19 Current and Recent Strykers Battle for $1 Million at TST

Over 110 MASL players competing in North Carolina

Cary, N.C. — This week, 16 players with strong ties to the Major Arena Soccer League’s (MASL) Empire Strykers — alongside head coach Onua Obasi and assistant coach Jesus “Chuy” Molina — begin competing in the highly-anticipated third edition of The Soccer Tournament (TST). A prestigious 7v7 event set to take place on June 4-9 in Cary, North Carolina, TST features globally recognized stars as well as over 110 professionals who recently suited up in the MASL.

With a winner-take-all $1 million prize pot on the line, TST matches will air on ESPNU, ESPN+ and YouTube. Strykers play-by-play voice Christian “Filly” Filimon is set to call 19 of them.

The Empire contingent, spread out across six separate squads, includes standout performers from the 2024–25 MASL campaign, during which many reached new career highs and earned league honors under Obasi’s leadership and groundbreaking approach.

With the Strykers’ former head coach and executive VP, Jimmy Nordberg, acting as team GM, Bumpy Pitch FC boasts goalkeeper Brandon Gomez, defenders Momo Gueye and Jose Gonzalez, defender-midfielders Alan Perez and Andy Reyes, and forward Mounir Alami.

Gomez recorded two goals and two helpers in 13 games between the sticks in 2024-25, and Reyes set new career highs in points (18), assists (12) and points per game (0.9). Meanwhile, former Morocco youth international Alami also made a notable impact, tallying 16 goals and 12 assists across 22 matches as he earned his place among the final three for MASL Rookie of the Year. Reyes recently competed for the U.S. at the 2025 World Minifootball Federation (WMF) World Cup in Azerbaijan.

English Premier League giant West Ham United fields a strong lineup featuring goalkeepers Brian Orozco and Claysson de Lima, midfielder Justin Stinson, and defender Robert Palmer.

Orozco comes off a breakout season in the MASL, having posted an impressive 8–3–0 record (wins-losses-overtime/shootout losses) in 22 appearances, 12 of them starts. He contributed an assist and three goals, including two game-winners. Having previously been called up by Guatemala’s futsal national team, the 23-year-old donned the red, white and blue alongside Reyes and Stinson at the recent WMF World Cup. Justin Stinson, a 2025 MASL All-Star and MASL First Team honoree in his sixth Empire season, ranked second league-wide in goals (32) and tied for fifth in points (43).

2023-24 MASL Defender of the Year, Robert Palmer, most recently delivered another clutch campaign. In addition to finishing tied for second in the league in assists (21) and boasting 1.2 points per game (in 23), the veteran also served as the Strykers’ undisputed leader in the back, placing fifth in the league in blocks (51). He was named to the MASL Second Team.

2021 MASL Goalkeeper of the Year Claysson De Lima finished the most recent season with a total of four assists.

Newtown Pride FC will once again be coached by Onua Obasi, who won 2024–25 MASL Coach of the Year honors after guiding Empire to its first playoff berth since 2021 with a revolutionary style that frequently saw the team’s goalkeepers join the attack. Obasi heads into his third TST with Newtown, having won the inaugural edition in 2023 and reached the semifinals in 2024.

This year, the Englishman will be reunited with forwards Isaak Somow and Leonardo Espinoza, both of whom signed with the Strykers well into the most recent MASL season. Chilean Espinoza would earn seven goals and five helpers in nine appearances, good for 1.3 points per game.

La Mexicana FC features midfielder Randy Martinez and forward Garrett Blume. While Martinez last season Blume spent more than tripled his points per game from his rookie campaign in 2023-24, Blume spent 2024-25 with the Strykers reserve squad, the Empire Jets, having joined the first team after an impressive 2023 TST performance but having subsequently missed numerous months due to injury.

Boca Dallas — with Empire assistant coach Jesus “Chuy” Molina — brings one of the brightest stars of the indoor game in midfielder Marco Fabián, the 2023–24 MASL co-Golden Boot winner, Newcomer of the Year and Elite Six honoree. A Chivas de Guadalajara legend and two-time FIFA World Cup veteran with Mexico, Fabián comes off another excellent campaign with Empire, having played in the All-Star Game and made the MASL Second Team after placing tied for sixth in the league in points per game (2.0 in 21) as well as eighth in both points (41) and goals (25).

Rounding out the Strykers representation is Soccer Central Saturdays Football with former Cuba futsal international Walter Díaz González. Following extended injury issues, the forward finally saw the field for Empire in 2024-25, scoring three times in three games.

In addition to West Ham United, among the internationally recognized brands competing on the men’s side of the TST bracket will be Club América, Villarreal CF, Borussia Dortmund, Wrexham Red Dragons, Cagliari Calcio, AFC Bournemouth and Atlético de Madrid. Star-studded rosters include not only many of the very best of the MASL but also icons of the outdoor games such as Sergio Agüero, Luis Nani and Sebastian Giovinco. Additionally, Pat McAfee and The CONCAFA SC will return to TST for a second time.