3/31/09 - The Professional Arena Soccer League’s first season has come and gone, but in just one year the league filled up the record books and memory banks with some indelible moments.  PASL-Pro games proved to be even more free-flowing and high scoring than anyone could anticipate.

Nothing beats the drama of a high scoring game settled in sudden death and many of these great moments were just those sort of games. 

If we missed any other great moments e-mail us at vonisun@aol.com and we’ll add your comments.  Here’s our Top 10.

10. 10/25/08 - Colorado at Stockton. The Cougars won 10-5, but what made the night special was two things.  One, it was the first game in PASL-Pro history.  Two, was a goal by Colorado with one second left in the game. What was unusual is that it was scored on a penalty kick by Colorado’s goalkeeper Michael Archuleta.  Archuleta would convert another penalty kick later in the season and has the only two goals scored by a goalkeeper in a PASL-Pro game.

9. 2/21/09 - Stockton at Denver.  The Cougars actually needed to rally to beat Denver by the runaway score of 18-12 in the highest scoring game of the season and what is believed to be the second highest scoring game in indoor soccer history.  Denver held a 10-9 lead with 8:03 left in the third quarter, but Stockton went on a 9-2 run from there, including two empty-net goals from speedy Brian Farber.  It was Bernie Lilavois with the record-making night, though, with six goals and three assists.  The game saw 13 penalties, 108 shots, 30 goals and, surprisingly, 54 goalkeeper saves.

8. 1/4/09 - Detroit at West Virginia.  It took the Detroit Waza half a season to get their sea legs in the Pro division, but they got their only road win at the expense of PASL-Premier West Virginia 11-10 in overtime.  Detroit allowed two goals in the final 1:32 including a shorthanded goal by Michael Barbera with 34 seconds left to necessitate overtime.  On the last shot of their last road game of the year they got their first win when Blake Ordell poked in a one-timer to give Waza the win.  Ordell had a breakout game with four goals and two assists.

7. 12/5/08 - Texas at Stockton.  Even though the Cougars lost this game, 10-9 in overtime, many of their fans considered it one of the most entertaining games of the season.  The game was tied eight times and the Cougars had to get some magic from Brian Farber who scored with 2:11 left and :20 left just to get the game to overtime, where Michael Uremovich’s bomb gave Texas a huge upset win, one of three shocking road wins on their season.

6. 1/31/09 - Cincinnati at St. Louis. The top two Eastern Division teams hooked up in a memorable duel at The Game Arena with St. Louis honoring the home fans with a 6-5 overtime victory. The Illusion let a 4-2 lead disintegrate on Jeff Henderson’s tying goal with just 57 seconds left in regulation. But that wasn’t enough to send the game into overtime. Elvir Kafedzic completed a hat trick with 39 seconds left to give St. Louis a 5-4 lead. Cincinnati had one comeback left and Henderson again tied the game with just three seconds left.  It didn’t take long, though, for Roger Gemoules to end the suspense in sudden death and give the Illusion a big win.  The win only staved off the inevitable and Cincinnati clinched the Eastern Division a few games later

5. 12/28/08 - Denver at Colorado.  The rematch was almost as good as the first game (see #4), but this time Denver prevailed 8-7 in overtime.  This time Denver blew a 3-0 lead and had to rally from 6-4 down in the fourth quarter.  Brian Contreras tied the game with eight seconds left after  Aaron King gave Colorado a 7-6 lead with 1:18 left in the game.  Chris Handsor gave Denver the road win 1:23 into sudden death.

4. 12/6/08 - Colorado at Denver.  Another colossal comeback.  Another high-scoring affair that ended in sudden death.  Colorado took this one on the road against their instate rival and Denver’s biggest crowd of the year, 10-9.  Colorado lost a 5-1 lead only to rally from 9-7 down in the dying minutes of regulation.  Josh Elbaum tied the game with 34 seconds left and James Merriman scored the game-winner in his Lightning debut.  The game also featured 32 penalty minutes and 33 fouls.  It was the first of three straight overtime games between the two teams.

