The Sockers' "7th Man" celebrates a Sockers overtime win.

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“What a great atmosphere! They haven’t gone home. They are still here. Normally, it is quiet at this time,” exclaims San Diego Sockers Head Coach Phil Salvagio with an excited, hoarse voice.

Salvagio was remarking about the fans reaction to the Sockers' dramatic overtime victory over the California Cougars. “There is a lot of passion, a lot of emotion!” Salvagio went on, “I can barely talk. I am sweating on a cold night.”

At the beginning of the season, Salvagio stated, “It is about bringing back the '80s.” He was speaking about the Sockers' tremendous connection they had back then to San Diegans and the organization’s efforts to capture a supportive, if not fanatical, fan base.

In the 1980s, the Sockers would frequently sell out the San Diego Sports Arena with boisterous fans. Many came with the sole purpose of intimidating the other team. This earned Sockers fans the nickname of the “7th Man”. With the fan support, it was if the Sockers had an advantage because their fans gave them an extra 7th man on the field.

Now the Sockers have started over as an expansion team of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL), and their venue is the much more intimate Del Mar Arena. The Sockers are striving to recapture that same enthusiastic support that their predecessors enjoyed.

On the field, they are doing everything right. Not only do their uniforms look similar to the 1980s Sockers teams, but early on, it appeared that they may just be the best team in the league.

Coming into Saturday’s game, the Sockers were the only undefeated team in PASL with 7-0 record in league play. The crowds at the new Del Mar Arena have been rather small throughout the season thus far, and the fans have been almost polite in their appreciation of the team’s efforts.

Then on Saturday night, a group of fans wearing gray Sockers shirts with the words “7th Man” on the back took up a nearly a full box of seats on the glass. From the first quarter on, they were as intimidating to the opposing Cougars players as a small group of about 15 could be.

Initially, the rest of the usually laid back Sockers fans viewed this group as a novelty. By the end of the game, this small group had taught the rest in attendance what it truly means to be a Sockers fan.

“It is exciting! We let them back in the game with five seconds left,” explains Sockers star Kraig Chiles of the Cougars whose near last-second goal tied the game at 7-7. “But the fans supported us! They are the 7th Man.”

The Sockers players mob Aaron Susi after game-winning goal.

Copyright©2010 sandiego.com, Inc.

A few minutes into overtime, Aaron Susi lined up to take a corner kick right in front of the 7th Man group. “It definitely gets under the feathers of the other team, and we love having them out there,” Susi expresses after the game.

Susi’s kick was good for the game's winning goal, prompting both the Sockers fans and the players to erupt in celebration. “I think the word is out there that the Sockers are back,” Susi says.

The win was against the defending PASL champions. It was their second overtime win against the Cougars, and it extends the Sockers league record to 8-0. “This gives us a two-game lead,” says Salvagio. “Now we have to play two at their house, so this is a really big win for us.”

In addition to Saturday’s win, the Sockers came right back on Sunday and defeated the Estadio Azteca All Stars 11-5 in the quarterfinals of the United States Open Cup for Arena Soccer. The Open Cup is separate from the regular PASL season. It is a single elimination, season-long tournament that pits the teams of PASL-Pro (professional division) against the teams of PASL-Premier (amateur division).

Following a bye, this was the Sockers second win in Open Cup play, advancing them to the semifinals that will be played sometime in February.

With an overall record of 10-0, the Sockers will now head north to Canada where they will be taking on the Calgary United on Saturday followed by the Edmonton Drillers on Sunday. Both games are at 7 p.m. and can be seen live via a webcast on 619Sports.net.

The Sockers next home game will be on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 6:15 p.m. against the Texas Outlaws.