Empire Eliminated from MASL Playoffs by Milwaukee

Wave’s Ferdinand shines as Strykers lose second leg 7-5 and mini game 2-0

Click here for the box score of the quarterfinal second leg.

Click here for the box score of the decisive mini game.

Milwaukee, Wis. — The Empire Strykers had their four-game win streak snapped and were eliminated from the 2025-26 Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) playoffs by host Milwaukee Wave on Sunday evening. Having previously claimed the home leg of the quarterfinal series 6-3, the Strykers dropped the away leg at Milwaukee 7-5 and the decisive 15-minute mini game 2-0. Opposition attacker Max Ferdinand not only bagged a hat trick in the day’s first contest but also scored in the knockout match, providing both game winners.

In his team’s 7-5 defeat, Empire star Marco Fabián enjoyed an excellent showing on both sides of the ball, collecting a goal and an assist as well as three blocks on shots by the Wave. Defender Andy Reyes put up a standout performance of his own, contributing a helper and a pair of blocks.

In addition to attacker Ferdinand and midfielder Alex Steinwascher, a defender also helped power Milwaukee’s second-leg win, as Stuart Grable earned an assist and got in the way of three opposition attempts. Steinwascher had an assist and a goal, to go with two blocks. Defender Mario Alvarez recorded a goal and a helper for the Wisconsinites, as well as another assist in the mini game, but he was also at fault for two turnovers that led straight to Strykers tallies.

The Wave took the lead almost exactly a third of the way into the opening period of the full-length fixture, Mike Da-Silva setting up Andre Hayne for 1-0. The home side then had a golden chance to bag another one late in the quarter, as a Ricardo Carvalho shot on a restart from the top of the arc was deflected and fell to a wide-open Oscar Flores, who inexplicably smashed it off the crossbar from the doorstep.

Milwaukee did double its edge early in the second period. After Empire backstop Brandon Gomez pushed forward and sent a shot off the plexiglass, his team lost the ball, allowing Alex Steinwascher to pass it into the unguarded goal from inside his own half. Fabián subsequently pulled one back for the visitors just over five minutes into the quarter, collecting a helper from Reyes and firing home a deflected effort from the right.

The Wave missed another huge opportunity when Flores sent a shot off the end boards and Brazil native Da-Silva seemed destined to score on the rebound, only to see Strykers player-coach Robert Palmer throw his body into the close-range shot and send it bouncing off the bar. Not long thereafter, Milwaukee’s Alvarez refused to be denied. Having been picked out on the right by an excellent long ball from Cesar Correa, he drove across the yellow line and rifled a bullet inside the left post for 3-1.

Empire cut its deficit back to one inside the final third of the period. Wave ‘keeper Gerardo Perez saved a shot by Mounir Alami and Issak Somow had little trouble tapping in the rebound. Barbaro Shelier then leveled the match on a power play, touching home a long-range effort from the right by Fabián.

If anyone thought the late equalizer had marked the final tally of the opening half, they were sorely mistaken, as the two teams would score a combined three more times before the break.

First, Milwaukee reclaimed the lead on a spectacular netter by Ferdinand. Having received a pass from Javier Steinwascher with his back toward the goal on the right, the MASL veteran drove inside before releasing a thunderbolt from downtown that nestled inside the left post. The Wave then made it 5-3 on a top-of-the-arc restart, Alvarez laying off to Alex Sanchez, who converted by way of a low drive. Finally, Alami bagged the away side’s fourth by pouncing on a heavy touch by Alvarez. After winning possession, the Moroccan forward crossed the yellow line before finding the net with a simple finish.

Pressure on Alvarez again paid off for the Strykers just under six minutes into the third period, as Polo Hernandez stole the ball from the Illinois native by the boards on the right. With the hard part done, midfielder Hernandez squared it to his teammate Issak Somow, who slotted home to tie the game at 5-5.

Milwaukee jumped back out on top early in the fourth quarter. With his side using netminder Perez as a de facto sixth attacker, Alex Steinwascher found Ferdinand with a pinpoint through ball that allowed the 39-year-old to score the winner from the doorstep. On the final goal of the match, veteran Ferdinand did all the work himself, as he cut inside from the left corner and sent a wicked drive inside the near post to make it 7-5 and complete his hat trick. Grable was credited with the helper on the play.

After the Wave’s second-leg victory, the two teams headed into the decisive mini game. Ferdinand continued his heroics just over a third of the way in, scoring from close range on a clever assist by Alvarez, who centered the ball by sending it around the boards from the right corner. Correa then added a late insurance goal with Empire backstop Brian Orozco pushed up, blocking a Justin Stinson shot and finding the empty net from behind the midfield stripe. The Empire players gave it their all to try and rally back in the closing stages, but they were denied by a determined Milwaukee squad and saw their season end courtesy of the 2-0 loss.