December 12, 2023 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – Empire Strykers News Release
Ontario, California – It’s history in the making this week for the Empire Strykers, as they were joined on the training field by recent signing and former Mexican international Marco Fabián, who is likely to make his Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) debut in Friday’s home opener against the Baltimore Blast. The blockbuster clash at Ontario’s Toyota Arena comes on the heels of Empire’s first victory of the season, a hard-fought 8-7 result over home side St. Louis Ambush.
Marco Fabián and the Empire Strykers face visiting Baltimore on December 15 at 7:35 p.m. PT. Tickets are available here.
Playing in their third straight road game, the Strykers downed St. Louis Sunday to avoid an 0-3 record, having previously dropped consecutive matches in Mexico after an offseason that saw the departure of nearly all of the club’s established veterans. Head Coach Paul Wright’s men held a three-goal lead over the Ambush in the in the final quarter before fighting off a late rally from the hosts, the narrow win coming courtesy of a strong opening period and an attacking clinic by midfielder Gerardo Jurado, who bagged four assists and a goal. Ambush midfielder William Eskay had four tallies in the contest.
Notably, a total of seven Empire players found the back of the net at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri.
“We’re happy we got the result, but we have to work on being more organized,” offered Empire Head Coach Paul Wright. “Our inexperience showed at times, and our second-half performance didn’t match our first-half performance. It’s expected with such a young team and so many players who are new to the indoor game. That said, we showed how deep we are and that you can’t focus on just one or two of our guys. Instead, we have several players who are explosive and able to create. That was the idea when we built this roster. I believe we will gel and that everyone will fully understand the system we’re trying to implement.”
The Strykers will strive for continued improvement in Friday’s momentous meeting with Baltimore. After never missing the playoffs since its inaugural MASL season in 2014-15, the Blast looks to bounce back from back-to-back home defeats to start 2023-24, having fallen 10-6 to Utica City FC and 9-5 to the Texas Outlaws. The arrival of Empire’s newest midfielder, two-time FIFA World Cup veteran Fabián, promises to add yet another a spark to an attack whose output…