San Diego Sockers (2009–)

San Diego Sockers are an American professional indoor soccer franchise playing in the Western Division of the Major Arena Soccer League, representing the San Diego area since 2009. Their first arena was the Chevrolet Del Mar Arena at the Del Mar Fairgrounds adjacent to the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California.[1] They switched to the Pechanga Arena, the original home of the MISL Sockers, for the 2012–2013 season.[2][3][4]

San Diego Sockers
Full nameSan Diego Sockers
Founded2009
StadiumRon Newman Field at Pechanga Arena
Capacity12,920
OwnerDavid Pike, Carl Savoia
General ManagerSean Bowers
CoachPhil Salvagio
LeagueMASL
2018–191st, Pacific Division
Playoffs: Conference final
WebsiteClub website

The Sockers hold the record for the longest winning streak in United States professional soccer history.[5] The streak, which began on December 29, 2010, was snapped after 48 games by a 6–5 overtime road loss to the Dallas Sidekicks on January 27, 2013.[6][7]

History

1978– 1996: The team began as the Baltimore Comets in 1974 but moved to San Diego as the San Diego Jaws in 1976. After a one-year stay in Las Vegas as the Las Vegas Quicksilvers, the team returned as the San Diego Sockers in 1978.[8][9] They were owned by Bob Bell and played their indoor games at the San Diego Sports Arena.[10]

Initially, victories came slowly for the club but mounted quickly and they experienced moderate success over their outdoor history winning several division titles. However, the San Diego Sockers won the North American Soccer League (NASL) Indoor Championships of 1981–82 and 1983–84. Success was far from over for the San Diego Sockers. When the NASL folded, the San Diego Sockers moved to the Major Indoor Soccer League and won eight championships: 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992. The Sockers carried their success from one league to the next. They switched to the Continental Indoor Soccer League for three more years from 1993 to 1995. However, after several ownership changes, Sockers folded after the 1996 season.

2001–2004: The second version of the San Diego Sockers were a team in the new Major Indoor Soccer League. The team began play in the World Indoor Soccer League in 2001, and joined the MISL when it merged with the WISL for the 2002–2003 season. Just before the beginning of the 2004–2005 season, the Sockers were sold to Raj Kalra, owner of the Vancouver Ravens of the National Lacrosse League. However, barely two months after the purchase, it was revealed that Kalra had not paid the Sockers' players, staff, or rent since taking over, and the league voted to discontinue the franchise on December 30, 2004.

2009–Present: The Sockers were founded in 2009 by David Pike, Carl Savoia and Phil Salvagio. This was the second attempt to revive the Sockers name. The first team played in the NASL, original MISL, and CISL. The first revival attempt to play in the WISL and second MISL. The Sockers have enjoyed a significant amount of success since they began play having won both the PASL-Pro championship and US Open Cup of Arena Soccer in their first four seasons.[11][12] In January 2019, former USMNT player Landon Donovan joined the Sockers in the Major Arena Soccer League.[13]

Colors and badge

At their inception the Sockers featured a color scheme primarily consisting of the royal blue, white, and yellow colors often used by the previous Sockers teams and utilized a modified version of their immediate predecessor's logo. For the 2011 season the team modified their uniforms dropping the yellow in favor of a smaller amount of gold. Their logo also changed their to a new shield logo that corresponded to their new uniforms that utilized the 1978 founding date of the original Sockers franchise which the team claims ties to as well as stars representing the 14 titles won by the combined Sockers franchises.

Arena
  • Chevrolet Del Mar Arena (2009–2012)
  • Pechanga Arena San Diego (2012–present)

Personnel

As of November 26, 2019.[14]

Active players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
2 FW Taylor Walter Bond
4 MF Christian Gutierrez
5 DF Guerrero Pino
7 MF Brian Farber
8 DF Ze Roberto
11 FW Leonardo De Oliveira
16 DF Eduardo Velez
17 MF Raymundo Reza
18 MF Travis Pittman
19 MF Brandon Escoto
No. Position Player
27 GK Boris Pardo
29 DF Cesar Cerda
33 DF Raymundo Contreras
37 FW Kraig Chiles (Captain)
51 MF Erick Tovar
58 FW César Romero
63 MF Hiram Ruiz
69 MF Luis Ortega
97 MF Gerardo Jurado
99 FW Slaviša Ubiparipović

