I packed the family into the car and took the hour and a half drive up to Ontario to see the last two undefeated teams in the PASL battle it out at the Citizens Business Bank Arena. I gotta say, the CBB Arena is really nice. CBB Arena is close to the interstate, it is super easy to get to, and their is plenty of up close parking. Unfortunately, they charged $5 to park, I had to buy a ticket for my 2 year old, and there is a $2 "venue" fee for tickets, making general admission $12 instead of $10. If they are going to charge $12 per ticket, they should advertise that on the website. The inside of the arena is really nice, the food and drink selection was good, but sadly one of the restaurants I wanted to try was closed. Our seats were nice and comfortable, and the view was clean with no obstructions, and the picture on the screens above the scoreboard was really crisp. Bathrooms were always close by, and the staff was very friendly and on top of their game. When some Legends and Fury fans got a little saucy with each other, the staff was quick to respond to the situation. The thing I liked the most, and I wish they had this in San Diego, especially down in the Players Lounge, were the TV screens all around the arena that showed the game live. When I had to step away from the action it was nice to still be able to see what was going on.
The game was really fun to watch, with plenty of scoring and enough action to keep my 2 year old interested. He was just a little confused that I wasn't screaming and cheering after any of the goals. Las Vegas has some fast players on their team, and are dangerous in breakaway situations. Enrique Tovar is obviously "The Man" on the Legends squad. He is the one directing traffic, setting up the defense on set pieces, and distributing the ball to the rest of the team, and the numbers show it, Tovar had 1 goal, 5 assists, and 2 blocked shots against Ontario. I don't think the Legends are the same team without Tovar in the lineup. Las Vegas leads the league in power-play conversions, and it showed in the game when they went 3-4 on the man advantage. Felipe Gonzalez is still the go to guy on the power play. He netted 2 of the 3 Las Vegas power-play goals, and leads the league with 7 power play goals. Alex Caceres had a great second game with the team, netting 3 goals, one of them on a power-play, and blocking 2 shots. Las Vegas looked good as a team and will carry a lot of momentum from this overtime win into their next game against Sacramento.
I was equally impressed with the Ontario Fury, who have a quality roster and will only get better as a team as the season progresses. Tiguinho is a dominate midfielder who seemed to always be involved with the action when he was on the field. With a goal and 2 assists in his first game with the team, it follows that he and the team will both improve with increased familiarity. Tino Nunez and Israel Sesay are offensive threats that keep Jesus Molina jumping and diving all night. Nunez is a natural goal scorer whose awareness and touch foiled the Legends defenders, while the speed and quick feet of Sesay kept the Legends defense scrambling to keep up. The only thing hampering the Fury is their Special Teams. They have struggled so far in killing penalties and converting on the man advantage, and it showed in the game.
A Cold Front in the East
I watched the Cleveland Freeze take on the Heat in Harrisburg with some friends and family Saturday night. The Freeze iced the Heat for the second time this season, and for the first time on the road. Hector Marinaro has a solid squad that is playing quality indoor ball and looks to take control of the East, but Detroit is going to have something to say about that next week when the Freeze make the trip to Melvindale Arena to take on Dominic Scicluna and the Waza Flo. The Detroit Waza Flo are old hands at this indoor soccer thing. Costa Decu, Miki Djerisilo, and Joey Kapinos will surly show the Freeze a few tricks, but as long as Marinaro's side can keep their heads down, not get thrown off by Detroit's physical style, and keep to their own style of play, they should be able to hang with the Waza Flo.
San Diego's Struggles
I watched both of the Sockers' games, by hooking my computer up to my flat screen so it had that big game feel, and wasn't impressed enough to feel good about the next two games the Sockers play in Ontario and Las Vegas. Even though the Sockers beat Turlock at home, their win wasn't very impressive and their play had some rough spots that need polishing. The Sockers had foul trouble early in the game against the Express, and struggled to find the back of the net in the first half. Against Sacramento the Sockers went 0-3 in man advantages, averaged 25% on their shots, and again got into foul trouble in the 4th quarter. The only thing that separates the Sockers from teams like Ontario and Las Vegas is our defense, which I believe is the best defense in the Pacific Division. Toth is definitely one of the top 3 keepers in the league, our penalty kill percentage is at 80%, and we have proven defensive assets on our team like Ze Roberto, Scotty Martin, Evan McNeley, Eduardo Velez, and now Antonio Sutton.
The addition of Antonio Sutton to the Sockers defense is a huge pick up that brings even more veteran leadership to the team. With him wearing the black and blue strips for San Diego, our defense just got even better, but we are still struggling offensively. The Sockers are killing the penalty with the best of them, but lamentably have been held to 3 goals in 12 man advantages. I still think the Sockers are a step behind as a team. Who knows? Maybe the addition of Sutton to McNeley, Farber, Susi, who all played with each other in Stockton, will be the spark to ignite the fire underneath the Sockers' behinds and they will start getting some wins and gain some ground on the undefeated Legends.
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