Milwaukee Wave has no answer for San Diego Sockers in MASL final match
The Milwaukee Wave fell into too deep a hole early and lost to the San Diego Sockers in the final match of the MASL championship series.
Everything the Milwaukee Wave did to force a third match in the MASL championship series went the wrong way once the Wave got there. The San Diego Sockers , back at full strength with three players returning from suspensions, scored six straight goals in the first half and pulled out to a 10-3 victory April 27 at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California. The title was San Diego’s 18 th across indoor soccer and third in the MASL.
Milwaukee managed a 7-2 victory April 24 to tie the series while Sockers defender Cesar Cerda, midfielder Luiz Morales and forward Jesus Pacheco sat out due to penalties for infractions in and after their Game 1 victory in Milwaukee. Box score: Sockers 10, Wave 3 More: From Milwaukee to New Zealand and back, journey changed Wave's Alex Steinwascher This time the Sockers came out with intensity and precision. The Sockers beat the Wave at “Jerry Ball,” scoring their first goal less than five minutes into the game by picking up a turnover behind Milwaukee goalkeeper Jerry Perez, who had come forward as a sixth attacker.
Sebastian Mendez comfortably put the ball past a sliding Alex Sanchez from the left wing. Although defender Mario Alvarez pulled the Wave even, Drew Ruggles answered with a one-timer on the run 39 seconds later. Then the Sockers quickly pulled away as shots like those that had bounced away harmlessly three nights earlier found the net this time.
Milwaukee finally picked up goals from Max Ludwig and Ian Bennett in the fourth quarter, but Mendez capped his hat trick and made the score 8-3 with less than six minutes left to play, ending any dream of a rally. So after coming back to win their first two playoff series to advance, the Wave fell one game short in a finals series between the two teams with which first-year head coach Marcio Leite had won championships as a player. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Wave falls to San Diego Sockers in MASL championship match