San Diego Sockers are an American professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

franchise playing in the Western Division of the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

, representing the

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

area since 2009. The Sockers first played home games at Chevrolet Del Mar Arena at the

Del Mar Fairgrounds The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundi ...

adjacent to the

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundi ...

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the ...

. They moved to

Pechanga Arena Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer and ...

, the original home of the MISL Sockers, for the 2012–2013 season. The Sockers plan on moving into

Frontwave Arena Frontwave Arena is a multi-purpose 7,600 seat indoor arena under construction in Oceanside, California. The arena, projected to open in summer 2024, will be the new home of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)'s San Diego Sockers. The arena will ...

, a 7,600 multi-purpose indoor sports arena in Oceanside, CA once it opens. The projected opening date is in the first quarter of 2024. The Sockers hold the record for the longest winning streak in United States professional soccer history. The streak, which began on December 29, 2010, was snapped after 48 games by a 6–5 overtime road loss to the Dallas Sidekicks on January 27, 2013.

History

1978–1996

The team began as the

Baltimore Comets The Baltimore Comets were a professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1974, the Comets were an expansion team that played two seasons in the North American Soccer League. The team originally played its home matches a ...

in 1974 but moved to San Diego as the

San Diego Jaws The San Diego Jaws were a professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, playing their home games at the Aztec Bowl on the campus of San Diego State University. Founded in 1976, the team was a member of the North American Soccer Leag ...

in 1976. After a one-year stay in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

as the

Las Vegas Quicksilvers The Las Vegas Quicksilvers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1977 season. The team was based in Las Vegas, Nevada and played their home games at Las Vegas Stadium. After the 19 ...

, the team returned as the San Diego Sockers in 1978. They were owned by Bob Bell and played their indoor games at the

San Diego Sports Arena Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer and ...

. Initially, victories came slowly for the club but mounted quickly and they experienced moderate success over their outdoor history winning several division titles. However, the San Diego Sockers won the North American Soccer League (NASL) Indoor Championships of 1981–82 and 1983–84. Success was far from over for the San Diego Sockers. When the NASL folded, the San Diego Sockers moved to the Major Indoor Soccer League and won eight championships: 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992. The Sockers carried their success from one league to the next. They switched to the Continental Indoor Soccer League for three more years from 1993 to 1995. However, after several ownership changes, Sockers folded after the 1996 season.

2001–2004

The second version of the San Diego Sockers were a team in the new Major Indoor Soccer League. The team began play in the World Indoor Soccer League in 2001, and joined the MISL when it merged with the WISL for the 2002–2003 season. Just before the beginning of the 2004–2005 season, the Sockers were sold to Raj Kalra, owner of the Vancouver Ravens of the National Lacrosse League. However, barely two months after the purchase, it was revealed that Kalra had not paid the Sockers' players, staff, or rent since taking over, and the league voted to discontinue the franchise on December 30, 2004.

2009–present

The Sockers were founded in 2009 by David Pike, Carl Savoia and Phil Salvagio. This was the second attempt to revive the Sockers name. The first team played in the NASL, original

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

, and CISL. The first revival attempt to play in the WISL and second

. The Sockers have enjoyed a significant amount of success since they began play having won both the PASL-Pro championship and US Open Cup of Arena Soccer in their first four seasons. In January 2019, former

USMNT The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

player Landon Donovan joined the Sockers in the

Colors and badge

At their inception the Sockers featured a color scheme primarily consisting of the royal blue, white, and yellow colors often used by the previous Sockers teams and utilized a modified version of their immediate predecessor's logo. For the 2011 season the team modified their uniforms dropping the yellow in favor of a smaller amount of gold. Their logo also changed to a new shield logo that corresponded to their new uniforms that utilized the 1978 founding date of the original Sockers franchise which the team claims ties to as well as stars representing the 14 titles won by the combined Sockers franchises.

Arena

* Chevrolet Del Mar Arena (2009–2012) *

Pechanga Arena San Diego Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer a ...

(2012–present) *

(from 2024)

Personnel

''As of January 21, 2022.''

Active players

Inactive players

Staff

''As of January 21, 2022.'' *Head Coach: Phil Salvagio (2009–present) *Assistant Coach: Rene Ortiz *Assistant Coach: Chiky Luna *Goalkeeper Coach: Victor Melendez *Athletic Trainer: Paul Savage *General Manager: Sean Bowers (2016–present) *Owners: David Pike and Carl Savoia (2009–present)

Honors

*2009–10, 2010–11 PASL-PRO Western Division Champions *2011–12 PASL Western Division Champions *2012–13 PASL Pacific Division Champions *2014–15 MASL Pacific Division Regular Season Champions *2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 MASL Pacific Division Champions *2021–22 MASL West Division Champions *2009–10, 2010–11 PASL-PRO Champions *2011–12, 2012–13 PASL Champions *2021, 2022 MASL Ron Newman Cup Champions *2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 U.S. Open Cup of Arena Soccer Champions *2012 FIFRA Club Champions

Year-by-year

* The Sockers had no home games due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Playoff record

* The Sockers had no home games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:San Diego Sockers (2009-) 2009 establishments in California Association football clubs established in 2009 Indoor soccer clubs in the United States Major Arena Soccer League teams Professional Arena Soccer League teams Soccer clubs in California