Empire Faces Instant Test in MASL Opener at San Diego
MASL Empire Strykers

Empire Faces Instant Test in MASL Opener at San Diego

Published on November 26, 2025 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Empire Strykers News Release


Ontario, Calif. - When the Empire Strykers open their 2025-26 Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) campaign with a trip to the home venue of long-time rivals San Diego Sockers on Friday evening, it will mark a trial by fire for the club's ambitions of expanding on the massive progress made last season under first-year MASL Head Coach Onua Obasi.

Empire faces host San Diego on Friday, November 28, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. PST. The match will air exclusively in the U.S. on CBS Sports Golazo Network and in Mexico on FOX Sports 2. International fans can follow the action on Sportworld or Unbeaten Network.

A former player in the league - including with the Strykers (then named Ontario Fury) during an injury-riddled stint four years ago or so - Onua Obasi was handed the keys to the car last fall, having previously led Newtown Pride FC to its triumph at the inaugural addition of The Soccer Tournament (TST) in 2023. As the world's most prestigious small-sided competition, TST features a winner-take-all prize pot of one million dollars as well as legends of the outdoor game alongside the very best of the MASL.

The gamble of hiring the relatively inexperienced Onua Obasi paid off for Empire's front office, as the Englishman not only engineered the club's return to the playoffs for the first time since 2021 but did so while implementing an exhilarating and highly innovative system that frequently saw his goalkeepers join the attack. For his accomplishments, Obasi was voted MASL Coach of the Year at the conclusion of 2024-25.

While the core of the Strykers' successful squad returns, the task at hand has been to compensate for the departure of several veterans while integrating a minimum of six new arrivals.

In club legend and former captain Israel Sesay, Empire loses an inspirational figure in the locker room who saw limited playing time prior to his retirement at the end of the previous campaign. Another outgoing natural leader, MASL mainstay Alex Bradley, struggled to get on the field due to persistent injury issues. Significant roster minutes have become vacant via the exits of midfielder Quenton Swift and defender Emmanuel Aguirre, who finished last season ranking second on his side in blocks (15).

While the difficulty of obtaining a P1 visa kept former MASL MVP Genaro Castillo from ever donning the Empire crest, a total of nine offseason departures saw the turf for the club in 2024-25. Six open slots have been filled by new additions, including those of MASL veterans Ant Powell, Lucas Ramalho and Steven Chávez. Arriving as a free agent from the now defunct Texas Outlaws, Chávez comes off a breakout campaign that saw the midfielder jump from one career point to 29 while also setting personal bests in goals, assists and points per game.

"We added a lot of pieces and might add a couple more," said Strykers Head Coach Obasi. "We've also had a bit of turnover and lost a few guys who played meaningful games for us last year, but I think we've replaced them with proven quantities - such as Chávez, Powell and Ramalho. These are players who have experience in the league and add instant quality."

The 37-year-old continued, "Obviously, with the new guys, there are a few connections that need to be built and some rookies who are working on fully understanding the indoor game. Overall, I'm super optimistic about the quality we've brought in and about the continuity we managed to achieve. The vast majority of our main guys are back and ready to go."

While notably ranking tied for second in the league in assists (21) for the 2024-25 regular season and boasting 1.2 points per game (in 23), Robert Palmer is also Empire's undisputed defensive leader. The 36-year-old finished fifth MASL-wide in blocks (51), with new arrival Steven Chávez having registered the second most (15) of all current Strykers.

2025 All-Stars Marco Fabián and Justin Stinson form a lethal attacking duo for Empire. While Fabián placed tied for eighth in the league in points per game (1.95 in 21 games) as well as eighth in both points (41) and goals (25), along with claiming runner-up on the Strykers in assists (16), Stinson finished second in the MASL in goals (32), tied for fifth in points (5) and for sixth in power play goals (3), and second on his side in points per game (1.79 in 24 games).

A big part of what made the Empire attack so unpredictable are the contributions by the team's three goalkeepers. While Brian Orozco scored three times and added an assist in 22 appearances, Brandon Gomez put up two goals and two helpers, and Claysson De Lima collected four assists, the latter two each having played in 13 games.

Against San Diego, Empire aims to begin reversing a historical trend of narrow losses. While Onua Obasi's side dropped all six of its encounters with the MASL giants in 2024-25, five of them were decided by margins of two goals or less. The only one that wasn't - a March 22 meeting in Oceanside - was claimed 10-7 by the Sockers after the Strykers had led 7-5 early in the final period.

