Tacoma Stars head south for two-game road trip
Published 10:41 am Thursday, February 11, 2016
The Tacoma Stars (11-5) travel south for a pair of divisional matches against the San Diego Sockers (10-6) on Thursday, Feb. 11, and Soles De Sonora (14-2) on Saturday, Feb. 13.
Tacoma is riding a four-game winning streak and is fresh off a 12-5 victory over the St. Louis Ambush on Friday that earned goalkeeper Danny Waltman and defender Adam West Major Arena Soccer League Team of the Week honors.
Waltman recorded 20 saves on 25 shots in the victory, while West contributed one goal and two assists.
Two playoff spots remain available in the Pacific Division, and the Stars magic number to clinch one of those spots is down to three. Any combination of three Tacoma wins or Ontario Fury losses will guarantee the Stars a playoff berth in their first full season in the MASL.
Thursday’s opponent, the San Diego Sockers, are led by forward Craig Chiles, who tops the team and ranks third in the league with 42 points (20 goals, 22 assists). Midfielder Matt Clare has added 20 goals of his own, while forward Nick Perera has notched 10 goals and 12 assists.
Goalkeeper Chris Toth has logged over 880 minutes in goal for the Sockers, recording 206 saves on 293 shots, while allowing an average of 5.89 goals per game.
Sonora leads the Pacific Division by three games and currently boasts the most potent offensive attack in the MASL, having scored a league-leading 181 goals with a goal differential of +75. Sonora forward Franck Tayou’s 52 points (38 goals, 14 assists) leads the MASL, and the club has 10 players with double-digit point totals.
Thursday’s match is scheduled to kick off at 7:05 p.m., while the Saturday match kicks off at 6:05 p.m. Live stats can be found at maslsoccer.com, and a live webcast can be found at golivesportscast.com.
