Splash May Start Playoffs Without Services of Castro

As expected, the Splash will begin its quest for the Continental Indoor Soccer League championship with a home game on Friday, but the status of forward Rod Castro remained unclear.

Castro was injured early in the first quarter of Sunday’s victory over Dallas when he became entangled with defender Rusty Troy. He returned to the field for another shift, but lasted only a few seconds. He went to Chapman Medical Center late Sunday, and was told Monday that X-rays revealed his left foot was not broken.

However, Castro spent Monday on crutches and avoided putting any weight the foot. “The way the foot is right now, I think it would be doubtful that I could play this weekend,” Castro said. “But whenever we get to the next round, I think I would be ready by then.”

The Splash will open its best-of-three series against San Diego at The Pond Friday at 7:35 p.m. Game 2 will be played at the San Diego Sports Arena at 6:05 p.m. Sunday. If a third game is necessary, it will be played Tuesday at The Pond (7:35 p.m.).

The Splash and San Diego both finished 17-11--tied with Mexico--but by virtue of tiebreakers, the Splash got first place and the Sockers got third. The Splash, which won three of four regular-season meetings against San Diego, is the third-seeded team; the Sockers are sixth.

The winner of the Splash-Sockers series plays the Sacramento-San Jose winner, which begins Thursday in Sacramento.