Chiles ties Segota for Sockers goal lead, Sockers slow Express
- Updated: December 10, 2016
By Chris Davis
© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (12-10-16) – Kraig Chiles scored a pair of goals to tie Sockers great Branko Segota’s record of 298 goals as the Sockers defeated the Turlock Express 9-3 in front of just under 2,600 people at the Valley View Casino Center on Friday (Dec. 9).
The Sockers (6-2) are at the top of the Pacific Division table as they have won three in a row and have outscored their opponents 60-33 on the young season. The +27 goal differential is the largest in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL).
San Diego trailed in the game as Turlock (2-5, last in the Pacific) scored the first goal of the match just 66 seconds after the first touch.
Felipe Gonzalez scored to tie the game at the 8:36 mark.
Turlock came right back just over two minutes later to take their final lead of the night at 2-1 after Jorge Carmona headed it home off an Arturo Pulido ricochet.
Chiles, the Poway native, scored his first of two goals on the night off a Matt Clare free-kick to tie it up 2-all.
This is when the wheels began to fall off for the Express, as the Chiles goal began a 5-0 barrage for the 14-time champion franchise.
Matt Clare scored back-to-back goals that were both unassisted to put the Sockers up 4-2. That is how the scoring in the opening 30 minutes would end. However, right before intermission, the Express were called for charging by the goalkeeper. That penalty would lead to a Sockers power play.
On the backside of halftime Jeff Hughes, the University of Cincinnati graduate, put what looked like a harmless shot on frame, but was misplayed by the Express keeper and led to a power play goal for the former MISL MVP.
With just about 2 minutes left in the third quarter Erick Tovar scored the first of his two goals. Gonzalez passed the ball to the midfielder via a wall and Tovar pounded it to the top shelf for his fifth goal of the season.
Turlock would score their final goal on a Martyn Arista shot to cut it to 6-3 at the end of three quarters.
Chiles scored his 298th goal to tie Segota at the top of the all-time goals scored list just shy of 4:30 into the final stanza.
For the rest of the game, when Chiles was on the field his teammates where feeding him the ball to have him set the record at home in front of the fans that have cheered him on his entire career.
The SDSU grad couldn’t cash in the rest of the match, but Luan Oliveira and Tovar both scored to close out the game and the win.
Chiles will look to become the all-time leading scorer in franchise history next week (Dec. 18) when the Sockers will travel to Showare Center in Tacoma, Washington to take on the second-place Stars. Game time is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.
