The San Diego Sockers are not quite ready to bid farewell to Pechanga Arena.
The Sockers beat Texas at home on Monday — twice — and advanced to the MASL Western Conference finals.
San Diego (20-7) visits Chihuahua (18-8-1) on April 18 for Game 1 of the best-of-three series. The return match and the if-necessary knockout game are set for April 21 at Pechanga Arena.
The Sockers are looking to win their 17th indoor title before moving to Oceanside’s Frontwave Arena next season. Several of those championship celebrations took place inside the old t on Sports Arena Boulevard.
To win again, coach Phil Salvagio’s club will have to overcome a Chihuahua club that won all three regular-season meetings between the clubs.
The Savage advanced with a 2-1 first-round win over the Tacoma Stars. The Sockers dropped Game 1 of their first-round series against Texas but bounced back with an 8-3 win in Game 2 and then a 4-0 victory in the knockout match on Monday night.
It will mark the third consecutive season the Sockers and Savage have met in the conference finals. San Diego won in three games in 2022 en route to capturing the MASL title. Chihuahua returned the favor last spring with a three-match victory en route to winning it all.
Seals hit the road
The San Diego Seals (12-4) visit the Saskatchewan Rush (7-9) Saturday night.
The Seals trail first-place Toronto (13-3) by a game in the National Lacrosse League standings but have already locked in a home playoff match.
San Diego closes the regular season April 19 with a home match against Vancouver. The Seals can still leapfrog Toronto for first place with a combination of two wins and two Toronto losses.
The April 27 game match will be single-elimination, while the semifinal and championship rounds will follow a best-of-three format.
The Seals and Rush have not met this season. All Seals matches stream live on ESPN+.
Mojo visit Columbus
The San Diego Mojo (5-8) had their two-match win streak snapped with a 3-0 home loss to Atlanta on Wednesday night. It’s a quick turnaround: they’ll play again Friday at Columbus (5-9).
All Mojo games stream live on the Professional Volleyball Federation’s YouTube channel.
The Mojo defeated Columbus 3-1 at Viejas Arena on April 7. The Fury have dropped four straight matches.
Legion return to Snapdragon
The San Diego Legion (4-1) will host the NOLA Gold (3-2) at 1p.m. Sunday inside Snapdragon Stadium.
The match will be preceded by free youth rugby and flag football clinics running from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Strike Force back in action
The San Diego Strike Force (2-0) continue their Indoor Football League season on Sunday with a game against the Arizona Rattlers (1-2) in Phoenix.
Strike Force quarterback Nate Davis is off to a sizzling start. Brady Hoke’s quarterback at Ball State, Davis has completed 36 of 59 es for 408 yards and 10 touchdowns. All Strike Force games stream live on the IFL’s YouTube channel.
Elsewhere
The San Diego Gulls (25-32-8-1, 59 points) beat Bakersfield 4-2 on Wednesday night. They’ll continue their road swing with games at Ontario on Friday and at Coachella Valley on Sunday.
The Gulls have been eliminated from AHL playoff contention.
• The Top Rank Boxing card set for May 18 at Pechanga Arena has been updated to feature an intriguing heavyweight bout.
Undefeated contenders Richard Torrez Jr. (9-0, 9 KOs) and Brandon Moore (14-0, 8 KOs) will square off on the main event card which also features San Diego’s Giovani Santillan facing Brandon Norman Jr. in a welterweight bout. Emanuel Navarrete will fight Denys Berinchyk in a lightweight WBO championship bout. The three main event fights will air live on ESPN.
