Empire’s Alami: “Against Tacoma, It Has to Be a Win”

Strykers desperate to snap streak of narrow losses

(Photo credit: Ryan Young/San Diego Sockers)

Ontario, Calif. — Six games into their Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) campaign, the Empire Strykers find themselves in what can only be described as a bizarre situation. Sitting in last place in the standings, the Southern Californians welcome a Tacoma Stars side this week that has been involved in a similarly high number of close contests as Empire but is enjoying one of the best season starts in its history, having won every single one of its nailbiters while the Strykers have lost all but one of theirs.

The 1-5-0 (wins-losses-overtime/shootout losses) home side in Thursday’s meeting in Ontario has suffered three losses by one-goal margins and one by a two-goal margin. Meanwhile, the 4-1-0 away team from Washington State has bagged three victories by one-goal margins and one by a two goal margin. The Stars’ only defeat so far came in the form of an 8-0 thumping at San Diego. As a result of the lopsided affair, Empire holds a similar goal differential to Tacoma’s — despite having collected a staggering ten fewer points.

Thursday’s meeting is crucial for Head Coach Onua Obasi’s Strykers, whom the former MASL defender led back to the knockout rounds in March, ending a three-year dry spell for the Empire organization. Even with 2025-26 being just a few weeks old, a sixth straight defeat would put the possibility of back-to-back playoff appearances in serious jeopardy.

The English-language broadcast of Thursday’s clash at Toyota Arena will reach audiences in the U.S. and around the world via FOX Soccer Plus, MASL+, the MASL’s YouTube channel, Victory+, SLVR, Unbeaten Network, Sportworld, APEX Sports and National Soccer Network, with several platforms also making the action available on demand. In Mexico, the match will air exclusively in Spanish via the FOX Sports lineup of channels. Around the world, fans will be able to listen in English via the exclusive radio broadcast on FOX Sports 1270AM. Tickets may be purchased here.

After last season shocking opponents with their innovative tactics, which saw the goalkeepers frequently contribute to the attack, the Strykers have recently found themselves struggling to produce on offense. The most obvious bright spot has been Mounir Alami, a former Morocco youth international who came to the U.S. as a teenager in 2019 and was among three finalists for MASL Rookie of the Year in 2024-25. Alami has been his team’s most productive attacker during the current campaign.

According to the native of Oued-Zem, a city in the north of Morocco, the rough opening few matches have not affected team chemistry.

“The vibe is good,” he said. “Of course, nobody wants to lose five games in a row, right? Some guys react to it, but we know each other well and we understand why someone gets angry. Deep down, we are believing in each other. We had a talk after every game, and we know we can do better.”

While the attack has sputtered, the defense has looked more than solid thus far, with Empire having scored a mere three goals per game on average and having given up just over four. Last week added to the trend in the form of a 3-1 defeat away to the Milwaukee Wave and a 4-3 defeat away to the San Diego Sockers.

At Milwaukee, the Strykers created too little going forward and ended up falling courtesy of a disciplined team performance by the opposition as well as standout showings by the Wave’s William Banahene and Cesar Correa. While netminder Banahene stifled Empire with 11 saves and a rare save percentage of 91.7%, midfielder Correa was involved in each of his side’s tallies, recording two goals and an assist.

Mounir Alami gave Milwaukee the credit it deserved but also identified shortcomings by his side.

“They did a good job on defending,” said the second-year indoor pro. “And also, it was some moments when you have to find the forwards, and we didn't play to them at the right moment.”

Even with the Strykers struggling to replicate last season’s goalscoring output of close to seven per game, Alami felt his team has had ample opportunity to come away with points.

“We’re doing so good with [not conceding] goals,” he said, “and we only lose with one goal or two goals. We know everyone on the team can score, but even if we don’t score a lot, we can still win. We just need to avoid making some mistakes. They are the game changer.”

In offering his assessment of the narrow loss to San Diego over the weekend, the Moroccan made it very clear which mental errors had bothered him in particular.

Playing in front of 4,164 at the Sockers’ hostile home venue, Frontwave Arena, Empire led 3-2 after trailing 2-0 but on two occasions had to play a man down after committing the avoidable violation of briefly fielding too many players. While the visitors survived the second power play late in the final period, Alami could not rejoin his outnumbered teammates in time to help prevent Nick Perera from finding Kraig Chiles for the game winner.

