Victor Parreiras scored a second-half hat trick – helping break open a 1-1 game at intermission – as the Florida Tropics rolled to a franchise-best eighth straight win in downing the San Diego Sockers 8-5 Saturday night.
The Tropics improved to 13-1, best in the Eastern Conference, while San Diego fell to 11-4, second in the Major Arena Soccer League’s west.
Matt Clare added two goals, while Gordy Gurson – who had two pretty assists on both Clare goals – added a goal of his own. Anthony Arico and Drew Ruggles added the other Florida goals.
The Tropics best penalty-kill unit in the league played a large role as well, killing three San Diego man advantage chances in the first half.
The Sockers, who got three sixth-attacker goals to make it respectable in the end after falling down 8-2, got two goals from Cesar Cerda, and singletons from Brandon Escoto, Hiram Ruiz and Taylor Walter Bond. It was the Sockers fourth game in six nights, and the end of a six-game road trip for San Diego.
Hugo Silva remained perfect in goal, improving to 8-0. He came into the game as the goals-against average leader in the league. Parreiras, with his three goals, now is two points away from becoming the Tropics all-time leading scorer with 97 points, one behind Ricardo Diegues who played three years with Florida before signing this past offseason with Utica.
Florida will stay home to host Rochester next Saturday, Feb. 15, before traveling to Milwaukee to take on the defending league champion Wave Sunday, Feb. 16. The game against the Lancers will be televised live on WTTA-TV Great 38 in Tampa, and both games will be live at www.masl.tv. For ticket information, visit fltropics.com, or call 863-240-0101.