Empire’s De La Torre: “Must Be Ready for Anything” vs. Wave

Midfielder praises tactics as Strykers aim for third straight win in home clash

Ontario, Calif. — The Empire Strykers players and coaches were all smiles when they returned from their road trip to the Lone Star State on Friday evening, carrying in their luggage three points from Thursday’s thumping of hosts Texas Outlaws. The focus now shifts to Empire’s next Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) fixture, a home clash with the Milwaukee Wave, the very team that recently suffered a shock overtime loss to the visiting last-place Outlaws.

The 8-8-1 (wins-losses-overtime/shootout losses) Strykers take on the 9-4-2 Wave at Ontario’s Toyota Arena this coming Monday, February 24, at 6:35 PM PST, with the action streaming exclusively in English on CBS Sports Golazo Network and in Spanish on the MASL’s official YouTube channel (@MASLtv). Outside the U.S., the broadcast will be available on Sportworld. Tickets may be purchased here.

At Texas, Empire rode a dominant team performance to a 10-1 statement victory. First-year MASL head coach Onua Obasi’s men, who controlled the vast majority of the possession and only needed a total of eight saves from backstops Brian Orozco and Claysson De Lima, exploded for seven netters after the break. Marco Fabián and Justin Stinson led the charge, contributing four points and three points, respectively. A total of four Strykers earned a pair of points each, including offseason addition Antonio De La Torre, who bagged his first brace at the highest level of professional indoor soccer in the world.

The match marked De La Torre’s second time battling the Outlaws at Mesquite Arena in 2024-25, Empire having earned a 10-5 away win two months ago.

“Honestly, we had a really good game in this one,” said the midfielder, who has already more than doubled his appearances total from last season with the Kansas City Comets. “It all went exactly the way Obasi said it would if we did things right. He does a great job analyzing film, and he showed us why Texas had a chance against us in December. Since they beat Milwaukee, we went in thinking they got game and it might be a lot harder this time, so we felt we had to be at a hundred percent. Everybody was locked in. It was one of our best performances yet, both offensively and defensively.”

De La Torre grabbed back-to-back tallies inside the final period. After Mounir Alami rewarded his teammate’s hard run by setting up the first with a well-threaded through ball, the 26-year-old De La Torre completed his double when he was released by Randy Martinez down the right and fired a pinpoint shot off the inside of the opposite upright for a 9-0 Strykers cushion.

“It felt great really contributing on the attack and getting my first brace,” said the Kansas native. “We already had a big lead by the time I scored, so it helped that we were able to take some risks. I got into the game kind of slowly, which is not unusual for me, but I started really gaining confidence when I saw how well we were doing. The fourth quarter was probably the best quarter of my career so far. By the end, I was really feeling it and could have gotten another one. Now, I just want to start getting into games earlier and get my first hat trick.”

The Empire backline is anchored by captain Robert Palmer, who is tied for third in the league in blocks (34), with Emmanuel Aguirre (11) a distant second on the Strykers roster. Meanwhile, 2025 All-Stars Fabián and Stinson form a formidable attacking duo, with Stinson’s dazzling footwork perfectly complementing Fabián’s powerful right foot and exquisite vision.

Mexican Fabián is his team’s undisputed leader on offense, as he ranks fourth in the MASL in points (34), fifth in points per game (2.1 in 16), tied for third in goals (21) and tied for sixth in assists (13). In addition to sitting ninth in the league in points (25) and tied for seventh in goals (17), St. Louis native Stinson is second on Empire in points per game (1.5 in 17). Fabián and Stinson both rank tied with others for third MASL-wide in power play goals (2).

Among the Strykers’ greatest strengths is their unpredictability going forward. Even two of the side’s goalkeepers boast significant attacking outputs, with Claysson De Lima having collected three helpers in ten appearances and Brandon Gomez having put up a goal and an assist in eight. While having produced fewer points per game than his fellow backstops, rising star Brian Orozco recently sent the home crowd into a frenzy by scoring the golden goal in overtime of the 4-3 win against the Blast.

