SOCKERS STAR STRUCK IN TACOMA, DROP SEASON OPENER 5-4

KENT, WA (Saturday, December 7, 2024) - Reigning MASL Goalkeeper of the Year Chris Toth was San Diego’s nemesis again with 27 saves, while Nick Perera added one goal and two assists to lead the Tacoma Stars (1-0-0, 3pts) to a 5-4 season-opening win over the visiting San Diego Sockers (0-1-0, 0) at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, WA on Saturday night.

 In the opening period, the Sockers could not take advantage of a Jamael Cox tripping penalty at 8:19. Instead, it turned into a Tacoma two-on-one breakaway shorthanded goal by Adrian Correa that was initially saved by Boris Pardo, but the ball bounced off a retreating Charlie Gonzalez that hit the underside of the crossbar and crossed the goal line at 9:57. 

Tacoma took a 2-0 advantage at 12:17 of the first stanza after Nick Perera took the ball away from Taylor Walter Bond by the side wall and then found Moises Gonzalez who slid his low show past Pardo for the marker. 

Newcomer Luiz Morales opened his Sockers’ account with a long-distance strike past Chris Toth at 13:36 of the first to cut the lead in half. The former Texas Outlaw Moralez, who joined San Diego this offseason, showed his skill which will be promising for the Sockers offensive attack this season. 

Christian Gutierrez was called for boarding early in the second period which the Sockers penalty-killing unit killed off. The half, which featured end-to-end action ended with Tacoma leading 2-1. 

The intensity between these rivals picked up in the second half with an increase in fouls and chippiness. 

The Stars increased their lead to 3-1 at the 6:56 mark of the third period when Ben Ramin was called for a handball in the box on a Perera free kick. The penalty resulted in a Perera penalty kick goal right down the middle as Pardo dove to his left side. 

Tavoy Morgan turned defender Logan Jones at the top of the box and put a low shot into the back of the net to bring San Diego within one at 3-2 at the 5:12 mark of the final stanza. 

After another Toth one-handed save, the Stars added a counter-attack goal by Kyle Rivers with Micheal Ramos getting the helper with 6:07 remaining in the contest. 

Just 50 seconds later, Morales notched his brace on a Bond assist to make the score 4-3. However, Charlie Gonzalez took a boarding penalty leading to a Stefan Mijatovic power-play goal with Perera picking up his second assist at 10:47. 

The Sockers went to the sixth-attacker after the Stars’ goal and were able to score on a Felipe Gonzalez drive from the left side with 2:00 left. Morales added an assist to his two-goal performance. 

The final 40 seconds featured a Sockers offensive frenzy around the Stars’ goal, but Tacoma came up with another Toth save and two block shots to preserve the win. 

San Diego’s home opener will take place on Saturday, December 14, when they host Utica City FC at the newly unveiled Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, CA. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available now at sdsockers.com/singlegame or frontwavearena.com.