“It’s not easy playing against San Diego in San Diego,” said the 26-year-old Alami. “They have a nice crowd and it was loud. We come back from two-zero, which was really good. The only thing that gives them the advantage, it was the blue cards, the mistakes we made. They scored the winning goal from a blue card, and it was for six [field players], which happened twice. Without that, we can win the game, one hundred percent.”

The fiercely contested matchup featured excellent performances by Brian Orozco and Alami. While backstop Orozco recorded 12 saves and a 75.0% save percentage, forward Alami collected a goal and two assists.

The first helper came by way of a beautiful backheel touch that set up Ant Powell for the Strykers’ first on a power play in the second quarter. In the third period, Mounir Alami then fired off the glass above the goal from the right, the ball falling to Marco Fabián. The Mexican legend displayed impressive precision, as his first first-time hit from the left snuck just inside the near post, giving the away side its first and only lead of the night at 3-2.

The Strykers will look to limit mental mistakes against the Stars, who most recently bounced back from their 8-0 shellacking at the hands of the Sockers with a dramatic 5-4 home win in the rematch against San Diego five days later. Head Coach Adam Becker’s third-place squad will be eager to continue its high-flying start to the season with a victory in Ontario.

With Empire and Tacoma having faced each other for the first time as MASL founding members during the 2014-15 campaign, the Strykers trail 20-22 in the all-time series, which includes a 2-3 record in overtime/shootout decisions. The two sides have never met in the playoffs.

Last season, Empire took the series 4-1, winning its final two meetings with the Washingtonians 12-5 at home and 7-6 away. After years of fierce battles over which team would make the MASL playoffs at the expense of the other, the four defeats went a long way toward the Stars missing out on the knockout rounds in 2024-25. The Strykers dropped this season’s series opener 3-2 at Tacoma on December 20.

“They fight,” said Mounir Alami of his side’s next opponent. “They put everything on the field, and they’re really fast, all of them. Their game is a transition game. If you go back and forth with them like that, you're going to lose for sure. Keeping possession is really important for us against Tacoma.”

Alami, netminder Brian Orozco and backline anchor Robert Palmer are Empire’s standouts of 2025-26 so far.

While Orozco leads the league in goals-against average (3.93 in 6 games) and save percentage (74.7%), he is tied for third on his team in points (3), having bagged one goal and two helpers for an impressive points-per-game average of 0.50. Palmer not only ranks third MASL-wide in blocks (18) but also tops the Strykers in assists (4) and sits runner-up in points (5) as well as in points per game (0.83 in 6 games). Mounir Alami is first on Empire in points (7), goals (5) and points per game (1.17 in 6 games), with Marco Fabián ranking second in netters (3) and Steven Chávez second in assists (also 3).

Although veteran Stars ‘keeper Danny Waltman recorded a 2.71 goals-against average and an 83.3% save percentage in his 22 minutes on the turf in the win over San Diego, the 44-year-old is not listed among the league leaders because his one appearance does not meet the official threshold of having played in 30% of his side’s fixtures. However, Waltman’s teammate and fellow backstop Luis Birrueta sits third in the MASL in goals-against average (4.53 in 5 games).

Jamael Cox and Tyler John spearhead the Tacoma attack. Midfielder Cox tops the Stars roster in points (6) and points per game (1.20 in 5 games) — along with being tied for second in assists with Nani Mendoza and Alex Caceres (2 each). Meanwhile, forward John ranks first in goals (5) and second in both points (5) and points per game (1.00 in 5 games). Adrian Correa leads Tacoma in helpers (4).

The Stars defense relies heavily on Logan Jones and former Strykers fan favorite Nestor Hernandez, with Jones sitting first on the team in blocks (8) and Hernandez (5) holding runner-up.

Empire’s Mounir Alami concluded his look ahead to Thursday’s massively important clash on an optimistic note.

“We've been watching videos with [Head Coach] Obasi, and we can see that we're improving,” offered the up-and-comer. “We're right there. Against Tacoma, it has to be a win. I feel really good about it.”

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