Wave Dominant Again in 10-5 Win
Published on January 17, 2026 under Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release
Tavoy Morgan of the San Diego Sockers vs. the Milwaukee Wave
(San Diego Sockers, Credit: Wave/MASL)
MILWAUKEE, WI - Alex Steinwascher had a goal and two assists, Derek Huffman scored a brace, and the Milwaukee Wave (6-1-2, 19 points) moved into sole possession of second place in the Major Arena Soccer League with a dominant 10-5 win on Saturday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. In the midst of a month-long road trip, the Sockers (5-3-1, 16 points) fell to 2-2 on the six-match trip with two more remaining next week. The Wave swept the two-match season series, clinching a possible playoff tiebreaker against San Diego.
Even though San Diego had only a single match on the schedule this week, the cumulative effect of playing travel back-to-backs the previous two weekends showed up to slow the Sockers' legs and blunt their defensive control. The Wave were regularly able to beat the Sockers down the floor, counter-attack against San Diego's possession attempts, and find juicy rebounds where defenders could have been to sweep the ball away. Missing top scorer Charlie Gonzalez, playmaking midfielders Luiz Morales and Gabriel Costa, goalkeeper Chris Toth, and defenders Ben Ramin and Luis Ortega, San Diego continued to press their veteran starters into heavy minutes, but returns were few and far between. The Sockers gave up multiple goals in all four quarters in the club's most porous defensive performance of the year.
Getting off to slow starts has been a consistent characteristic of this month-long Sockers road trip, and Saturday was no different. Milwaukee struck first on a high-quality effort, as Wave forward Andre Hayne drew a double-team in the attacking left corner and lifted a pass over the top of both defenders, identifying midfielder Max Ludwig in the crease. Ludwig made no mistake from close range, roofing a shot over Pardo and into the upper netting at 4:10 of the first quarter for a 1-0 Milwaukee lead. The Wave kept up their pressure and found a second goal in short order, beating San Diego down the floor in defensive transition from some Sockers pressure in the zone. Alex Steinwascher accepted a wallascora pass on the left wing and fired on Pardo, who made a crouching kick save that took him to the turf. The rebound came back out to Steinwascher, who put it home past the keeper's prone frame at 8:45 for a 2-0 Wave advantage.
The Sockers answered back before the quarter was over, as defender Jesus Pacheco dug out a loose ball from in between a pair of Wave players on the left wall, took one touch forward, and slotted the ball past keeper William Banahene and inside the right post at 12:55, narrowing the lead to 2-1. San Diego had both a yellow-line and a top-arc free kick following the goal, but failed to convert either, and the Wave missed a second Steinwascher goal when he failed to re-direct a rebound into an open left side of the net. Milwaukee led 2-1 after fifteen minutes, outshooting San Diego 9-7.
Sockers defender Drew Ruggles, who had been sitting on 99 career MASL goals since December 30, made an unselfish play to lead San Diego back to a tie score. With Pacheco holding the ball in the corner, Ruggles made a run into the middle of the Milwaukee crease and accepted a centering pass. With three defenders around him, Ruggles chose not to call his own number, instead letting the defense suck in toward him before laying the ball to his left to rookie Andrew Estrella. The midfielder fired his first career MASL goal into the upper V at 4:24 of the second quarter, knotting the match up at 2-2. Three minutes later, the teammates reversed roles. Estrella played a ball out of the attacking right corner that slipped between Banahene's legs, and Ruggles was there on the goal line to tap in his 100th career goal and put San Diego ahead 3-2 at the 7:17 mark.
The lead was short-lived. The Sockers defense failed to mark forward Derek Huffman, who returned from a four-match suspension following a red card. Huffman slipped behind the defense and was wide-open on left wing, accepting an Alex Steinwascher pass and gathering it before blasting his first goal of the season off the crossbar and into the net at 8:01. The Wave then took the lead on a counter-attack, with Alex Steinwascher intercepting a cross-field pass and eluding a steal attempt by Nick Perera, leading to a breakaway on goal. His shot was kicked out by Pardo, but the rebound came directly to Stuart Grable, who shot home his first goal of the season, giving Milwaukee the lead back at 13:20.
Milwaukee wasn't done, and the Sockers would be left to regret their inability to finish out the half in stronger fashion. The Sockers' Mitchell Cardenas picked off an errant pass at midfield, but his attempt to send the ball forward went directly into the legs of a Milwaukee player, triggering a Wave counter-attack down the field. With San Diego slow to get back, Alex Sanchez sent a saucy pass out of the left corner to the middle of the field, where Andre Hayne beat Cardenas to the position and slammed in his fourth goal of the year. The Wave led 5-3 at the halfway point.
Both teams had amazing chances to score in the opening two minutes of the third quarter, as Cesar Correa cleared a possible Sockers goal from Sebastian Mendez off the line, sparking a counter-attack which led to two wide-open shots for Max Ferdinand; the first was shot wide and the second was cleared away on a goal-saving block by Leonardo de Oliveira. Then, both teams exchanged goals within 24 seconds. Ruggles cut a pass to Juan Salazar on left wing, who used a left-footed shot to fire a half-volley off Banahene's hand and in for his first goal of the year, drawing the lead to 5-4 at 6:30. Seconds later, Pardo was unable to control a shot to his hands and the rebound was passed through four Wave players, with Alex Steinwascher lifting a pass to the head of Mario Alvarez for his eighth goal of the year and a 6-4 lead at 6:54.
The Sockers had an opportunity to get right back into the match at 8:40 when they earned a power play, as Mendez was tripped in the crease. However, the absence of playmaker Charlie Gonzalez loomed large, as San Diego was forced into an unusual formation with Perera at the top handling the ball, and both Chiles and Morgan down low. San Diego's struggling power play came up empty, dropping to 2-for-12 (.167) on the season, and immediately after the penalty was killed, Pardo was forced into a breakaway save against Max Ferdinand. Moments later, Derek Huffman jumped on a bouncing lead pass from Mario Alvarez and shot it first-time over Pardo's planted feet and into the upper net to make it 7-4 at 12:21.
San Diego dominated possession for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter in an attempt to get back into the match, but could not solve the final equation of the Wave defense. After a Banahene leaping parry drew Pacheco in deep searching for a header rebound, the keeper was able to throw out and trigger Oscar Flores' left-wing goal for 8-4 at 7:28. The Sockers went to a six-attacker formation and immediately gave up another, as Perera's midfield turnover gave Cesar Correa an easy empty-netter at 7:42 for 9-4. Pacheco's second of the night came with six attackers at 10:19, and Alex Sanchez answered with a free kick goal seconds later at 10:38.
The Sockers fly back to San Diego on Sunday and have Monday to recover before returning to training on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, the club will drive to Empire on Thursday and face the Strykers, before boarding a cross-country flight back to Baltimore, where they will face the Blast once again on Saturday. 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 ride between games, and six flights that crossed three time zones. San Diego will at last return to Frontwave Arena on Sunday, February 1, to host the Tacoma Stars. Tickets are available at frontwavearena.com or sdsockers.com.
Images from this story
 Tavoy Morgan of the San Diego Sockers vs. the Milwaukee Wave (Wave/MASL) |
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from January 17, 2026
- Wave Dominant Again in 10-5 Win - San Diego Sockers
- Comets Visit Milwaukee for Sunday Showdown - Kansas City Comets
- Empire Outshoots Ambush, 32-14, Loses, 4-2, in Nascimento Clinic - Empire Strykers
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