The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) this week announced the Week 3 Players of
the Week winners, with the Sockers‘ Charlie Gonzalez among them.
Gonzalez, in Tacoma on Dec. 9, had three goals and two assists, including the game winner to lead San Diego to a 9-6 victory. The season may be new – the Sockers are 2-0 – but the midfielder finds himself on the leaderboard in almost every category, including third in points-per-game average alongside teammates Kraig Chiles and Gabriel Costa.
The Sockers have a quick weekend turnaround – they traveled Saturday to Dallas where they won 8-7 – then return to Pechanga Arena at 6:05 p.m. Sunday to host the Empire Strykers.
A highlight of the home match will be the debut of Mexican star Marco Fabián as an opponent in San Diego.
Recently signed by the Strykers, Fabián made his indoor soccer bow in Ontario on Friday, a 7-5 loss, and will play his first road match with Empire on Sunday.
“We are excited to see international stars like Marco Fabián in our league,” said Sockers head coach/owner Phil Salvagio, “We hope all of San Diego and Tijuana will take this opportunity to come out and see Fabian for the first time playing indoor.”
Fabián, capped 43 times by Mexico, played in both the 2014 and the 2018 FIFA World Cups. In the early stages of his professional career, the attacker impressed at the 2012 Olympics in London, as his five goals helped El Tri claim the gold medal.
At the club level, Fabián reached legendary status with Chivas de Guadalajara from 2007-15, suiting up nearly 200 times. Other career stops included German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt and Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union as well as three more Mexican first division teams, Cruz Azul (on loan from Chivas), FC Juárez and Mazatlán FC.
Update 8:10 p.m. Dec. 16, 2023
