Legends miss out on upset

The Legends only trailed for 2.2 seconds Friday night at Orleans Arena. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, they were the final 2.2 seconds.

After calling timeout with 6.1 seconds to play and pulling their goalie for a sixth attacker, the San Diego Sockers scored what amounted to a miracle tiebreaking goal with 2.2 seconds left to stun the Legends, 6-5, and extend their United States' professional team sports record winning streak to 47 games.

Diego Rovira crossed the ball from beyond midfield to the corner, where Kraig Chiles backheeled it off the boards and into the air in front of the goal. A leaping Brian Farber then headed the ball into the back of the net for the winner.

"We had them against the ropes, but they delivered a knockout blow in the 12th round," Las Vegas coach Greg Howes said. "We really put a lot of emphasis on this game, but they've got that winning streak for a reason. They're a good veteran team.

"Their coach called a good timeout to get a sixth attacker on and they executed it."

Eric Guzman and Felipe Gonzales scored two goals apiece, and Ricardinho had three assists for the Legends, who led 5-3 midway through the third quarter before San Diego rallied.

After Josh Copeland's attempt to clear the ball sailed out of bounds, Chiky Luna scored on the ensuing free kick to make it a 5-4 game with 6:23 left in the third.

The Sockers tied it 5-5 with 2:03 left in the third quarter, when Chiles, the reigning Professional Arena Soccer League Most Valuable Player, took a pass in stride and beat Las Vegas goalkeeper Zeke Sanchez, who made several stellar saves down the stretch.

The expansion Legends sprinted to a 4-1 lead against the three-time defending PASL champion Sockers and led 4-2 at halftime, limiting San Diego to a season low for goals in the first half.

Eric Guzman, a local product who graduated from Cheyenne High School in 2011, scored on a blast with 9:48 left in the first quarter to give the Legends a 1-0 lead.

San Diego tied it 11 seconds later on a left-footed shot by Raymundo Reza.

The speedy Guzman struck again with 8:58 left to put Las Vegas ahead 2-1 and the Legends extended their edge to 4-1 by converting a pair of power-play goals in a span of 62 seconds bridging the end of the first quarter and start of the second.

Gonzales buried a rebound of a blast by Ricardinho to make it 3-1 with 42 seconds left in the opening frame after Eduardo Velez incurred a blue card for elbowing Ricardinho into the boards.

Emmanuel Ayim made it 4-1 with 14:40 left in the second quarter when he took a pass on the boards, dribbled into the center of the field and beat Riley Swift.

Las Vegas killed a man disadvantage after Berto Garcia received a blue card for the Legends' sixth foul, but Aaron Susi scored for San Diego shortly thereafter, on a 2-on-1 with 6:16 left to make the score 4-2.

The Sockers struck quickly in the second half, when Farber (two goals, two assists) buried a centering pass 28 seconds into the third quarter to close the gap to 4-3.

Gonzales scored off a feed from Ricardinho at the 9:55 mark to give the Legends a 5-3 edge.

Las Vegas (10-2), which saw its nine-game win streak end, hopes to get another crack at the Sockers (10-0) in the playoffs.

"We've got to learn from our mistakes and hopefully we'll see them in the championship," Guzman said. "It's a good start for us in our first year. I'm pretty sure we were their hardest game of the season, probably out of the 47 games."

■ NOTE - The Legends dedicated the game to Allison Wyatt, a 6-year-old who was one of the victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in Newtown, Conn. Wyatt is the oldest daughter of Ben Wyatt, vice president of TransAct Technologies Inc., which has offices in Las Vegas. The Legends will donate a portion of the proceeds from the game to the Allison Wyatt Memorial Fund.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.