Playoff Berth, Positioning at Stake as Empire Faces Sockers Twice

“Fury” bids farewell to club icon, aims to set attendance records Sunday

Ontario, Calif. — Coming off a two-week span without any MASL matches, the Empire Strykers prepare to play the first two of their final three regular season fixtures this weekend. While head coach Onua Obasi’s men seem to be headed to the knockout rounds, a closer look reveals the importance of their back-to-back games against rivals San Diego Sockers, who lead Empire 3-0 in the 2024-25 series. In addition to the Strykers jostling for positioning, they may need as many as two points from their meetings with the Sockers in order to clinch their playoff berth and rule out a suspenseful finale at Dallas on March 29.

11-9-1 (wins-losses-overtime/shootout losses) Empire travels south to take on 17-4-0 San Diego tomorrow, Saturday, March 22, at 7:05 PM PST, followed by Sunday’s 4:05 PM rematch at Ontario’s Toyota Arena. While the first game will air in English on the league’s official YouTube channel (@MASLtv) as well as on Victory+, Sportworld and National Soccer Network (NSN), the English broadcast of the final Strykers home fixture will be available stateside on CBS Sports Golazo Network and outside the U.S. on Sportworld, with the Spanish stream being hosted on YouTube. Tickets may be found here. 

With the upcoming home match being Empire’s fan appreciation event, the club aims to draw its biggest home crowd since the inception of the MASL in 2013 (current highest of 5,104 set vs. Monterrey on February 19, 2023) and to record the highest single-game attendance of any team this season (current highest of 5,194 set by Kansas City vs. Chihuahua on January 25, 2025).

As a nod to its nine years of being known as the Ontario Fury before changing its name to Empire Strykers, the organization is also making Sunday its retro rebrand night. For one game only, the players will take the field with special “Empire Fury” jerseys, which will be auctioned off after the final whistle, with proceeds benefiting sponsor San Antonio Regional Hospital. Fittingly, the Strykers will be celebrating defender and longtime captain Israel Sesay, who first signed with the Fury in 2013 and has amassed 216 appearances, 64 goals and 50 assists since then. Sesay will retire from professional soccer at the end of the campaign.

In its most recent outing, Empire bagged a crucial 7-6 road win over the Tacoma Stars, having previously dropped a 6-7 decision away to the Sockers. The loss at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside marked the second time this season the Strykers have fallen to their fellow Southern Californians by a single goal.

At Tacoma, backline anchor Robert Palmer continued his hot attacking form by bagging a goal and an assist. In addition to Palmer, who enjoyed his second straight two-point performance, goalkeeper Brandon Gomez played a key role in the victory. The Los Angeles area native produced a number of important interventions and finished the night with an outstanding .800 save percentage.

Depending on results in Friday’s game involving Tacoma and Saturday’s earlier game involving St. Louis, the Strykers will know in the first half of their first clash with San Diego whether they are already postseason-bound at that point or whether they will need to get any results over the weekend in order to seal the deal. If either Tacoma earns less than two points against visiting Kansas City or St. Louis earns less than a point at Texas, or both, Empire would still make the playoffs even if it were to lose out in its final three matches.

By finally getting over the hump and recording a pair of wins against the Sockers, the Strykers would make a strong push for a finish in the top half of the standings and possibly as high up as fourth. Even sixth place out of 12 would constitute a feat that seemed highly unlikely until Empire went on a tear that has seen the side win five of its last six contests. The Strykers look to return to the knockout rounds for the first time since their run to the final series during the MASL’s “COVID season” in 2021.

While notably sitting second on his side in assists (14) and boasting 1.0 points per game (in 20), Robert Palmer is also Empire’s undisputed defensive leader. The 36-year-old is tied for fifth in the league in blocks (39), with Emmanuel Aguirre (13) a distant second on the team roster. Meanwhile, 2025 All-Stars Marco Fabián and Justin Stinson form a lethal attacking duo, with Fabián’s powerful right foot and exquisite vision perfectly complementing Stinson’s dazzling technical skills.

Mexican Fabián spearheads the offense, as he ranks fifth in the MASL in goals (24), tied for fourth in points (40), tied for seventh in points per game (2.0 in 20) and tied for eighth in assists (16). In addition to sitting tied for sixth in the league in goals (23) and tied for third in power play goals (3), fellow midfielder Stinson is second on the Strykers in points (32) and points per game (1.5 in 21).

Among Empire’s greatest strengths is its unpredictability going forward, as even the side’s three goalkeepers boast significant attacking outputs. Brian Orozco has bagged three goals and an assist in 19 appearances, ranking tied for ninth in the MASL in game winners. Meanwhile, Claysson De Lima has collected three helpers in 12 and Brandon Gomez has put up a goal and two assists in 11.

Having already punched its ticket to the elimination stages, San Diego looks to compete for a first-place finish by expanding on its own recent run of positive results. However, the Strykers might take encouragement from the fact the Sockers on Saturday will be without suspended star forward Tavoy Morgan as well as by head coach Phil Salvagio’s squad most recently seeing its six-game win streak snapped by a 2-12 away drubbing at the hands of Chihuahua. Thanks to the dominant victory, the Savage now boasts a four-point cushion over second-place San Diego, which has a game in hand and a total of three left to play.

Both the Savage and the Sockers could still be leapfrogged by third-place Kansas City, which trails the former by eight points while having played two fewer matches and the latter by four points while having played one fewer match.

Among the main reasons San Diego had been difficult to beat prior to its rough outing in Mexico is the fact the team has a number of key contributors, with the weight of the defensive and offensive responsibilities distributed among several shoulders. Ben Ramin, Cesar Cerda and Kristian Quintana make up a formidable trio in the back, working effectively to protect veteran goalkeeper Boris Pardo, who not only ranks second in the league in goals-against average (4.39 in 16) but has also contributed four helpers to the attack.

While Ramin sits eighth in the MASL in blocks (32), Cerda is tied for ninth (31), with Quintana (30) trailing ever so narrowly behind the top ten.

The Sockers no doubt rue Tavoy Morgan’s ejection against Chihuahua, as the Jamaican ranks fourth league-wide in goals (26) and tied for ninth in points (33) as well as first among his teammates in points per game (1.7 in 20). In addition to jointly leading the league in assists (19), Charlie Gonzalez sits second on San Diego in points (30) and points per game (1.6 in 19), with fellow ex-Empire aces Gabriel Costa and Leonardo De Oliveira sharing runner-up on their side in helpers (13 each). Indoor legend Kraig Chiles is tied for third in the MASL in power play goals (3) and second on the Sockers in goals (19).

After traveling south to take on San Diego this coming Saturday, March 22, Empire returns to Ontario the very next day for the rematch and its regular season home finale at Toyota Arena. Tickets to the clash on fan appreciation night are available here.