3. 11/30/08 - Wenatchee at Colorado.  It was perhaps the greatest comeback in indoor soccer history and one of the highest scoring games and the highlight of the Lightning season.  Colorado won 15-14 in overtime in a game they trailed by 6 goals in the fourth quarter.  Junior Garcia’s goal at :35 gave the Fire an 11-5 lead in the fourth.  The Lightning would cut that lead to 11-10 only to fall behind 14-10 with 4:24 remaining in regulation.  The Lightning proceeded to score 4 goals in 2:38 and tied the game with 44 seconds remaining.  Luis Dominguez scored at 1:27 to cap the amazing comeback.  Four players scored at least four goals in the game led by Mark Cromie who had the PASL-Pro’s first five-goal game.

2. 2/5/09 - Monterrey at Stockton. The Stockton Cougars were badly outplayed in Monterrey a few days earlier and were served a humiliating 17-3 defeat at Arena Monterrey.  In the return engagement in Stockton the Cougars found themselves trailing 8-2 at halftime. Were the PASL teams outclassed by La Raza of the NISL?  With shades of the Miracle on Ice the Cougars mounted an improbably comeback and even took a brief 11-10 lead in the fourth quarter.  Genoni Martinez tied the game with 3:31 left and won it in overtime on a power play goal at 1:34.  Martinez finished with seven points on three goals and four assists, but the 12-11 loss showed that the PASL could compete with the top level of indoor soccer.

1. 3/14/09 - PASL-Pro Semifinals, Edmonton at Stockton.  The Cougars advanced to the North American Championship with an incredibly tense and intense 10-9 overtime win over the Drillers.  Stockton rallied from several two-goal deficits in a first half marked by a lot of heated discussion and physical confrontations.  The Cougars seemed to have the game won on a Majell Aterado shot at the buzzer at the end of regulation time, but despite a wild celebration the goal was ruled to have not crossed the line before the final horn.  Jesus Molina and Tristan Ilko each stood on their heads to keep their teams in the game, but Ilko couldn’t reach Aaron Susi’s bomb to his upper left that gave the Cougars the win and set off another pile on celebration.

Here’s what you said:

11/09/2008 - San Diego at Stockton. The San Diego Sockers, fielding a team for the first time in nearly four years, play the Stockton Cougars. The Cougars win the game, 6-4. (The Sockers join the PASL-Pro as a full member in 2009-2010.)

--Scott Parker - Hill City, Kansas

1/9/2009 - Colorado at Denver (at Monument, CO)  - The weather was snowy and freezing cold outside but the action was hot inside, as these two clubs met for the third time, this time in the US Arena Open Round of 16.  The game was a defensive battle and close the entire way, the margin was one goal or less the entire time except for a brief 3-1 Colorado lead for about a minute and forty seconds in the 2nd Quarter.  Denver would rally, and with 7:36 left in the 4th a Tony Thomas goal tied the game 4-4 and would send it to overtime.  Less than 3 minutes into the overtime period Chris Handsor had a great individual effort to put the game away, 5-4.  After three meetings between the rivals, all 3 games were decided by one goal in overtime.  This was also the game in which the Mile High Trophy was introduced.  Denver would retain it for the remainder of the season.

3/13/2009 - Honorable Mention:  PASL Finals Weekend - Opening Night Quarterfinals.  In the first match, Edmonton beat La Cabana of Mexico in an exciting 8-7 overtime match, a fitting opening to a great tournament.  In the nightcap, the Denver Dynamite faced Oaxaca in a match that was close in the first half, with Oaxaca leading 3-2 at the break.  Oaxaca exploded to a 10-4 lead in the 3rd Quarter, and Justin Dzuba, Denver’s only goalie on the roster that night injured his ankle.  It was looking pretty bleak for the Dynamite, but Dzuba played through it and the Dynamite mounted a fierce rally only to come up short at the end, 10-9. 

--Josh Pendleton - Denver, Colorado

1/11/2009- In a US Arena Soccer Open Cup match, Majell Aterado scores a goal 12 seconds into the game.