MASL, Empire Strykers Announce Schedule for 2023-24 Season
Empire’s quest for a playoff birth to kick off November 24
The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) today announced the schedule for the 2023-24 season, which sees 13 teams from across the U.S. and Mexico face each other through a total of 156 regular season games. Fans of the Empire Strykers can look forward to a slate of 24 matches that begins with a pair of clashes south of the border in late November, followed by a visit to the St. Louis Ambush and the highly anticipated home opener against the Baltimore Blast in mid-December.
The Strykers open the season with a pair of road games in Mexico, where it will take on defending champs Chihuahua Savage on November 24, followed by another western conference matchup against Monterrey Flash on November 26. The meetings in Mexico are part of a three-game road swing, with the team playing four of its first five encounters away from home. The Strykers’ December 15 Toyota Arena opener against Baltimore precedes the first matchup of the season against record title holders San Diego Sockers just two days later. As part of six total clashes with the Sockers throughout the 2023-24 MASL Season, Head Coach Paul Wright’s men will be welcoming their mighty California rivals to the Toyota Arena on January 17, February 18 and March 17.
The Strykers’ regular season finale is set for March 31 against the visiting Tacoma Stars. Tickets to all Empire home games are available at Home - Empire Strykers
The 2023-24 table is split into two conferences, Eastern and Western. The Western Conference includes the 2023 MASL champions Chihuahua Savage and the 2022 MASL championS San Diego Sockers. They are joined by the Empire Strykers, Dallas Sidekicks, Tacoma Stars and Texas Outlaws. The Eastern Conference includes 2023 runners-up Baltimore Blast along with the Harrisburg Heat, Kansas City Comets, Milwaukee Wave, Monterrey Flash, St Louis Ambush and Utica City FC.
Guadalajara was conditionally approved in February 2023 but could not meet all of the obligations and deadlines to operate in the 2023-24 season. The organization has the option to apply for the 2024-25 season.
MASL SHIELD
The MASL Shield will be awarded to the team with the highest total number of points during the 2023-24 MASL regular season. San Diego claimed the honor in the two previous campaigns.
2024 RON NEWMAN CUP PLAYOFFS
The teams from both conferences will be vying for places in the 2024 Ron Newman Cup Playoffs. The top four teams in each conference will advance to the postseason.
· Conference Semifinal – 1v4; 2v3
· Conference Finals – Winner 1v4 vs. Winner 2v3
· MASL Championship – Eastern Conference Champion vs. Western Conference Champion
All series will be played in home-and-home format. If two teams are tied with one win each, they will play a 15-minute knockout game. If they are still level, the series will be decided via golden-goal overtime.
MASL STANDINGS
The MASL standings will be based on a 3-2-1 point system. A team winning in regulation time will receive three points in the standings while the losing team will receive none. For an overtime or shoot-out win, a team will be awarded two points while a single point will go to the losing team.