Empire Drops Next Nailbiter in 4-3 Defeat at San Diego

Strykers lose fifth straight despite standout showings by Alami, Orozco

Click here for the box score.

Oceanside, Calif. — The Empire Strykers suffered their fifth straight defeat on Saturday evening, falling 4-3 away to rivals San Diego Sockers and dropping to 1-5-0 (wins-losses-overtime/shootout losses) on their Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) campaign. The fiercely contested matchup, which featured excellent performances by the Strykers’ Mounir Alami and Brian Orozco, saw the pair’s side lose by a one-goal margin for the third time in 2025-26. Of the other two defeats, one came by a two-goal margin. Four of Empire’s six games so far have been on the road.

While forward Alami had two goals and an assist in the clash with the Sockers, backstop Orozco recorded 12 saves and a 75% save percentage.

Nearly two thirds of the way through the opening quarter, San Diego jumped out on top, Southern California native Orozco diving to save a shot by Luis Moralez and former Empire ace Charlie Gonzalez tapping home the rebound. The home side doubled its edge late in the period, as Morales added a goal to his helper courtesy of a determined individual effort.

About a third of the way into the second quarter, Tavoy Morgan nearly extended the Sockers advantage to three, smashing a right-footed volley off the far post from the left. Strykers midfielder Justin Stinson then rattled the same upright at the other end. The St. Louis native released a long-range rocket from left of center that came within inches of pulling one back for the visitors.

Empire did cut its deficit to 2-1 on a power play. Sacrificing its netminder in favor of a sixth attacker, the away side took full advantage when Alami set up Ant Powell with a beautiful backheel assist. It wouldn’t be the final goal before intermission, as the visibly energized Strykers leveled the match on an attempted pass by attacker Alami that found the net via an unlucky touch by San Diego defender Mitchell Cardenas. Gonzalez nearly put the hosts back in the lead on a Sockers power play late in the period, his right-footed curler bouncing off the crossbar.

Empire continued to ride its momentum after the break, as Alami collected his second helper for his team’s first lead of the night. The 26-year-old fired off the glass above the goal from the right, with the ball falling to Marco Fabián, who displayed excellent precision on a a first first-time hit from the left that snuck just inside near post. However, San Diego tied the match at 3-3 not long thereafter, Jamaican star forward Tavoy Morgan bagging his first tally of the season on an assist by indoor legend Nick Perera.

The Sockers took the lead just under halfway through the final quarter. With the two minutes having expired on a power play, the hosts still had a numerical advantage on the field, as Empire’s penalized player rushed out of the “sin bin” but couldn’t catch up to the play before Kraig Chiles tallied from Perera for 4-3. It would be the final netter of yet another frustrating contest for Empire, which will be desperate for a win in its home game against the Tacoma Stars this coming Thursday, January 8.

Information on Empire Strykers season tickets can be found here. Single-game tickets to all matches at Toyota Arena are available here.