Sockers Extend Series After Triple-OT Thriller, But See Season End in Knockout Game

The Chihuahua Savage will return to the Ron Newman Cup Finals after outlasting the San Diego Sockers on Sunday at Pechanga Arena.

The Sockers needed golden goal triple overtime to win Match Two 5-4, the longest match in MASL playoff history. But fully spent by the effort, San Diego bowed to Chihuahua in the 15-minute Knockout Game 2-1, falling 2-1 in the series and losing the opportunity to advance to the championship round. 

The Sockers (18-6, 3-3 playoffs) lost for the second straight season to the Savage on San Diego’s home floor in a Knockout Game.

This loss, in front of a season-high crowd of 3,175, also marked the end of an era, as the club leaves Pechanga Arena to move to the brand-new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside in the winter.

The Sockers won 12 championships in what was once called the San Diego International Sports Arena, a place they called home during three separate stretches — from 1980 to ’96, from 2000 to ’04, and from 2012 to ’24. 

Needing both a Match Two victory and Knockout Game win to claim the series, San Diego came out determined as the team sought its first win this season against Chihuahua. The Savage took the regular season series 3-0, and won Match One handily 13-7 Thursday.

Playing without star Tavoy Morgan (knee), the Sockers turned to captain Kraig Chiles, who at age 39 delivered a vintage first-half performance in Match Two, netting a hat trick while pushing San Diego to a 4-1 halftime lead. 

Chihuahua (16-7-1, 4-2 playoffs) emerged from the halftime locker room a changed side, locking down on defense and throttling the San Diego attack. Miguel Angel Diaz netted at 2:16 of the third quarter to set the tone, and Savage stars Hugo Puentes and Roberto Escalante scored at 4:32 and 7:15 of the fourth quarter to tie the match 4-4. 

The Sockers had a chance to win in regulation when a replay challenge revealed that Chihuahua keeper Diego Reynoso had handled a ball just outside his crease, resulting in a blue-card penalty and a shootout attempt.

Chiles, who had converted a shootout in the second quarter, had a chance for a fourth goal, but missed just wide. After San Diego failed to convert the power play, the match proceeded to golden-goal overtime. 

In overtime, Chihuahua used a pressing defensive posture to eliminate what remained of the veteran Sockers’ physical reserves. San Diego misfired on multiple opportunities but still managed to hold the line defensively, pushing through one, then another 10-minute golden goal overtime period.

In the third OT, the Sockers won a free kick along the right wall of the offensive zone and took a timeout. As defender Guerrero Pino whipped the crowd into a frenzy, San Diego finally found a goal. Charlie Gonzalez’s pass back to Gabriel Costa settled into into the left side of the net for a golden goal, earning the Sockers the Knockout Game.

Chihuahua had shut them out for 54:15 consecutive minutes before they found the goal they needed to keep their season alive. Match Two lasted 80 minutes and 46 seconds, besting the previous record of 80:18 between Syracuse and Baltimore on March 11, 2016. 

While the Sockers attempted to play Morgan in the Knockout Game – to no effect as the forward struggled with his bad knee – Chihuahua changed uniforms and made four substitutions to their lineup.

The moves by head coach Genoni Martinez paid immediate dividends. Fresh-legged players Luis Medrano and José Gilberto Lopez had the pace to run through the drained San Diego defense, each pummeling powerful volleys past Sockers veteran keeper Boris Pardo.

The Sockers went to a six-attacker formation with just under five minutes to play, but were turned away again and again, as the fresher Savage were able to reclaim possession. 

A final-gasp goal by Brandon Escoto at 14:14 of the Knockout Game gave San Diego their last flicker of life. But the Savage were able to defend in the final 46 seconds, blocking a last-centering bid by Drew Ruggles with under 20 seconds to play, leading to a celebration by Chihuahua in front of their section of visiting fans. 

The Savage now advance to the Ron Newman Cup finals to play the winner of the Milwaukee-Kansas City series.