 
Kings Leave Lightning in the Dust, Calgary and Edmonton Just Getting Warmed Up1/5/11 - Coming into the season the two top teams in each division were also geographic rivals. The San Diego Sockers and California Cougars in the Western Division and the Cincinnati Kings and Louisville Lightning in the Eastern Division.
Two months into the season, however, the Cougars (1-6) and Lightning (1-5) are buried in last place and the Sockers (6-2) and Kings (7-1) are out of reach and the sexy new rivalry people are talking about is San Diego-Cincinnati. The Kings didn't have an easy game on New Year's Day, but they defeated the Lightning 11-9 before a franchise record 1,387 to extend their lead over Louisville to five games.
After Cincinnati beat San Diego 5-4 on December 18 all the buzz has centered on their January 8 rematch in San Diego. The teams never met before this season, but Saturday's game could possibly be their second meeting of four on the season. They could end up meeting again in the US Open final and the PASL-Pro playoffs.
Meanwhile, one rivalry that never eases up -- in any sport -- is Edmonton and Calgary. These two teams met up in the CMISL season opener on Christmas Eve and Calgary, the defending CMISL champion, raced out to a 6-1 lead and then held on for a 7-6 win in their home opener.
Player of the Week
Sam Fiore, Cincinnati Kings
USNAST midfielder/forward Sam Fiore had the arena soccer version of a double-double with three goals and three assists in Cincinnati's 11-9 win over Louisville. Fiore also got credit for the eventual game-winning goal with his late third quarter marker. Fiore, 30, is in his third year with the Kings and now has 15 points in eight games this season. Last year he had 22 points in 10 games.
Kick Starters - Conversations you should be having about the PASL-Pro
Down to the Wire Edmonton and Calgary are nip and tuck. The Drillers won the 2008/09 CMISL title by sweeping Calgary in five games by a total of five goals. Last year Calgary got their revenge and took the CMISL crown. The teams have played 9 times the last three years and eight of those games have been decided by one goal.
Cincinnati-San Diego II
Like two heavyweights the Kings and Sockers will meet again, but for the first time in San Diego where the Sockers are 11-0 all-time. The Kings won the first meeting and have since improved to 20-0 at home all-time. Overall the Sockers are 19-5 in the regular season and Cincinnati is 32-8.
Sockers Advance in US Open
The Sockers were reeling after back-to-back losses to Cincinnati and California and found themselves tied 4-4 against their own developmental team in their US Open Round of 16 game against the PASL-Premier San Diego Fusion. Paul Wright put the Sockers back on top and they held on for a 7-5 win to advance to the quarterfinals where they will face the Las Vegas Knights, a team the Sockers manhandled 15-2 last year.
Endless Action
The PASL-Pro statistics office will get a rigorous workout this weekend when the league hosts a record 12 games. Amongst the games are 11 regular season games and one US Open Quarterfinal with Louisville hosting upstart AAFC.
The Week Ahead
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| Eastern Division | | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road | | Cincinnati Kings | | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0.875 | ----- | 66 | 45 | 4-0 | 3-1 | | Detroit Waza | | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 | 2.0 | 42 | 40 | 3-0 | 1-2 | | Ohio Vortex | | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | 3.5 | 49 | 59 | 2-2 | 0-2 | | Louisville Lightning | | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0.167 | 5.0 | 43 | 51 | 0-3 | 1-2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Western Division | | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road | | San Diego Sockers | | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0.750 | ----- | 65 | 47 | 3-0 | 3-2 | | Tacoma Stars | | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 2.0 | 37 | 34 | 3-0 | 0-2 | | Revolucion Tijuana | | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 2.0 | 50 | 40 | 2-2 | 1-0 | | California Cougars | | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0.143 | 4.5 | 47 | 69 | 1-2 | 0-4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Frontier Division | | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road | | Kitsap Pumas | | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | ----- | 45 | 27 | 3-0 | 1-1 | | Illinois Piasa | | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 | 1.5 | 33 | 32 | 1-0 | 1-2 | | Wenatchee Fire | | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 | 2.5 | 19 | 39 | 1-1 | 0-2 | | Springfield Demize | | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 2.5 | 10 | 19 | 0-1 | 0-1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | CMISL | | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road | | Calgary United | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ----- | 7 | 6 | 1-0 | 0-0 | | Winnipeg Alliance | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | | Edmonton Drillers | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 1.0 | 6 | 7 | 0-0 | 0-1 |
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