Sockers Face Stars Tuesday
Published on December 28, 2025 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
The San Diego Sockers--presented by Kaiser Permanente--return from the holiday break to begin a quick two-match homestand and three-match week, taking on the Tacoma Stars on Tuesday, December 30 at Frontwave Arena. The match is set for a 7pm PST kickoff and will be telecast live across the U.S. on MASL TV (on YouTube), with international coverage on Fox Sports Mexico, Sportworld and the Unbeaten Network.
The Sockers (1-1-1, 4 points) are coming off their first win of the MASL campaign, while still in search of their first home win of the season. The club kicked off the 2025-26 schedule by taking back-to-back home losses, an overtime loss to Empire and a regulation loss to Milwaukee. A road win in Ontario put three needed points in San Diego's basket, but the club is looking up the standings from sixth place, the final playoff position in the table. The Sockers are 12 points out of first place and five points out of second place, although the first-place Kansas City Comets have played eight matches to San Diego's three. Tuesday's match is the first of two in five days at Frontwave Arena, after which the Sockers will travel to Tacoma on Sunday to start a six-match road trip that will keep them out of town the rest of January.
San Diego's last match was on Friday, December 12 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, where the Sockers secured their first win of the season, a 6-3 decision over the Empire Strykers. Two players made impactful season debuts for San Diego, led by veteran midfielder Leonardo de Oliveira. Coming back from a lower body injury which sidelined him for the opening two matches, "Leo" delivered the first and final goals of the night, adding a key assist for a three-point game. Also making his season debut was midfielder Luiz Morales, who broke a 1-1 tie in the third quarter with his first goal of the year. The Sockers scored three times in a 1:44 span of the fourth quarter to take control. Charlie Gonzalez added his team-leading fourth goal of the season, Taylor Bond added his third of the year, and Nick Perera notched a goal and two assists.
Tuesday's match begins the season series between the Sockers and Tacoma Stars, which will consist of four matches, two home and two away. San Diego will travel to Tacoma on Sunday, January 4 as the tail end of a back-to-back, following a Saturday home match against Empire. The clubs will meet again in Oceanside on February 1, and in Tacoma on February 27. Competitors against one another since the MISL days of the 1980s, the Sockers hold an all-time record of 81-24 against the Stars. In the MASL, the numbers are a much-more dominant 40-5 in favor of San Diego. The Sockers have never had a losing season against Tacoma in the MASL. The Stars went 1-1 against San Diego in the 2021 COVID season, before losing twice in the playoffs to the Sockers. San Diego went 5-1 against the Stars in 2024-25.
Tacoma (3-0, 9 points) is off to their second-best start in MASL history, sweeping three home matches to begin. As such, the Stars find themselves tied for second place in the standings table, despite having played three fewer matches than Milwaukee (9 points) and five fewer than Kansas City (16 points). Despite the losses of longtime captain Nick Perera and Goalkeeper of the Year Chris Toth to San Diego, the Stars have rolled behind understudy Luis Birrueta, who has posted 33 saves (.767 SV%) and a GAA of 3.33. Tyler John leads Tacoma with four goals.
Quick Strikes
Charlie Golazo
Sockers midfielder Charlie Gonzalez has started the season on the same roll that he carried through a million-dollar summer. After providing a goal and assist against Empire, Gonzalez leads the Sockers in goals and points with (4-3=7). In June, Gonzalez helped power Bumpy Pitch FC (a club largely filled with Sockers and Strykers players) to the championship of the annual TST 7v7 tournament in Cary, North Carolina, claiming the million-dollar winner-take-all prize for the team. Charlie scored both goals in Bumpy Pitch FC's 2-1 win in the championship match, including the match winner from beyond midfield. In 2024-25, Gonzalez earned all-MASL Second Team honors, leading the Sockers in scoring with (16-20=36) points in 22 matches played.
Welcome Back, Leo!
