Local look: Sockers will host MASL Western Conference final game (or 2) on Sunday

The San Diego Sockers are once again in the hunt for an indoor soccer championship.

The pursuit for a 17th title continues Thursday night with Game 1 of the MASL Western Conference finals at the Chihuahua Savage.

They’ll return home to Pechanga Arena on Sunday for Game 2 — and an if-needed knockout game.

The Sockers (18-6, 2-1 playoffs) and Savage (16-7-1, 2-1 playoffs) are certainly familiar with one another.

The rivals are meeting in the West finals for the third consecutive year. The Sockers won in 2022 en route to capturing the Ron Newman Cup and the Savage returned the favor last spring and went on to raise the championship trophy.

The teams met three times during the recently completed regular season. Chihuahua won all three times — twice at Pechanga and once in Mexico — by a total score of 18-11.

The Savage allowed an MASL-low 103 goals during the regular season and the Sockers will be locked in on trying to stop Carlos Hernandez, who scored in each of the three regular-season meetings.

The Savage defense is anchored by goalkeeper Diego Reynoso, who went 14-2-1 with a league-best 3.31 goals-against average and finished second with a .750 save percentage.

The Sockers will counter with a balanced offensive attack led by Brandon Escoto (29 goals), Tavoy Morgan (26 goals) and Kraig Chiles (24 goals).

Veteran keeper Boris Pardo was sharp in the first-round series win over Texas and will need to be on his game in order for the Sockers to advance.

The winner of the best-of-three series will face the winner of the East finals, which pits the Milwaukee Wave against the Kansas City Comets.

Sockers fans can gather for a Game 1 watch party at CaliFino Sub-Limit Lounge in Carlsbad.

Seals close regular season at home

The San Diego Seals (12-5) conclude their regular season by hosting Vancouver on Friday night at Pechanga Arena for “Fan Appreciation Night.”

San Diego’s pro lacrosse team is coming off a 13-8 loss at Saskatoon, but is already locked into the No. 2 seed for the opening round of the NLL playoffs.

The Seals will host a game on April 27. Should they advance, the Seals would also host Game 1 of a quarterfinal round best-of-three series on the weekend of May 3-5.

Mojo continue road swing

The San Diego Mojo (7-8) have won three of their last four matches heading into Saturday afternoon’s match at Omaha (11-6).

The Mojo are coming off a pair of five-set road victories at Columbus, Ohio, and Orlando, Fla.

Setter Nootsara Tomkom was named Pro Volleyball Federation Player of the Week after posting 122 assists in three matches.

Strike Force off to strong start

The San Diego Strike Force (3-0) will try to remain unbeaten on Saturday when they visit the Bay Area Panthers (3-0) at 6:05 p.m. San Diego and Bay Area are two of five unbeaten teams in the 16-team IFL.

The Strike Force are averaging a league-high 52 points per game and rank second to Massachusetts with 23 touchdowns scored.

Legion back at Snapdragon

The San Diego Legion (5-1) will look for their sixth straight victory on Sunday when they host the Utah Warriors (2-4) in a 3 p.m. match at Snapdragon Stadium.

The Legion are coming off a come-from-behind 33-20 victory over NOLA Gold on Sunday. They’re 11-0 all time at Snapdragon.

Left wing Tomas Aoake and tighthead prop Darcy Breen were named to the MLF First XV for their performances in the win over NOLA.

Gulls winding down season

The San Diego Gulls (25-34-9-1, 60 points) played at Colorado late Wednesday. They’ll conclude their season with a home-and-home set against Coachella Valley on Friday and Saturday.