San Diego SportsAll Wright, Sockers Claw to 3-0 Fast-Start
Sockers defeat Cougars 5-4 in overtime With a sparkle in his eyes and childish grin San Diego Sockers (3-0) Head Coach Phil Salvagio proclaimed, “It’s about bringing back the 80s,” Salvagio was reacting to the Sockers stunning 5-4 come-from-behind win on Friday night over the California Cougars of Stockton (1-1), the defending champions of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL). The game was the Sockers regular season home opener as a PASL expansion team. Last weekend the San Diego Sockers started their regular season by winning their first two games on the road against the Denver Dynamite and the Texas Outlaws. On November 13, the Sockers exploded for 12 goals against the Dynamite for a 12-6 old-school 80s Sockers blow out. Appropriately, the still speedy Paul Wright scored the first goal in modern Sockers history. Wright is now 40 years old and was a member of both previous Sockers franchises. Wright also led the Sockers in scoring against the Dynamite with two goals and two assists. Then the following night, Wright had another goal and two more assists that contributed to the 7-5 victory over the Outlaws. Three goals and four assists for a total of 7 points in the opening weekend made Wright the leagues early scoring-leader. Even with the early 2-0 start the Sockers knew that Friday’s home opener against the Cougars would be a true litmus test to determine if this new Sockers team can come out of the gate competing for championships like their predecessors. The Sockers and Cougars played to a scoreless tie in 1st quarter, uncharacteristic for an indoor soccer game. It was as if they were two heavy weight boxers dancing around the ring in the early rounds as they tried to find a weakness in their opponent. In the 2nd quarter the punches started to fly. On a penalty kick Wright found Kraig Chiles next to the goal and Chiles socked it in to give the Sockers a 1-0 lead. The Cougars would quickly answer back scoring two goals in less than a minute. It looked as if the Sockers would tie in the final minute of the first half as they had the advantage on a power play and were taking several shots on goal. Unfortunately the Cougars cleared the ball and a cougar defender David Vedder bolted down the arena giving the Sockers a man down goal and the Sockers trailed 3-1 at the break. In the 3rd quarter Craig Scheer scored a goal extending the Cougars lead to 4-1.  Kraig Chiles Copyright©2009 sandiego.com, Inc. But the 4th quarter would belong to the Sockers. Just 15 seconds into the period Anthony Medina headed in a goal bringing the Sockers to within two points. Wright then had his second assist of the night via a penalty kick by passing it to Aaron Susi who slammed it in from 30 yards out. With just 2:37 to go in the game, Wright passed to an open Chiles near the goal and Chiles tied the game at 4-4, sending the game into sudden death overtime. Chiles then scored his third goal of the night in the sixth minute of overtime securing the Sockers a 5-4 win against the defending PASL champions. After the game Chiles was asked if this was a statement game. Chiles responded, “I think so. This Cougars team on paper is a hell of a team and even out here they are really good team . . . these are the types of games you have to win to win the season.” With Wright’s 3 assists he continues to lead the league in scoring with 10 points. Despite his age, Wright is not surprised of the impact he is having. “It is what I expect of myself and what my teammates expect of me, so I am just living up to expectations.” Tonight at 6:15 P.M. the Sockers will conclude their double-header home opener weekend by taking on the Las Vegas Knights. Remember, what happens against Vegas stays at the Del Mar Arena. So bring yourself, a significant other, and some very obnoxiously loud children to cheer on your new first place San Diego Sockers.
 Dan McLellan About the author: Dan McLellan is a San Diego native and Charger season ticket holder since 1993. He also has a weekly Charger podcast at www.DanMcLellan.com. More by this author Subscribe to Sports:
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