WAVE DOMINATE GAME TWO; CHAMPION TO BE DECIDED BY FINAL GAME IN SAN DIEGO.

By Henry Amini.

MILWAUKEE, WI - The temperature is rising as the Ron Newman Cup Finals marches ever closer to its ultimate conclusion. 

Game 2 Final Score: Milwaukee Wave 7, San Diego Sockers 2.
BOXSCORE | GAMESHEET | REPLAY AVAILABLE 24-HOURS AFTER CBS SPORTS TELECAST on MASLtv on YouTube.

The first game of the series was an energetic anomaly. Tempered flared on both sides and the Sockers quieted a boisterous Milwaukee Wave crowd in a one goal victory. 

The two teams made their way to Frontwave Arena in Oceanside California for game two of the best of three series. 

From the opening kick, the Wave controlled the game with their chances; creating eight more shots on dominant possession throughout the first quarter. Chris Toth played a remarkable period and Milwaukee’s clinical focus in front of goal hadn’t fully made its presence felt. The period fought to a 0-0 stalemate. 

The Sockers were reluctant to be defeated, aiming for their championship to be won in just two games, and made things interesting in the second quarter. Ben Ramin, once a member of the Milwaukee Wave, led off scoring for the game, marking his first goal of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) season and his first career goal in the finals. Sean Callahan scored a particularly nice goal inside of the box and the Milwaukee Wave found themselves in a predicament fighting from down 0-2 with their backs against the wall in the series. 

“I thought we played well and we were very unfortunate to be down because I thought we were creating a lot of chances, but our final pass, our final shot was kind of similar to the first game. We weren't hitting the target. We were making bad decisions,” Head Coach Marcio Leite said. The Wave continued to lead in shooting by a margin of 15-5 but, as Leite stated, their final decision making in and around the yellow line wasn’t good enough. 

With just seconds remaining in the first half, Ian Bennett slotted a half volley finish into the near post marking his 51st career playoff goal, the most in MASL history. 

In one of the most challenging angles of the night, Max Ferdinand restated his presence over the MASL playoffs, scoring just ten seconds into the third quarter following Mario Alvarez’s assist and the game was level again at 2-2. Fans must not forget about the striking prowess of golden boot winning Alex “Saucy” Sanchez. He stood over a restart at the top of the arc and found the top corner directly from the kick. 

They have some really, really good players that can create stuff out of nothing but I thought our team effort tonight was fantastic,” Leite said. 

In spectacular arena soccer fashion, Alex Steinwasher played a ball overhead to Cesar Correa, who sent an assist off of the boards to Lucas Nesthus, and the newcomer scored his first career finals goal. 

“Kudos to Jonathan Greenfield, because he worked with those boys and they are very, very well prepared,” Leite said, referring to his team’s special teams defense. The first-year coaching staff under Leite is employed with championship pedigree and 11 championships shared between them. 

With a 4-2 lead and less than two minutes remaining, the Milwaukee Wave were tasked with defending against a sixth attacker, and did so with incredible success. 

Following the clutch save made by Gerardo “Jerry” Perez, Javier Steinwasher scored an empty net goal from his own defensive third. Cesar Correa then iced the game with two more goals in succession with his two defensive bicycle kicks. 

The third game of this Ron Newman Cup championship series will be nothing short of electric and both teams will play to crown the next champion of arena soccer. 

The final game of the MASL postseason is on Monday, April 27 at 9:00pm CST at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California. ###