Bradley, Empire “Determined to Bounce Back” Against Stars

Strykers look for second home win over Tacoma in 2024-25

Ontario, Calif. — Having most recently dropped a close decision away to their mighty Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) rivals, the San Diego Sockers, the Empire Strykers have entered the New Year focused on returning to winning ways in this weekend’s home game against the Tacoma Stars. The meeting at Toyota Arena will mark the second time the two teams have met this season, as the Strykers downed the visiting Stars 10-5 two weeks ago, followed by a road victory over Texas by the same score line.

2-3-0 (wins-losses-shootout/overtime losses) Empire hosts 1-2-1 Tacoma on Sunday, January 5, at 4:05 PM PST, with tickets available here. In the U.S., the match will stream exclusively in English on CBS Sports Golazo Network.

In Saturday’s stingy clash with the Sockers, the Strykers appeared capable of defeating the two-time MASL champions, only to fall 3-4 in four periods. The match at brand-new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside featured an unlikely hero in San Diego backstop Xavier Snaer-Williams. With veteran Boris Pardo out due to illness, the 25-year-old Snaer-Williams boasted an impressive .786 save percentage, frustrating Empire time and time again with key interventions.

“We were disappointed in the outcome because we play San Diego a lot this season and feel we’re good enough to get some results against them,” said the Strykers’ Alex Bradley, whose first-quarter goal opened the scoring before teammate Mounir Alami made it 2-0. “We came out strong, but we were very far from our best after that. The silver lining is that we played a very good team and not only kept it close but had a lot more in the tank that we didn’t manage to draw on. That makes me excited for the rest of our season.”

After the Sockers scored four straight prior to intermission, the two teams battled each other tooth and nail in the second half. Empire would grab the only goal in the game’s final 31 minutes and change, Marco Fabián pulling one back late. Throughout the fiercely contested affair, the Strykers utilized their familiar strategy of turning their two netminders into quasi-sixth attackers, with San Diego unsuccessfully attempting to steal the ball and find the open net.

“I feel we were being a bit immature and overly eager,” offered Alex Bradley. “With the way we play, we need to be patient. We obviously want to make a great play and score, but if we go for a low-percentage chance early on, we risk losing the ball and getting countered. Instead, we should pull it back and make our opponent chase and defend some more. That way, we hopefully get a better look, or at least the other team gets tired and needs to sub instead of being able to hit us quickly if we lose the ball.”

Bradley, a former key member of the Milwaukee Wave, joined the Strykers during the offseason. Prior to making the move cross country, the Englishman spent years with the Wave alternating between playing defender and forward. Veteran Bradley has started his Empire career red-hot, averaging two points per game since returning from an adductor strain that kept him out of the first three fixtures. At San Diego, the 31-year-old added an assist to his goal, playing provider for Fabián.

“I’ll do whatever the coach needs from me, so in the past I never complained if I got moved to the back after getting several points in a game and winning MASL Player of the Week,” he said. “However, there is a small part of me that wonders what my output might have been if I had always played forward. Let’s see if I’m ever needed on defense this season. If I stay up top, it will be a good test of my productivity.”

Bradley’s tally against the Sockers was a pure display of class, as the Wave legend received a pass from midfield with his back toward the goal on the right and proceeded to shield the ball before stunning his marker with a clever spin to his left and a powerful drive inside the far-side netting.

“I’m not the type who normally looks to turn and shoot,” offered the forward-defender. “I did it in that situation because we had some tired legs and I didn’t see any runs being made. Normally, I’d prefer to lay the ball off or to keep it and get our guys involved in the play. In this case, I took it as a chance to test out my weaker right foot, which I had been working on due to my issues with my left groin. I’m glad the work seems to have paid off.”

Captain Robert Palmer leads the Strykers defensively, as he sits tied for second in the league in blocked opposition shots (12) and is trailed on his team’s roster by Emmanuel Aguirre (4). Alex Bradley is part of a quintet of players who have been crucial to the Southern Californians’ attack, the other four being Justin Stinson, Marco Fabián, Andy Reyes, and Mounir Alami.

While Bradley is tied for eighth in the MASL in points-per-game average (2.0 in 2 games), Stinson is tied for sixth in points (9) and tied for eighth in goals along with Fabián (6 each) while also sitting second on Empire in points-per-game average (1.8 in 5 games). Defender Andy Reyes is tied for sixth in the league in assists (5), and Mexican star Fabián and Moroccan pro indoor rookie Alami share second place among all Strykers in points (7 each).

Meanwhile, Tacoma’s backline has been anchored by Logan Jones, who ranks tied for second in the MASL in blocked opposition shots (12), with Fellipe Souza and Stefan Mijatovic (4 each) distant joint runners-up on the Stars.

As defender Mijatovic currently represents the U.S. in the 2025 Kings World Cup Nations in Italy, the visitors from Washington State will be without one of their two most impactful contributors on offense. The ex-Empire man jointly leads Tacoma in assists along with Nick Perera while ranking second on his new side in points (4), goals (2) and points-per-game average (1.3 in 3 games). Indoor legend Perera continues to spearhead the Tacoma attack, sitting tied for eighth in the league in goals (6) and points-per-game average (2.0 in 4 games) while also leading the Stars in total points (8).

In its meeting with the Strykers, the squad guided by Adam Becker, Adam McNeley and player-coach Nick Perera will be desperate to bounce back from three straight disappointments. After suffering a 3-4 home shootout loss to Chihuahua and a 5-10 away defeat in their first clash with Empire of 2024-25, Tacoma most recently fell fell 4-5 in regulation time at San Diego. Looking to make it back-to-back postseason berths, the Stars currently sit in ninth place in the standings but could climb into seventh by leapfrogging the Strykers and the St. Louis Ambush.

In addition to Mijatovic, Tacoma signed experienced forward Moises Gonzalez prior to the current campaign.

In his mission to return Empire to the playoffs after the club has fallen short three consecutive times, first-year head coach Onua Obasi will look for his seventh-place squad to pick up a win and jump into sixth as it attempts to remain within striking distance of the top five.

“Tacoma has a quality team,” said forward-defender Alex Bradley in concluding his outlook to the Strykers’ upcoming match. “Nick Perera has been a major threat in the MASL for years, and they’ve picked up two more big, strong guys in Mijatovic and Gonzalez. Stef not being there is in our favor, but we’d be foolish to take the game lightly. When we beat them in December, it was on a knife’s edge despite Stef not playing in that one either. I’m sure they’re out for revenge this time. That said, we’re confident and determined to bounce back in front of our home fans.”

The Empire Strykers host the Tacoma Stars on Sunday, January 5. Tickets may be purchased here.