Sockers Ride the Chiles Express to Win

by Jonathan Greene

Kraig Chiles had a hat trick and Leonardo De Oliveira added five  assists as the San Diego Sockers throttled the Turlock Express 12-4 at  Ron Newman Field at Pechanga Arena San Diego on Sunday night. Brandon  Escoto, Brian Farber, and Taylor Bond scored two goals apiece.  Goalkeeper Boris Pardo made 10 saves to earn his MASL-best 10th win. The  Pacific Division-leading Sockers improved to 10-1 and are on an  eight-game winning streak. 

Taylor Bond (2-1=3) opened the scoring  at 5:07 off De Oliveira's (0-5=5) first helper of the night. It was the  first time in six games that the Sockers tallied the initial goal. Luis  "Pee Wee" Ortega (1-1=2) and Felipe Gonzalez (1-0=1) extended their  point streaks (five and two, respectively) with goals to end the first  quarter with the Sockers leading 3-1.

San Diego exploded for six  goals in the second period. Chiles (3-1=4) scored his three goals, while  Escoto, Farber, and Bond also tallied.  Christian Gutierrez added a  late goal to finish the scoring. Juan Gonzalez provided two assists in  the match.

Martyn Arista (2-0=2), Matthew Germain (1-1=2) and  Victor Parra (1-0=1) led Turlock. The Express used two goalkeepers  during the onslaught. Edgar Martinez faced 10 shots, allowing five  goals, while starter Martin Sanchez gave up seven goals on 16 shots.

Dozens of furloughed government workers took advantage of the free ticket offer provided by the team for the game.

San  Diego will return to action with back-to-back road contests to start  February. On February 7, The Sockers travel up I-15 to meet the Ontario  Fury, before playing the Express the following night in Turlock.    

The  Sockers next home game is Friday, February 15, 7:35 p.m. against the  Tacoma Stars. It will be Celebrity Night, featuring the annual All-Star  Celebrity Halftime Game. Flex, group, and single game tickets are on  sale now by calling 866-799-GOAL (4625) by visiting Sockers.com or  AXS.com (Search: Sockers).