Inactive players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
21 GK Diego Angel Arriaga
23 DF Luis Piffer
No. Position Player
26 DF Emmanuel Aguirre

Staff
  • Head Coach: Phil Salvagio (2009–present)
  • Assistant Coach: Victor Melendez
  • Assistant Coach: Rene Ortiz
  • Assistant Coach: Ray Taila (2009–present)
  • General Manager: Sean Bowers (2016–present)
  • Owners: David Pike and Carl Savoia (2009–present)

Honors
  • 2009–10, 2010–11 PASL-PRO Western Division Champions
  • 2011–12 PASL Western Division Champions
  • 2012–13 PASL Pacific Division Champions
  • 2014–15 MASL Pacific Division Regular Season Champions
  • 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, MASL Pacific Division Champions
  • 2009–10, 2010–11 PASL-PRO Champions
  • 2011–12, 2012–13 PASL Champions
  • 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 U.S. Open Cup of Arena Soccer Champions
  • 2012 FIFRA Club Champions

Year-by-year
League Champions Runners-Up Division Champions* Playoff Berth
Season League Won Lost GF GA Playoff Avg. Attendance U.S. Open Cup Other
2009–10PASL-Pro13314691Champions1,705 2009–10 Champions
2010–11PASL-Pro14213679Champions2,608 2010–11 Champions
2011–12PASL16016578Champions2,197 2011–12 Champions FIFRA Club Champions
2012–13PASL15118871Champions3,744 2012–13 Runners-up
2013–14PASL13314183Divisional Final3,625 Round of 16
2014–15MASL16417999Divisional Final2,881 N/A
2015–16MASL137138111Divisional Final3,051 N/A
2016–17 MASL 14 6 149 90 Conference Final 3,844
2017–18 MASL 19 3 166 84 Conference Final 3,284
2018–19 MASL 23 1 185 92 Conference Final 4,181
2019-20 MASL 15 6 124 104 TBA 2,746
Total 11 Seasons 171 36 1717 982

Playoff record
Year Win Loss GF GA Avg. Attendance
2009–10 2 0 15 13
2010–11 2 0 17 9
2011–12 2 0 19 13 2,390
2012–13 4 0 39 26 3,557
2013–14 1 1 14 15 4,116
2014–15 0 1 6 7 4,276
2015–16 3 2 37 36 2,497
2016–17 2 3 27 30 5,047
2017–18 2 2 21 16 3,421
2018-19 2 1 16 13 3,607
Total 20 10 211 178 3,647

References
  1. Hiro, Brian (June 11, 2012). "SOCCER: San Diego Sockers leaving Del Mar to return to old Sports Arena". North County Times. Escondido, CA. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  2. Sockers Returning To Original Home
  3. Leonard, Tod (November 2, 2012). "Sockers make return to historic home". North County Times. Escondido, CA. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  4. Pinella, Bill (February 18, 2014). "Sockers aren't going anywhere soon". U-T San Diego. San Diego, CA: MLIM Holdings. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  5. Barron, J. David (January 27, 2013). "Sidekicks sock San Diego from unbeaten ranks: Dallas deals Sockers historic first loss". Allen American-Star. Allen, TX. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  6. "Sidekicks Snap San Diego's Record 48-Game Win Streak". Our Sports Central. January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  7. "The Streak Is Over: Dallas beats San Diego 6–5 in OT to snap 48-game winning streak". Our Sports Central. January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  8. Salazar, Jo-Ryan (July 26, 2010). "The San Diego Sockers: A Legacy Renewed". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  9. Brents, Phillip (December 29, 2010). "Time to re-connect between Sockers, old and new". The Star-News. Chula Vista, California. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  10. Maffei, John (July 6, 2013). "Sports site No. 3: San Diego Sports Arena". U-T San Diego. MLIM Holdings. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  11. Hiro, Brian (June 12, 2012). "SOCKERS: GM Kentera guides team back to old home". North County Times. Escondido, CA. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  12. Leonard, Tod (March 10, 2012). "Sockers seize third straight PASL championship". U-T San Diego. San Diego, CA. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  13. https://www.sdsockers.com/news/us-icon-landon-donovan-signs-with-sockers
  14. "San Diego Sockers roster". Major Arena Soccer League. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
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