Sockers coach Phil Salvagio.

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“At home, I don’t think anyone is going to beat us—we are that strong,” says San Diego Sockers head coach Phil Salvagio.

“I don’t really see us losing here, to tell you the truth,” echoes team- and league-leading scorer Kraig Chiles.

Those opinions came after the Sockers 14-7 victory over the Texas Outlaws. The win brings the Sockers overall record to 10-1 in the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL). Six of those wins have come at home in the Del Mar Arena where they are undefeated.

The Outlaws led the Sockers 2-1 after the first quarter. Then, in typical Sockers fashion, they quickly piled on the goals, scoring seven times in the second quarter. As usual, several players got into the scoring action, including hat tricks from Chiky Luna and Chiles. Defender Sean Bowers had a goal and two assists.

“I think that it's more of a concentration level,” says Bowers, in regard to the slow start on the game. “It actually takes us some time to warm up and start playing. This is something that we have tried to conquer during the season...We can get better. We need to sharpen up a little, myself included.”

Despite needing to improve in some areas, Salvagio says the win was beneficial. “It is a playoff situation for us," he says. "We needed that win to keep that advantage.”

It was a playoff situation for the Sockers because they recently lost their first game of the season to Calgary United, 6-4. The loss moved the California Cougars, the defending PASL champions, closer to the Sockers in the Western Division.

It would be easy to place the blame for the loss to Calgary on Canadian Customs officials. They held the Sockers up for several hours at the airport, preventing the team from arriving at the arena until just shortly before the start of the game.

Salvagio takes responsibility for the loss, though. “The first loss was actually my fault," he says. "I didn’t have the guys prepared. I didn’t know Calgary that well. We traveled the same day. We had heavy legs...We will not lose to them again.”

Was the first loss helpful to the team in a way? Perhaps, says Chiles. “We can stop talking about being undefeated and start talking about going to the playoffs and making an impact,” he says.

The win over the Outlaws extended the Sockers lead over the Cougars to 2 and a half games. The Sockers' next two games (January 28 and February 13) are on the road in Stockton to take on the Cougars. The previous two times the teams played, the Sockers were at home and won in overtime.

Following the two games in Stockton, the Sockers will have another tough road game win when they take on Revolucion Tijuana in Tijuana (February 19). The Sockers then come home to finish out the regular season against Revolucion Tijuana and the Edmonton Drillers (February 26 and 27).