Empire Finishes off Sockers in the Fourth Quarter 9-5
Published on January 23, 2026 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
Nick Perera of the San Diego Sockers vs. the Empire Strykers
(San Diego Sockers, Credit: Strykers/MASL)
ONTARIO, CA - Walter Diaz scored his first career hat trick, and Mounir Alami added a goal and two assists, as the Empire Strykers (4-6, 11 points) beat the San Diego Sockers 9-5 on Thursday night at Toyota Arena. A back-and-forth match didn't see the same team score consecutive goals until the fourth quarter, when Diaz netted two in a row to spark four unanswered. Empire added two empty-netters to seal their second win in four tries against San Diego this season.
Already playing without starters Charlie Gonzalez, Tavoy Morgan, Chris Toth, and Ben Ramin, San Diego (5-4-1, 16 points) took a wicked blow to their defense on Wednesday when defensive captain Cesar Cerda suffered a hamstring injury at practice. Without his presence in the lineup, San Diego was forced to play attacking midfielder Gabriel Costa out of position at defender, a decision that led to multiple Empire goals. Compounding their issues, midfielders Luiz Morales and Taylor Bond both twisted their ankles during the match and could not return to action. The road-weary and short-handed Sockers would have to play 14-on-16 for most of the second half.
A see-saw first half saw the clubs evenly trade six goals back-and-forth over thirty minutes. On their very first run downfield after thirty initial seconds of Sockers possession, the Strykers found no resistance as they expanded their empire. Marco Fabián was able to find a clean run down the left wall, and he picked out an open Justin Stinson charging on the right wing. Stinson spotted an unmarked Mounir Alami lurking on the far post and fed him a simple pass for a tap-in goal and a 1-0 lead 48 seconds into the match.
Fortune then smiled upon the visitors on both sides of the floor. First, Alan Perez re-fed a pass over the San Diego defense to Fabián, who missed a toe-poke from less than six feet away. The Sockers recovered and worked downfield, with midfielder Gabriel Costa feeding in Mendez on the right wing. Mendez sent a wall pass intended for Kraig Chiles, but the ball instead caromed off the head of Empire's top defender, Robert Palmer, and into the net for an own goal, credited to Mendez at 4:23. The match was tied 1-1.
The two clubs then exchanged set-piece goals before the end of the first quarter. After a Pardo save out of play, set up a corner kick, Empire's Polo Hernandez spotted a curling Walter Diaz at the top of the arc, who slotted his shot over Pardo's glove and into the net at 10:17 for a 2-1 lead. Three minutes later, San Diego's Nick Perera captured a long ball downfield and was fouled on his turn toward goal. The resulting free kick was taken by Luiz Morales, who powered a perfectly placed left-footed volley inside the right corner of the goal at 13:52 for a 2-2 tie.
For the third time, San Diego fell behind at 5:27 of the second quarter, as Justin Stinson accepted a simple pass outside the attacking zone and drifted in on the left wing. Stinson took a step in between two Sockers defenders, freed up his right foot, and bounced a skipping shot through the rest of the defense and past a screened Pardo, who immediately shouted in frustration as Empire went ahead 3-2. For the third time, the Sockers pulled back the tie, as Mendez curled around a Leonardo de Oliveira short pass on the right wing and smashed home his second of the night and fifth of the season at 12:28. The half ended ominously with Luiz Morales limping off, favoring his ankle, and he was not on the San Diego bench in the second half. Empire outshot San Diego 13-8 at the half, with Pardo credited with five saves.
The Strykers' unique inclusion of the goalkeeper in their regular attack showed both sides of its promise early in the third quarter, as Brian Orozco raced all the way downfield and took a shot that just missed wide, then had to run all the way back to his goal to chase down a long shot attempt from San Diego, pinning the ball to the wall. Not long thereafter, Empire's Ali Somow took on Gabriel Costa and beat him off the dribble, slotting a shot near-post inside Pardo and to the back of the net at 4:23 for Empire's fourth lead of the night, 4-3. Five minutes later, Bond jumped over the boards and landed awkwardly on his ankle, rolling and twisting it. For the rest of the quarter, San Diego struggled to get out of their zone, but did well to defend against regular Empire possession. Held to a single shot in the frame, the Sockers went back to the bench after three quarters, trailing by one.
The Sockers' fourth equalizer came 1:45 into the fourth quarter, with San Diego's oldest and newest players teaming up. From the offensive left mid-boards, Kraig Chiles sent a goal-wall pass into the crease. As San Diego's Jesus Pacheco and Empire's Issak Somow collided in search of the ball, it instead snuck through to the crashing Reyes, who slotted his fifth goal in five games since joining the club. The feat was made even more impressive by the fact that Reyes was playing sick, limited in shifts and energy.
Back came the Strykers, working on a counter-attack which saw three Sockers all take on the charging Mounir Alami, who cut the ball across the goal to Marco Fabián. The Mexican national turned off the boards, stepped through a Perera steal attempt, and fired inside the right post at 4:57 for a 5-4 lead. Back came the Sockers, as a handball inside the penalty box on Empire's Polo Hernandez gave San Diego a rare penalty kick. Chiles stepped up and smashed the ball unstoppably into the upper V at 5:04 for the 5-5 tie.
Empire's sixth lead of the night came when Stinson led in Walter Diaz on right wing, who used a left-to-right cut move to beat Sebastian Mendez off the dribble, then ripped his shot past Pardo at 9:29 for a 6-5 Strykers lead. San Diego looked to get the tie back yet again on a give-and-go between Chiles and Luis Ortega, who headed a shot toward the net that went off both Palmer and Orozco, then fell toward the net. The call was made for another penalty kick handball in the zone, but on replay, Palmer was seen to shoulder the ball to Orozco's hand, and the call was overturned.
Finally, one team scored two goals in a row, and it became four in a row. San Diego sold out to try and win a loose ball in the left mid-boards, only to see Alami squeak the ball out to the middle, where Diaz ran on it and blasted his hat trick home at 11:58. The Sockers then went to six attackers, but all that came of it was a three-line violation and two more goals allowed in the final thirty seconds of the match, including Polo Hernandez scoring with one second left.
The Sockers have no time to recover, rest, or prepare. They must return to San Diego and then depart Friday morning for their seventh major flight in 19 days, a cross-country trip to Baltimore. The Sockers and Blast will play Saturday at 3:05pm PST, after which San Diego will take one more flight home, then finally get to open up their home part of the schedule again. San Diego hosts Tacoma on Sunday, February 1, 3:00pm at Frontwave Arena, with tickets available at frontwavearena.com and sdsockers.com.
Images from this story
 Nick Perera of the San Diego Sockers vs. the Empire Strykers (Strykers/MASL) |
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from January 23, 2026
- San Diego Sockers Match Precvew at Baltimore - San Diego Sockers
- Empire Downs Sockers 9-5 for Emotional Breakout Win - Empire Strykers
- Empire Finishes off Sockers in the Fourth Quarter 9-5 - San Diego Sockers
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