MASL Major Arena Soccer League

MASL Weekly - Week 15

Published on February 4, 2015 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) News Release


MASL Rolls into Final Month After Flurry of Deals at Deadline

2/4/15 - The general managers of the Las Vegas Legends, Oxford City FC of Texas, and the Ontario Fury have been toying with their rosters like a Rubik's Cube all year, trying to find the right combinations. As the February 1 trade deadline arrived they scrambled to make their final moves.

Oxford City acquired Michael Poneys from the Tulsa Revolution on January 22, the last of 10 players purloined during the season from the rosters of Tulsa, Wichita, Hidalgo, Las Vegas, and Saltillo.

Ontario matched them with a rash of deals involving Seattle, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Turlock. Jamar Beasley, Guto Machado, and Juan Topete have already paid huge dividends for the Fury, who have won 11 of their last 13 games. Ontario got former Milwaukee Wave and Baltimore Blast defender Warren Ukah from Las Vegas. Coach Bernie Lilavois also added Art Pulido, Jr. and Juan Gonzalez at the deadline. Both players are expected to make their Ontario debuts this Saturday. The biggest price for all these acquisitions was the loss of Luis Piffer who was dealt to San Diego, but you can't bake a cake without breaking some eggs.

Las Vegas raised eyebrows by re-acquiring the original Legend and playmaker Enrique Tovar from Turlock and lifetime Waza forward Dominic Scicluna this week. Tovar, Scicluna and goalkeeper Zeke Sanchez are the only players on the Legends roster over 30 so their skill and experience will be vital for the Legends to make another strong run. Midseason free agent signings Hiram Ruiz (eight goals, four assists in five games) and Christian Segura (6-2-8 in five games) have also made an impact.

In other deadline moves the St. Louis Ambush traded popular defender Corey Adamson to the Milwaukee Wave for Anthony Arico and the Harrisburg Heat traded Jade Mesias to the Syracuse Silver Knights. The Missouri Comets signed 19-year old Cody Hoffman to a contract and the Dallas Sidekicks signed former Chicago Fire defender Hunter Jumper. The Chicago Mustangs signed Omar Tapia, who was their second leading scorer in 2012-13 and played for the Monterrey Flash last year, but had not played in the league this season. The Blast signed Costa Rican futsal star Edwin Cubillo.

MASL Team of the Week

C - Evan Mundine, San Diego Sockers

Evan Mundine scored eight seconds into the game as the San Diego Sockers rolled past the Tacoma Stars 13-4 in front of a record crowd of 7,311 at the Valley View Casino Center. Signed to a one-game contract on Thursday, the 17-year-old capped a magical day when he teamed with longtime friend Brian Farber on the game's opening goal. Afflicted with Crohn's disease, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and ulcerative colitis, Mundine saw a top-flight youth career on the soccer pitch sidelined due to illness. He signed a one-game, $2,000 deal, and validated the team's decision by netting the fastest goal to start a career in the history of the San Diego Sockers. "I knew this would be a day I would never forget," said Mundine.

Evan Mundine goal for Sockers

C - Brian Rogala, Chicago Mustangs

Rogala, a Long Grove, IL native, put the pen to the paper last week at GiGi's Playhouse in Hoffman Estates in front of many excited friends and family members as well as his new teammates. Brian is a member of GiGi's, a Down Syndrome Achievement Center, as well as a graduate of GiGi U and a mentor for their programs. Rogala has extensive experience as an assistant coach for his brother's soccer team and hopes to share his knowledge with his teammates as they push for playoff positioning.

GK - Diego Reynoso, Monterrey Flash

Reynoso recorded 29 saves while allowing only two goals in a division-clinching road win at Oxford City. He improves to 5-1 on the season and has a 2.82 GAA along with a .819 save percentage since joining the Flash.

D - Norman Levesque, Sacramento Surge

Levesque recorded two goals and five assists on Saturday against the Ontario Fury. He ranks second on the team with 20 points and leads the Surge in assists.

