OCEANSIDE — The San Diego Sockers have made a habit out of hanging championship banners. They will get a chance to do it again after rolling over the Baltimore Blast 11-3 in the MASL playoff semifinals Sunday evening at Frontwave Arena.
Christian Guitierrez netted a hat trick, Kraig Chiles scored twice, Gabriel Costa posted two goals and an assist, Leonardo De Oliviera posted a goal and two assists and Charlie Gonzalez finished with a goal and an assist for the Sockers, who improved to 14-0 at home on the season.
“It was the first time we played them, so there was a bit of a feeling-out process,” Sockers coach Phil Salvagio said. “We had to figure some things out, but we opened the second half really strong. Once those goals start pouring in, it just rolls from there.”
The win advances the Sockers to the Ron Newman Cup Finals, where they will face two-time defending champion and top rival Chihuahua Savage. Game 1 will be at Frontwave Arena next Sunday at 5:05 p.m., while Game 2 and (if needed) a deciding Game 3 will be in Mexico, where the Savage went 12-0 this season and defeated the Sockers twice.
The Sockers, who beat the Savage twice at Frontwave, are seeking to add to their own record with a 17th indoor championship and first since the 2021-22 season.
The top-seeded Savage advanced to the Finals with a 7-6 overtime victory over Milwaukee in the first semifinal.
Though the Blast hung tough most of the first three quarters, the Sockers jumped out to a 4-1 second quarter lead on a power-play goal from Luiz Moralez, weathered a strong late first half push from the visitors and then pulled away when De Oliviera scored just 20 seconds into the fourth to make the score 7-3.
At that point, fatigue seemed to creep into the third-seeded Blast, who were playing just 24 hours after defeating Utica City FC in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The No. 2 Sockers, meanwhile, enjoyed a full day of rest after defeating the Empire Strykers on Friday and looked like the more energized team from the start of the second half through the final horn.
The Sockers finished with a 20-14 edge in shots on goal, went 2-for-2 on the power play and outscored the Blast 5-0 in the fourth quarter.
Chiles, a Poway native who played collegiately at San Diego State, now has 43 career playoff goals. He’s enjoyed plenty of help in his 16th season from a balanced and deep roster highlighted by players like Guitierrez, De Oliviera, leading scorer Tavoy Morgan and a pack of aggressive defenders who are backed by veteran keeper Boris Prado. Prado finished with six saves Sunday evening.
The Sockers-Savage rivalry has been the league’s best as the teams were at the top of the standings all season and will meet in the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
