Mission Bay High School alum and San Diego Sockers team captain Aaron Susi has been an integral part of the three-time defending Premiere Arena Soccer League (PASL) champion Sockers recent success since the franchise returned four years ago. The Sockers defeated the Detroit Waza 8-6 on March 11 to win a fourth straight PASL title and notch a 14th overall title for the Sockers franchise. Susi has been a part of three straight PASL titles. In Susi’s 16 years of professional soccer, he has bounced around the professional ranks with stops in Arizona, St. Louis, Wichita, Philadelphia and Northern California. His career has come full circle after being drafted by the San Diego Sockers in 1997 just before the league folded. The original San Diego Sockers indoor-soccer league franchise was established in 1978, winning 10 of 11 league championships between 1982 and 1992, folding in 1996. The Sockers were briefly revived in 2001 and lasted until 2004, then revived again in 2009 with the current franchise picking up where the original left off, adding three more championships, a 58-6 regular-season record and the longest winning streak in U.S. professional sports — 48 game-winning streak that was snapped on Jan. 27 in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Dallas Sidekicks. The streak had dated back to Dec. 29, 2010. After spending its first three seasons at the Chevrolet Arena in Del Mar, the club moved to the Valley View Sports Arena on Midway Avenue, the home arena of the Sockers in its heyday. Susi’s interest in soccer goes back to his youth, when he was influenced by watching his older brother and his brother’s friend play. He played at the youth level with the Mission Bay Soccer Club before playing four years for the MBHS soccer team,where he was named CIF and Western League Player of the Year in his senior year in 1992, followed by four years with the San Diego State University soccer team. While at SDSU, Susi led the Aztecs in scoring for three consecutive seasons, was a three-time all-conference and two-time All-American. He currently ranks fifth in SDSU history with 78 points. His success has carried over into the pros, as he recorded his 500th point on an assist to teammate Eric Wunderle. In his first four years in the PASL, Susi has 126 points (65 goals, 61 assists) in 50 games. Susi also works as the Sockers’ director of corporate sponsorships. “You have to start planning for retirement,” said Susi. “I’m in the 99th percentile of stepping down after this year.” When asked why he is contemplating retirement despite still playing a high level, he replied, “All the years of running takes a toll. We’ll see as we get closer to that time.”­