San Diego Sockers Match Preview at Empire
Published on January 20, 2026 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
OCEANSIDE, CA - The San Diego Sockers--presented by Kaiser Permanente-- begin the final week of a month-long road trip with a journey up I-15 to take on the Empire Strykers on Thursday night at Ontario's Toyota Arena. The match is scheduled for a 6:35pm PST kickoff, and can be viewed domestically on Fox Soccer Plus, MASL TV on YouTube, as well as supplemental coverage on the National Soccer Network and Victory+, and international coverage on Sportworld, Fox Sports Mexico, and the Unbeaten Network.
The Sockers (5-3-1, 16 points) begin the week in third place in the eight-team Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) standings table, three points behind second-place Milwaukee (with a game in hand) and eight points behind first-place Kansas City (with four games in hand). San Diego is working their way through one of the most challenging road schedules in modern franchise history, about to begin their fourth straight week of cross-country flight. After facing the Strykers on Thursday night, the Sockers will board a flight to Maryland on Friday and battle the Baltimore Blast on Saturday evening. This will conclude a road trip that has tested San Diego's roster from top to bottom: six road matches in 20 days, two back-to-backs with a flight between games, an eight-hour overnight bus right between games, and six flights (including return trips) that crossed three time zones.
In the Sockers' last match, travel fatigue and injury troubles caught up to the club, as they fell to the Milwaukee Wave 10-5 on Saturday at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. San Diego allowed multiple goals in all four quarters and lost each quarter to the Wave, who swept the season series 2-0. Derek Huffman scored a brace, and Alex Steinwascher added a goal and two assists for Milwaukee. The Sockers gained a brief 3-2 lead in the second quarter on Drew Ruggles' 100th career MASL goal, but quickly conceded three times before halftime, and never got back into the contest in the second half. San Diego dropped to 2-2 on their six-match road trip with this week's matches remaining on the balance.
Thursday is the fourth of six scheduled meetings between the Sockers and Strykers, and the second this month. San Diego edged out Empire 4-3 on January 3 at Frontwave Arena, the day before the long road trip began. The Sockers also spoiled the Strykers' home opener on December 12 with a 6-3 win, while Empire returned the favor and spoiled San Diego's home opener back on November 28 by a 5-4 (OT) score.
Counting regular season and postseason, the Sockers had a 15-match winning streak over the Strykers that ended on that day. San Diego's overall mark against Empire/Ontario stands at 49-10. However, close matches have highlighted the series of late, with all nine contests between 2024-25 and now decided by three goals or fewer.
Empire (3-6, 8 points) is tied for last in the MASL standings, six points behind the playoff pack. After a five- match losing streak, the Strykers have won two of three (both over Tacoma) to stabilize their season. Both wins featured Empire's offense breaking out, with 17 total goals against the Stars. In all other contests, the Strykers have been held to 20 goals total (2.85 goals-per-match). Empire is the only team in the league without a double-digit points scorer. Mounir Alami leads the club with (6-2=8) points. While the offense is the league's weakest, the Strykers' defense is the best in the MASL, conceding just 4.22 goals-per-match.
Goalkeeper Brian Orozco leads the league in GAA (3.79) and SV% (.753).
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from January 20, 2026
- San Diego Sockers Match Preview at Empire - San Diego Sockers
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