SEASON ENDS ON 6-5 OVERTIME LOSS TO SOCKERS
ONTARIO, CA. – The Stars’ (0-2) 2021 season ended on the second of back-to-back overtime loses to the San Diego Sockers (2-0) by a 6-5 final at Toyota Arena. With the win, the Sockers will advance to the Semi-Finals in Independence Missouri next week.
The Stars started the scoring with the first two goals of the game. Willie Spurr converted on a Philip Lund assist to give Tacoma a 1-0 lead with 7:53 left in the 1st. Following a straight red card to San Diego’s Kraig Chiles for violent contact, Alex Caceres picked up a power play goal to make it 2-0 with 3:26 on the clock in the opening quarter.
San Diego netted their first goal, also on the power play on the first of three straight markers by Hiram Ruiz, the second and third goals coming just 18 seconds apart and gave the Sockers a 3-2 halftime lead.
Neither team would score in the 3rd quarter but that was not a preview of what was to come in the 4th. Nick Perera got an assist from Spurr to draw the Stars even with 11:33 left.
The Sockers knocked in goals 26 seconds apart from Marcio Leite and Brandon Escoto to build a two-goal lead at 5-3 with 6:26 on the clock. It was sixth attacker time for Tacoma.
The Stars had seven goals with the sixth attacker coming into the game, a league high. They added two more to that total beginning with Vini Dantas with 3:28 to go.
Trailing by one with less than 10 seconds to go, the Stars had a restart at the top of the arc. Pablo Da Silva slid a pass to Mike Ramos low on the left side and he ripped it past William Vanzela to tie the game 5-5 with five seconds to go. For the second consecutive game, the Stars and Sockers were going to overtime.
The extra period this time would last just 41 seconds as Escoto connected with Christian Gutierrez for the game-winner in overtime.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st – TAC Spurr (Lund) 7:07: TAC Caceres (Ramos) PP 11:34; SD Ruiz (Escoto) PP 13:30. Penalties – SD Chiles red card (violent contact) 10:27; TAC Perera yellow card (dissent) 10:27; TAC Bench blue card (too many men) 12:30.
2nd – SD Ruiz (Leite) 11:23; SD Ruiz (Farber) 11:43. Penalties – None.
3rd – None. Penalties – TAC Dos Santos blue card (holding) 8:46.
4th – TAC Perera (Spurr) 3:27; SD Leite (Farber) 8:08; SD Escoto (Vanzela) 8:34; TAC Dantas (Cox) 11:32; TAC Ramos (Da Silva) 14:54. Penalties – None.
OT – SD Gutierrez (Escoto) 0:41. Penalties – None.
Shots – Tacoma 7-6-6-7-1 (27), San Diego 7-8-6-6-1 (28)
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