D - Guto Machado, Ontario Fury

Helping the Fury win back-to-back games this weekend and clinch a playoff spot in the Pacific Division, Machado had one goal and six assists for a seven point weekend.

F - Mauricio Salles, Rochester Lancers

Salles had a five-goal game on Saturday helping the Lancers defeat the Harrisburg Heat on the road. He leads the Lancers with 37 points and has 30 goals in the season which is tied for 5th best in the league.

F - Tyler Witmer, Harrisburg Heat

Witmer has a huge weekend scoring nine goals in two games including six goals against the St. Louis Ambush ending Harrisburg's 17-game losing streak.

F - Jamar Beasley, Ontario Fury

Beasley recorded seven goals and two assists in two Fury wins this week, helping them clinch a playoff berth. In four games since joining Ontario from Seattle he has recorded 10 goals and 13 points.

Honorable Mention - Chicago: Hewerton Moreira, Miguel Vaca; Dallas: Freddy Moojen, Nestor Hernandez; Detroit: Trent Messick; Missouri: John Sosa; Ontario: Johnny Topete; Rochester: Andrew Hoxie; San Diego: Kraig Chiles, Ney Almeida; St. Louis: Odaine Sinclair, Adnan Gabeljic; Tulsa: Levi Coleman, Lucas Bunster Almeida

Suspension Report

Brownsville - Oscar Ventura suspended for 2/6/15 game for points accumulation

Brownsville - Rodrigo Tinoco suspended for 2/6/15 game for points accumulation

San Diego - Nick Perera suspended for 2/7/15 and 2/12/15 games for red card violation

Turlock - Jose Martinez suspended for 2/8/15 game for points accumulation

Chicago - Armando Gamboa suspended for 1/31/15 game for red card violation

Kick Starters - Conversations you should be having about the MASL

MASL Taps GoLive for Live Webcasts

Every MASL game will be broadcast live on GoLive Sports Cast this year. All games will also be archived on GoLive at http://golivesportscast.com/video-schedule/.

Moojen Sets Modern Sidekicks Record

Freddy Moojen kept up his torrid pace with five goals in the Sidekicks home win over the Saltillo Rancho Seco. His team-record 35 goals surpasses the 33 goals Nestor Hernandez scored last year as the most Sidekicks goals in the arena era.

Balance in Baltimore

While it's true Baltimore has played the fewest games in the league so far, the 13-0 Blast don't have any players in the top 50 in scoring in the league. Lucas Roque and Tony Donatelli lead the Blast with 21 points, which ranks them just 57th in the league. The Blast are still fourth in the league in goals per game and have 12 players averaging at least a point a game.

Heat Record Cold Streak Ends

The Harrisburg Heat won their first game since January 18, 2014 with a 25-16 win over the visiting St. Louis Ambush on Friday for Faith Night. Tyler Witmer scored six goals in the game to help the Heat end their record 17-game losing streak and to give first year Head Coach Tarik Walker his first coaching victory.

The Week Ahead

Milwaukee Tulsa Fri, Feb 06 7:05 pm Expo Square

Missouri St. Louis Fri, Feb 06 7:35 pm Family Arena

Baltimore Las Vegas Fri, Feb 06 7:35 pm Orleans Arena

Brownsville Saltillo Fri, Feb 06 8:35 pm Deportivo RSS

Saltillo Brownsville Sat, Feb 07 6:00 pm Est Barracudas

St. Louis Tulsa Sat, Feb 07 7:05 pm Expo Square

Sacramento Ontario Sat, Feb 07 7:05 pm Citizens Bank

Baltimore San Diego Sat, Feb 07 7:05 pm VV Casino Arena

Dallas Texas Sat, Feb 07 7:05 pm Ford Arena

Milwaukee Wichita Sat, Feb 07 7:05 pm Hartman Arena

Harrisburg Detroit Sat, Feb 07 7:05 pm Melvindale

Missouri Wichita Sun, Feb 08 3:05 pm Hartman Arena

Turlock Tacoma Sun, Feb 08 4:00 pm ShoWare

All Times Local

Check out the Major Arena Soccer League Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major Arena Soccer League Stories from February 4, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central