San Diego got their Pass Master back in the lineup just in time for their first win of the season. Midfielder Leonardo de Oliveira, known as "Leo", missed the first two matches with a lower-body injury and saw his club drop both results. Leo returned to the lineup with a bang against Empire on December 12, scoring the first goal of the match off a walla-scora pass from Nick Perera at 10:32 of the first quarter. In the fourth, Leo returned the favor, sending a centering pass to Nick that Perera netted for his first goal of the season. Finally, clinging to a 5-3 lead, Leo picked off an errant pass and sent a long goal into Empire's vacated net from just outside the defensive yellow line. In his eighth season with San Diego, Leo has produced 76 goals and 136 assists (212 points) in 130 matches. His 191 career assists rank fourth in MASL history.
A Farewell Tour for Captain Kraig
Sockers' captain Kraig Chiles has begun his 17th and final season, having announced that the 2025-26 will be his last as an active player. Chiles, 41, is the club's all-time goals (505) and points (743) leader, and is third all-time in MASL goals scored (302). Consistency and accuracy are hallmarks of Kraig Chiles' career. The forward has netted 20+ goals in fifteen consecutive full seasons (excluding the 2021 COVID MASL season, which only lasted ten matches), including (24-8=32) points in 21 regular season matches during the 2024-25 campaign. Chiles was held scoreless in his first three matches of 2025-26, the first time in his career he has been shut out. He is limiting his minutes on-field mostly to power plays and free kicks.
The Name's Bond. Taylor Bond.
Known for his defensive toughness, speed and willingness to get stuck in against opposing players, Taylor Walter Bond has rediscovered his scoring touch to begin the 2025-26 season. Despite playing limited minutes in all three matches so far, Bond has found his way to three goals, ranking him second on the Sockers. A twelve-year veteran of the MASL, Bond has 134 goals in 181 career matches with Chicago, Tacoma, Cedar Rapids, Florida, Harrisburg, Utica and San Diego. He's looking to put double-digit goals on the board for the sixth time, with a career-high of 40 goals set as a forward for Chicago in 2016-17.
Back For Good, or Just For Now?
After missing the first two matches of the season with an excused absence, midfielder Luiz Morales played for the first time against Empire, netting his first goal of the season. The Sockers are determining the amount of time they will give to Morales, who flies in from his native state of Texas to play for San Diego. He is expected to miss much of January (along with Sockers teammates Gabriel Costa and Sebastian Mendez) as part of the U.S. team participating in the Kings World Cup Nations tournament in Brazil. Morales, 25, is considered one of the more dangerous attacking midfielders in the MASL, with 90 goals in 67 career matches played.
An Unparalleled Tandem in Net
The Sockers are the envy of the indoor soccer world with the goalkeeping tandem of Boris Pardo and Chris Toth, combining for eight career MASL Goalkeeper of the Year awards. Pardo, 41, is a two-time champion with the Sockers and the league's all-time wins leader (138). Toth, 35, returns to his childhood team as the MASL's all-time saves leader (2,429) and back-to-back Goalkeeper of the Year awards in Tacoma. The duo split the net in the season opener, with each playing a half. Pardo stopped 9-of-12 shots in the first half, while Toth stopped 1-of-3 shots in the second half and overtime. Pardo played the entire second match (13-of-20 saves) while Toth earned his first start and win of the year at Empire, stopping 14-of-17 shots.
Lineup Issues
The Sockers are working their way through a series of season-opening injuries and maladies which have prevented the club from fielding their full-strength lineup yet this season. While San Diego welcomed Leonardo de Oliveira back into the lineup against Empire, they were without the services of fellow midfielders Gabriel Costa and Keko Gontán, who each are nursing lower-body injuries. Defender Felipe Gonzalez is working his way toward his season debut, but the oft-injured veteran has missed his club's last 24 matches played overall. In addition, long-time defensive forward Christian Gutierrez is out for the season due to P-1 visa issues, robbing the Sockers of their most tenacious counter-attack presence in the lineup. Defender Luis "Peewee" Ortega is likely out for the season after suffering an Achilles injury in the playoffs last season.
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from December 28, 2025
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- Sockers Face Stars Tuesday - San Diego Sockers
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