Stars Fall To Sockers On The Road, 9-3

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The Tacoma Stars (9-6) dropped their third straight match on Friday night at the Valley View Casino Center, a 9-3 decision against the division-leading San Diego Sockers (10-4).

Defenders Chase Hanson and Troy Peterson, along with forward Nick Cashmere, scored goals to power the Tacoma offense. Goalkeeper Danny Waltman contributed 12 saves on 21 shots across 60 minutes in net.

The Stars jumped out to a 1-0 lead late in the first quarter, but were ultimately sunk by a string of seven unanswered goals scored by the Sockers over the second, third, and fourth periods.

After fourteen minutes of balanced, quiet play, Peterson struck for the first goal of the night, giving Tacoma the 1-0 lead near the end of the first quarter.

However, San Diego’s Kraig Chiles would go on to log an equalizer just under a minute into the second quarter, knotting the match up at 1-1. Two more Sockers goal in the period would send the match to halftime with San Diego holding a 3-1 edge.

Similar to the opening quarter, the only goal of the third frame came in the final minutes when San Diego’s Matt Clare banged in his first score of the night to extend the Sockers advantage to 4-1.

The fourth and final quarter featured a slew of seven total goals, including a pair for Tacoma off the feet of Chase Hanson and Nick Cashmere. Ultimately, an empty-net goal for San Diego in the final seconds of the match created the final margin of 9-3 in favor of the Sockers.

The victory stretched the Sockers lead in the Major Arena Soccer League Pacific Division out to one and a half games with 25 percent of the regular season left to play.

Next up for Tacoma is a trip to Dallas to take on the Sidekicks tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 4 with a first kick scheduled for 5:05 p.m. PT.

 Single game tickets, season ticket packages, group outings, family packs, and suite offerings for the Tacoma Stars 2016-17 season are available now. To purchase, call 1-844-STARS-TIME or visit the Stars online at www.tacomastars.com. The most up-to-date news and notes about the Stars can be found by following the Stars on Twitter (@TacomaStarsSC) or liking the team on Facebook.