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…