Toth named MASL Goalkeeper of the Year

The Major Arena Soccer League named 2007 Fallbrook High School graduate Chris Toth as the league's 2019-20 Goalkeeper of the Year.

"It's an honor to be selected to win the award. I thought I had a good year. I thought I had a season also that represents Goalkeeper of the Year, and I'm happy that it was me," Toth said.

Toth played in 18 games for the Ontario Fury during the 2020-2021 season. He allowed 82 goals while making 232 saves. It gave him an average of 4.75 goals allowed per game and a save percentage of .744. One of Toth's victories was by shutout, and his distribution of the ball after completing the defense action gave him five assists for the season. He was also named as the league's goalkeeper of the week for four consecutive weeks.

Toth was also named to the all-MASL first team. The first team also included teammate Franck Tayou, who was named as the league's Most Valuable Player.

"He definitely is deserving," Toth said of Tayou's MVP award. "Franck was outstanding all year."

Tayou played in all 21 of the Fury's games. He scored 47 goals and added 18 assists.

The Fury posted a record of 12-9 before the remainder of the regular season was canceled March 12 due to the coronavirus outbreak. It placed Ontario third in the eight-team Western Division. The club had a 4-8 record before Toth's shutout Feb. 7.

"We knew that we had to pick it up, and he (Tayou) definitely picked it up, and I picked it up and the results followed," Toth said.

It was Toth's third Goalkeeper of the Year award but his first when one of his teammates was the MASL's Most Valuable Player. Toth was with the San Diego Sockers when he won his 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Goalkeeper of the Year awards. Tayou was also the league's MVP for both of those seasons and at the time played for the Soles de Sonora. The 2019-2020 season was Toth's second and Tayou's first with the Fury.

"The two in San Diego were great to win," Toth said. "Winning it outside of San Diego has a little bit more to it."

While Toth credits his teammates for all of his honors, he said that his Goalkeeper of the Year award for Ontario was not based on being with the Sockers.

"It's showing that I can do it somewhere else," he said. "I can still play anywhere."

Toth was traded to the Fury in November 2018. That change allowed both Toth and current Sockers goalkeeper Boris Pardo to play regularly.

"We're both competitors and we always wanted to play and I ended up making the move," Toth said. "I'm happy I did."

The Sockers won their first eight games against the Fury following the trade. The streak ended with a 7-3 Fury victory Feb. 17 in which Toth made 12 saves.

Pardo won the 2018-2019 MASL Goalkeeper of the Year award. Toth was an honorable mention all-MASL selection in 2019.

Toth and Pardo had shared time in the nets for three seasons with the Sockers.

"We had a great fantastic duo over there with Boris and I," Toth said.

The 2017-2018 regular season was 22 games. Toth was the Sockers' goalkeeper for 12 of those while Pardo played 10 games. Pardo was selected to the all-MASL third team that year. The 2016-2017 season was 20 games, and Toth played in 11 of those games.

His third MASL Goalkeeper of the Year award was thus the first in which Toth didn't alternate with another goalkeeper.

"I played pretty much all the games instead of splitting," he said.

The 2016-2017 first-team award was Toth's first as a professional. He was on the 2005-2006 Avocado League first team as a Fallbrook High School junior.

"It was a special thing to win. Not too many players have won it at all," Toth said of his MASL Goalkeeper of the Year award.

Toth's father, Zoltan, won Goalkeeper of the Year honors in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

"He only won it twice," Chris Toth said.

Zoltan Toth was also the Goalkeeper of the Year for two different teams. He was with the New York Arrows for the 1982-1983 Major Indoor Soccer League season and the Sockers for the 1987-1988 MISL season.

"I kind of took that over in my family," Chris Toth said.

Chris Toth has three league championships from when the Sockers played in the Professional Arena Soccer League and Toth shared goalkeeping with Riley Swift. Zoltan Toth won two MISL championships with the Arrows and five with the Sockers.

"He's got more than double the championships that I've got right now," Chris Toth said.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].