San Diego Sockers Match Preview at Kansas City 3-27
MASL San Diego Sockers

San Diego Sockers Match Preview at Kansas City 3-27

Published on March 25, 2026 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


OCEANSIDE, CA - The San Diego Sockers-presented by Kaiser Permanente-open the final weekend of Major Arena Soccer League regular season action for 2025-26 by traveling to Kansas City, Missouri, to take on the Kansas City Comets at Cable Dahmer Arena on Friday night. The match is set for a 5:05pm PDT kickoff, and will be televised exclusively domestically on the CBS Sports Golazo Network, with international coverage on the Unbeaten Network and Fox Sports Mexico (Mexico only).

The Sockers (14-6-2, 40 points) are in a three-way tie for first place in the MASL standings table heading into the final weekend, and could finish anywhere from first to fifth, depending on their results. Two wins with five standings points (at least one regulation win) is guaranteed to give San Diego 45 points, enough for their third MASL Supporter Shield and home field advantage throughout the Ron Newman Cup playoffs. Any loss, however, will all-but relegate the Sockers to third place or below, taking them out of a first-round playoff bye. Baltimore and Milwaukee are tied with San Diego at 40 points, and each has only one match remaining, a home contest against a bottom-two side (Milwaukee hosts Utica, Baltimore hosts Tacoma), giving them an excellent chance to finish with 43 points. The Comets could finish in first place with 44 points by beating the Sockers twice, and St. Louis has a chance with two wins in the final weekend (vs Utica, at Empire) to also get to 44 points. The Empire Strykers are locked in as the sixth and final playoff seed.

Last weekend, San Diego needed a desperate rally in the second half to hold off the St. Louis Ambush, prevailing 5-4 in sudden-death overtime on Tavoy Morgan's golden goal 4:40 into the extra period. The Sockers trailed 3-1 at halftime and 4-1 in the third quarter before scoring the final four goals of the match unanswered. Drew Ruggles played the role of fourth-quarter offensive hero, finishing two different set pieces to draw the Sockers level at 4-4. Ruggles then was the initiator of the golden goal, again on a set piece, a restart from high left wing that he passed off the corner glass to the far post, where Morgan slid the ball home. Nick Perera had a goal and two assists for the Sockers, while Chris Toth earned his second straight Goalkeeper of the Week award with a 14-for-18 saves performance.

The Sockers and Comets are more than familiar with one another this season, as Friday is the fourth of five meetings, and Sunday in Oceanside will see the two sides square off for the fifth and final time. Overall, the Sockers and Comets are playing four times in their last five matches against one another, and some playoff scenarios exist where San Diego and Kansas City could meet in the first round. So far, only the visiting fans have left the arena happy. The Sockers won twice in overtime at Kansas City, a 7-6 shootout win on February 14, and a 6-5 golden goal victory on March 14. One day later, the two clubs flew to San Diego, where the Comets punished the Sockers 8-6, a score that was tightened only by three late six-attacker goals. As such, San Diego is 2-1 against the Comets (4 points), while Kansas City is 1-0-2 against the Sockers (5 points). Combatants since the glory days of the 1980s MISL, the Sockers own an all-time record of 41-25 against the Comets. In the MASL era, the Sockers are 6-7 against Kansas City, including 3-4 at Cable Dahmer Arena.

The Comets (12-6-4, 38 points) earned a critical 8-5 win over the Baltimore Blast last weekend, snapping Baltimore's eight-match winning streak while keeping Kansas City's hopes of a first-place finish alive. Kansas City leans on MVP candidate Rian Marques offensively, leading the team in goals, assists, and points with (26-19=45). His twin tower of power is second forward Zach Reget, with (24-16@) points. The club has stars on every level, with speedy midfielders Christian Anderaos and Mikey Lenis contributing a combined 23 goals, high-scoring defenders Lesia Thetsane (19-6=25 points) and Ignacio "Nacho" Flores (10-13# points), and rugged shot-blocking on-ball defenders Chad Vandegriffe (59 blocks) and Guerrero Pino (26 blocks). Goalkeeper Phillip Ejimadu leads the team in starts (18) and record (11-5-3), with a .668 save percentage and 6.04 goals-against average.

Check out the San Diego Sockers Statistics

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