Sockers head coach Phil Salvagio sprays champagne on fans.

^{Photo by Dan McLellan}

The San Diego Sockers defeated La Raza de Guadalajara, 9-8, capturing the North American Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL) Championship.

The last few seconds fell off the clock, and a dream return season was complete. Everyone associated with the San Diego Sockers—fans and players—rushed to the center of the field at the Del Mar Arena and embraced in a lengthy, joyful celebration.

Typically in sports, when celebrating a championship, the cool spray of victory champagne explodes in a locker room, away from the fans. This was not the case for the San Diego Sockers. Players, coaches, fans and even little kids had bubbly dripping off them as the party raged on at center field.

It was the second night in a row that the Sockers had won a nail-biting playoff game by just one goal. Both games were full of action with hotly contested penalty calls.

In the semifinal match, the Sockers defeated the Sidekicks del Estado de Mexico, 6-5. With just over 50 seconds remaining in the game, the Sidekicks tied the game at 5-5. Sitting in the stands was La Raza, having defeated the California Cougars in the earlier semifinal. La Raza players began shouting, “Mexico! Mexico!” in hopes of encouraging a Mexico vs. Mexico finals match.

Then, with less than 20 seconds to go in regulation, a penalty was called on the Sidekicks, giving the Sockers a free kick on goal.

The Sidekicks bench erupted in frustration, and play was stopped for several minutes as the referees attempted to restrain the Sidekicks players and coaches. The scuffling got so bad that one referee decided to stand outside of the arena until cooler heads prevailed.

Eventually, play resumed, and the Sockers scored what would be the game-winning goal. Once again, the Sidekicks bench erupted in anger, and the game had to be paused for several minutes before the last 12 seconds could be played.

Paul Wright, Scott Martin, Aaron Susi and Dan Antoniuk celebrate.

^{Photo by Dan McLellan}

After the game, the Sidekicks players and coaches continued to attempt to pick fights. Sockers’ assistant coach Ray Taila was sucker punched by a Sidekicks coach as he attempted to break up the scuffling.

Emotions settled, and the two teams reluctantly shared courtesy hugs.

With the victory in hand, the Sockers Seventh Man Crew chanted, “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”

For the championship game, the referees wanted to avoid a repeat of the previous night’s extra-curricular activities. The strategy was clear: Make the players play a clean game by calling a blue card penalty on anything that looked possibly flagrant.

This worked out well for the Sockers who built up a 5-1 lead after the first quarter with the benefit of three power-play goals. Two of these goals were scored by Kraig Chiles. Chiles would finish with four goals on the night.

After being penalized, La Raza reacted similarly to the Sidekicks. However, it seemed to became apparent to them that their best chance of winning was to play a cleaner game.

In the second half, La Raza slowly but surely crept back into the game. With just over eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, they narrowed the gap to just one goal.

The Sockers defense stiffened, and with just over a minute to go in the game, La Raza received another blue-card penalty, giving the Sockers a one-man advantage to control the ball and safely run out the remainder of the clock.

Sockers players and fans celebrate a PASL championship together.

^{Photo by Dan McLellan}

“Wow! What a game!” says San Diego Sockers star Paul Wright. “It was never a definite thing. It was never a guarantee. We worked so hard for this. Yeah, we deserve this!”

At age 40, Wright is one of the older players in professional sports to celebrate a championship.

Then again, at 41, Wright’s teammate Sean Bowers has him beat. “Oh my God! It is unbelievable, man!” Bowers says. “Next year, I am going to be watching from the stands, so it is a good way to go out.”

Bowers and Wright are just two of the Sockers veteran leaders. Others born in the 1970s include David Beltran, Braeden Cloutier, Nate Hetherington, Tim Edwards, Anthony Medina, Aaron Susi, and Riley Swift.

“We had a bunch of old guys,” says head coach Phil Salvagio. “But they know how to play.” Salvagio also mixed in younger players to create a great team dynamic of youthful enthusiasm with a veteran leader who knows how to win. It is this mix that, according to Wright, created "the heart of a champion."

Susi believed early on that the Sockers could be champions. “I played against all of them my whole life, living in San Diego," he says. "I think the mix of veterans with all of the young guys was amazing, and our high hopes came true.”

Bowers believes: “There are so many good players on this team. It is going to be a dynasty.”

The return of Chiles next year would give the Sockers a great chance at repeating and building that dynasty. Chiles led the league in scoring, and it would not be surprising if he is once again courted by Major League Soccer. Chiles indicated after the game that a lot of guys in his situation likely would go, but he thinks he will stay. Why? “I love San Diego,” says Chiles.

Another factor in turning this championship team into a dynasty is the continued growth of the Sockers fan base. This year, the fans were a large component of the Sockers success, and they helped make a difference in several close games. The fans created a hostile environment for visiting teams, giving the Sockers a true home-field advantage. The team went undefeated at home.

“The fans are our seventh man,” says Susi. “You can see by the reception on the field that they love us, and they are glad that we are back in town!”