Sockers Announce 2022/23 MASL Schedule
October 6, 2022 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) today announced its schedule for the 2022-23 season, featuring fourteen teams in two countries playing a slate of 24 matches, twelve home and twelve away. The Sockers will open their back-to-back Ron Newman Cup championship defense on Saturday, December 10 at Toyota Arena against the newly-renamed Empire Strykers (formerly Ontario Fury) at 7:05pm PT. The two teams will head to San Diego on Sunday, December 11 for the Sockers' Home Opener at 5:05pm, when the club will hang their 16th championship banner.
"It's never easy to win a championship, and having taken the last two Ron Newman Cups, all eyes are on the Sockers," said General Manager Sean Bowers, "Our schedule is challenging as always, but we are excited to get to work and take on the challenge as best we can."
The Sockers return to Pechanga Arena San Diego for the eleventh consecutive season for all twelve of their regular season home matches and any playoff action that may follow. San Diego will play seven matches on Sundays at 5:05pm, and three times on Fridays at 7:35pm. The club's lone Saturday night game will be on March 4, 2023 against the Dallas Sidekicks, a 7:05pm kickoff. San Diego will also play on Thursday, March 30 at home against Milwaukee, a 7:35pm kick.
Single-match tickets will go on sale on Friday morning at 10am. Full-season ticket memberships are already on sale, as well as tickets to the December 11 home opener, by calling (866) 799-GOAL or visiting sdsockers.com.
An unbalanced schedule will see San Diego face Western Conference opponents in 20 of their 24 matches. The Sockers will face their Southern California rivals the Strykers six times, the most of any opponent. Two clubs returning from a hiatus to the MASL, the Monterrey Flash and Mesquite Outlaws, will each feature three times on the San Diego schedule. After a year apart, the Dallas Sidekicks return for four matches, two home and two away. Chihuahua (twice), Tacoma (twice), Harrisburg (twice), Kansas City, and Milwaukee round out the schedule of opponents.
After their opening weekend home-and-home against Empire, the Sockers will play host to the Mesquite Outlaws on Sunday, December 18, before breaking for the holidays. The club resumes play on January 7, 2023, with a 1:00pm match at Dallas. The two clubs will then travel to San Diego for the back end of a weekend home-and-home on January 8 at 6:05pm at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
The Kansas City Comets will visit San Diego for the second consecutive season, as last year's playoff semi-finalists take on the Sockers on Sunday, January 15 at Pechanga Arena. San Diego will then head out on their lone East Coast road trip of the season, playing back-to-back matches in Pennsylvania against the Harrisburg Heat on January 21 (4:05pm) and January 22 (2:05pm).
After a season filled with remarkable battles, including a three-match MASL playoff semi-final, the Sockers and Chihuahua Savage will renew their newfound rivalry on Sunday, January 29 at 5:05pm when the Savage return to Pechanga Arena. The following Friday (February 3), San Diego hosts Mesquite for a 7:35pm kickoff, which will be the club's only home match in the month.
The Sockers will spend the rest of February on the road, embarking on a season-long six-match road trip. The sojourn will begin on Wednesday, February 8 in Empire, continuing to a Saturday, February 11 match in Tacoma, the club's only trip to the Pacific Northwest this season. The following weekend will see the Sockers play a Thursday-Saturday Texas two-step through Mesquite (February 16) and Dallas (February 18). The weekend after will see San Diego head south of the border on Friday and Sunday to Nuevo Leon and Chihuahua, taking on the Monterrey Flash (February 24) and the Savage (February 26).
The Sockers return to San Diego for their lone Saturday night home match in the regular season, taking on the Dallas Sidekicks on March 4 in a 7:05pm kickoff. After a quick trip to Empire for a Thursday night match (March 9), the Sockers will take the following weekend off, before finishing the season with six matches in sixteen days.
The Sockers will host Monterrey on St. Patrick's Day (Friday, March 17) before welcoming Empire back to San Diego on Sunday, March 19. The following Friday (March 24), the Sockers and Strykers will again clash at Pechanga Arena in a 7:35pm kickoff, before San Diego heads to Mexico for their second clash at Arena Monterrey with the Flash on Sunday afternoon (March 26).
The regular season concludes with two home matches heading into the month of April. The Sockers welcome back the Milwaukee Wave for their only midweek home match of the season, a Thursday 7:35pm kickoff on March 30. The Tacoma Stars make their only appearance of the year in San Diego on Sunday, April 2 at 5:05pm, on Fan Appreciation Night.
The sixteen-time pro indoor soccer champion Sockers have won consecutive MASL Ron Newman Cup championships and take aim at a three-peat for the fourth time in franchise history. More information, including season ticket membership incentives and purchasing options, are available at sdsockers.com.
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