Empire suffered an even more gut-wrenching loss to San Diego in the two teams' final clash of the regular season back on March 23 in Ontario. At the time needing a win in order to secure their playoff spot, the hosts came agonizingly close to completing an electrifying rally from 1-6 down in the third period, as they fell via golden goal after finishing tied, 8-8, at the end of regulation time.

In the game, the Strykers bid farewell to retiring club legend Sesay, with a ruckus crowd of 7,387 honoring the longtime team captain and shattering records for highest ever home attendance in franchise history as well as for the highest attendance of the season around the entire MASL.

Less than two weeks later, the Sockers ousted Empire in the first round of the elimination stages, prevailing 4-2 in a fiercely contested affair in front of their home fans.

Looking ahead to Friday's clash with his club's long-time rivals, Strykers Head Coach Obasi said, "I told the team that our margin for error is small against San Diego - especially away. Frontwave Arena is the hardest place to play in the league. We don't have much room for silly fouls, bad turnovers, or allowing them to use their special teams."

Despite the early playoff exit, the Strykers' 2024-25 season was widely considered a success, as the organization reached the knockout rounds for just the fourth time in its history, which dates back to 2013. The previous time took place during the MASL's "COVID season" in 2021. Still playing as the Ontario Fury then, the Southern Californians made a run to the championship series and came within a hair's breadth of lifting the trophy, as it took the Sockers a 2-1 win in the decisive 15-minute mini game to emerge victorious.

San Diego ranks among the most successful clubs in league history, having never missed the knockout rounds and having claimed the title in both 2021 and 2022. Most recently, the side led by Head Coach Phil Salvagio reached the final series against the Chihuahua Savage and won the opener at home before falling twice on the road.

This offseason, the Sockers managed to keep nearly their entire roster together while adding even more quality in former Baltimore Blast midfielder Jesus Pacheco as well as two of indoor soccer's biggest legends, goalkeeper Chris Toth and target forward Nick Perera. Toth and Perera are area natives who join from fellow MASL side Tacoma Stars. Like several other Sockers, both Pacheco and Toth have previously represented Ontario/Empire.

"They have a core group of guys who have won a lot of games together," offered the Strykers' Obasi. "Really, the only team that's maybe been better in the past three years is Chihuahua. Now, San Diego has added two legitimate All-Stars and a very solid, up-and-coming player who's good on both sides of the ball. At least on paper, they just got stronger."

Among the Sockers' main strengths is the fact the team can lean on several key contributors on both defense and offense. Ben Ramin, Kristian Quintana and Cesar Cerda make up a formidable trio in the back, protecting veteran 'keepers Boris Pardo and Chris Toth. While Pardo finished 2024-25 atop the league in goals-against average (4.39 in 16), Toth ranked first in save percentage (.752) and second in total saves (279). Ramin finished eighth in the MASL in blocks (37), with Quintana (36) coming in at ninth and Cerda (33) at tenth.

The San Diego attack is powered by a quintet of players. Last season, Nick Perera earned the most points (38) and points per game (1.90 in 20) of all current Sockers and tied for fifth in the league in assists (20) along with former Ontario man Charlie Gonzalez, who placed first on his team in points (36) and points per game (1.64 in 22).

While Tavoy Morgan finished seventh MASL-wide in goals (26) and recorded the third-most points (33) and points per game (1.57 in 21) of all current San Diego players, Luis Morales and legendary forward Kraig Chiles tied for sixth in the league in power play goals (3 each), with Chiles also placing runner-up on the Sockers in goals (24). Another ex-Fury ace, Leonardo De Oliveira tied for eighth MASL-wide in helpers (19).

Empire holds an all-time record of 9-47 against San Diego, which includes a 2-9 record in shootout/overtime decisions and a 2-3 record in postseason matches. Not included in the record are two 15-minute mini games. Prior to the one being used to determine the Sockers as the winner of the tied 2021 final series, the Strykers' rivals had already advanced from a tied 2016-17 MASL Pacific Division final series via a mini game victory - that time by a score of 1-0. The two sides' first ever meeting dates back to the 2013-14 season in the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL).

If history is any indicator, it will take a herculean effort by Onua Obasi's men if they're to take anything away from Friday's 2025-26 opener at San Diego.

"They're so connected and have such great chemistry," said the Empire Head Coach in concluding his remarks. "We need to disrupt that and take the game away from them. We weren't successful doing that last season, so we've had to go back to the drawing board a bit. Hopefully, we can present something new to them that gives us a much better chance of getting a result there."

After taking on hosts San Diego Sockers, the Strykers will play their first home game of the new MASL campaign on Friday, December 12 - also against their SoCal rivals. Season tickets are available here and single-game tickets here.

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Major Arena Soccer League Stories from November 26, 2025


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