San Diego Sockers Match Preview at Kansas City 2-14
Published on February 12, 2026 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
OCEANSIDE, CA - The San Diego Sockers-presented by Kaiser Permanente-open a Presidents' Day weekend back-to-back with their first of three trips inside the borders of Missouri, taking on the Kansas City Comets on Saturday evening at Cable Dahmer Arena. The match is set for a 4:05PM PST kickoff, and will be televised domestically on MASL TV on YouTube and MASL+, 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 (8-4-1, 24 points) have won three in a row, moving within three points (one regulation win) of the top of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) standings table. The club is 4-3 on the road, and travel will feature prominently in the weekend's efforts. San Diego is flying into Kansas City on Friday, but a scheduled layover will keep the club from reaching its hotel until well after midnight. After playing Saturday night's match, the Sockers will wake up before dawn to go back to the airport, where they must fly Sunday morning back to California before facing the Empire Strykers Sunday afternoon at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside. The Strykers will be fully rested with no other matches played during the week. As such, San Diego must prioritize a strong effort against the Comets on Saturday to secure at least one result out of the weekend.
In their most recent match, the Sockers enjoyed two things they had not since the first week of December: a full week of rest and practice without travel, and the return of multiple players from injury. The result was an 11-4 win over Utica City FC on Alumni Night at Frontwave Arena on February 7. Seven different players registered multiple points in the well-rounded attack, led by three points from defender Mitchell Cardenas (one goal, two assists). Tavoy Morgan, Juan Salazar, and Adrian Reyes each scored a brace (two goals). Morgan, Cesar Cerda (goal/assist), Kraig Chiles (goal/assist), and Charlie Gonzalez (assist) all returned from injuries; for Cerda, Gonzalez, and Morgan, the absence from the lineup stretched over most of the past four weeks.
Saturday is the first of five meetings between the Sockers and Comets, who will get to know each other very well over the final seven weeks of the season after facing one another only ten times in the first eleven years of the MASL. Kansas City has only eight matches remaining on their schedule to San Diego's eleven. The clubs meet four times in their final five matches of the season, in a pair of weekend back-to-backs that involve cross-country flights before the second match. San Diego will play in Kansas City on March 14 before the two clubs fly to San Diego for a March 15 meeting. The same scenario plays out with one extra day of rest to close the season, as the teams meet in Kansas City on March 27 and in Oceanside on March 29. Combatants since the glory days of the 1980s MISL, the Sockers own an all-time record of 39-24 against the Comets. In the MASL era, the Sockers are 4-6 against Kansas City, including 1-4 at Cable Dahmer Arena. Their only win in Missouri came last season, a 7-3 result.
The Comets (9-5-2, 27 points) have stayed at or near the top of the MASL table all season, in part thanks to a games-played advantage over the rest of the league. A front-loaded schedule has seen Kansas City with 2-3 more games played than the rest of the MASL through the first eleven weeks of the schedule. The Comets only have three away matches the rest of the season, two of which are against San Diego. Kansas City is 3-3-2 in its past eight matches. The Comets boast two of the top scorers in the league in forwards Rian Marques (20-13=33 points) and Zach Reget (19-11=30 points). Seven different Comets are in double figures for points this season. Phillip Ejimadu (8-4-2, 6.08 GAA, .648 SV%) is the regular starter in net.
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