Firmly holding on to their postseason position courtesy of the dramatic victory and Thursday’s impressive display at Texas, the seventh-place Strykers look to keep as much air as possible between themselves and a trio of playoff hopefuls. While the Tacoma Stars trail by seven points and the Dallas Sidekicks by nine, each having played one fewer game than Empire, the tenth-place St. Louis Ambush is currently 12 points behind with two games in hand.

Just over two thirds into the Strykers’ regular season, their clash with Milwaukee is a classic six-pointer in terms of the two side’s chances of finishing in the top half of the standings. With a victory over the Wave, the Southern Californians could get within three points of Monday’s opponent, which sits in fifth place and has played one fewer game. Sixth-place Utica City FC currently has a one-point cushion on Empire but holds three games in hand. If nothing else, by defeating Milwaukee, the Strykers would take another major step toward finalizing their return to the knockout stages following three straight absences.

Adding to the intrigue surrounding the upcoming clash is the fact the Wave has in recent days acquired legendary forward Franck Tayou in a trade with the St. Louis Ambush. Tayou’s track record speaks for itself, as the 34-year-old, who previously spent four seasons with the Empire Strykers organization, has scored 466 goals in 248 MASL matches since the inception of the league in 2014.

Empire has already faced Franck Tayou once this season, the Southern Californians limiting the Cameroonian American to one tally in their 8-6 home win over St. Louis in mid-January. Subsequent to the game, Tayou stated that he was leaving the Ambush, which in response suspended him. As a result, the former Strykers man was not part of the rematch in Missouri five days later, Empire earning a hard-fought 7-5 victory.

“Because we don't know if Tayou will play on Monday, we're getting ready for anything,” offered midfielder De La Torre. “The first time we played him, our defenders did a really good job, so I feel like they can do it again. He’s obviously one of the best of all time in this league, but we have the Defender of the Year [Robert Palmer] and other guys who have been around for years. That makes me feel good about our chances against him.”

Provided he takes the field in Ontario, Tayou will be Milwaukee’s second-most productive attacker of the campaign thus far, as the Wave offense is spearheaded by Alex Sanchez, who sits sixth in the MASL in both points (31) and points per game (2.1 in 15), tied for forth in assists (14) and tied for seventh in goals with Tayou and Empire’s Stinson (17 each). Teammate Tayou is also tied for seventh in the league in points (26) and tied for eighth in points per game (1.9 in 14).

Another veteran forward, Max Ferdinand, ranks tied for sixth in helpers (13). Ferdinand and indoor giant Ian Bennett are among the players currently sharing third place in the MASL in power play goals (2 each) with Strykers Fabián and Stinson.

The Milwaukee backline leans heavily on the work of Tony Walls and Breno Oliveira, who are first and second on their team in blocks (20 and 19, respectively).

In addition to wanting to fend off Utica and Empire just below it, the fifth-place Wave finds itself in a battle for fourth with the Baltimore Blast. Due to the Blast’s recent three-game losing streak, Milwaukee now only trails three points behind the team from the Charm City, having played one more game.

Despite coming off its surprising overtime loss to visiting Texas and a 3-5 away defeat to the San Diego Sockers, the Strykers’ next adversary even maintains an outside shot at cracking the top three down the stretch. While the Chihuahua Savage in first and the Kansas City Comets in third appear to hold comfortable advantages over Giuliano Oliveira’s squad, the second-place Sockers can ill-afford to slip up, as they hold a nine-point edge with one more game played than the Wave.

“Milwaukee has always been a good team,” said Empire’s De La Torre in concluding his remarks. “They have top players and a lot of veterans. Even though Texas beat them, we can't take that for anything. We always say that unexpected things can happen at any moment. Everyone fights hard, and all it takes is for a team to get into a flow. It has happened to us where we lost a game we expected to win. It’s important that we’re ready for anything. Obasi will have a good game plan again. We need to focus on executing the way we did at Texas.”

Antonio De La Torre and company host the Milwaukee Wave on Monday, February 24. Tickets are available here.