
The Sockers now head on the road for a Friday match at Empire before coming home on Tuesday, December 30, 7:00pm, to host the Tacoma Stars. Single-match tickets are available by visiting frontwavearena.com or sdsockers.com.