Who says San Diego is not a sports championship town?
Those who do might want to think again.
There is one franchise that stands amid the elite in professional sports. No it's not the Chargers or Padres.
The San Diego Sockers brought back another title back home Saturday.
This time it was the club's second-straight North American Championship of the Premier Arena Soccer-Pro championship and the franchise's 12th overall indoor soccer title.
The Sockers celebrated in a locker room soaked with splashed champagne and beer after a 10-6 win against Guerreros de La Raza Guadalajara at Cincinnati Gardens. It was the second night in a row the Sockers produced a win. San Diego beat
Mexico City Sidekicks 7-3 Friday night.
Saturday's match was a rematch of last year's championship game won by the Sockers 9-8 at the Del Mar Arena. In that match, Guadalajara fell apart, losing composure while falling behind 6-1 before putting together a comeback that fell short.
This year, it was a close match early on with San Diego leading 5-4 at the half before Guadalajara couldn't keep up with San Diego's explosive offense.
An offense led by striker Kraig Chiles, who scored four times against Guadalajara, giving him five for the tournament. That helped earn Chiles the Playoff MVP award. Chiles also led the league in scoring with 33 goals.
John Krause added two goals for the Sockers while playing a stifling style of defense that helped lead to several steals.
The game became a bit physical as Guadalajara players began to show some signs of desperation. Sockers players said they were recipients of cheap shots and vulgar language as the game winded down.
But that didn't matter. The Sockers were in a celebratory mood.
A video on local sports news web page showed coach Phil Salvagio, and General Manager and local sports talk radio personality John Kentera, dancing on a platform in the locker room.
"I have been involved in sports since I was eight years old," Kentera said. "I have been apart of a lot of championships, CIF championships, College conference championships, state championships and I have never gotten a ring. I can't tell you how much this means to me."
And there is a chance Kentera and the Sockers could rake in another championship and yet break into celebration again.
The team is not done playing.
San Diego host the Cincinnati Kings in the US Open Final at Del Mar Arena March 19.
