February 6, 2024 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – Empire Strykers News Release
Ontario, Calif. – Despite Sunday’s 8-4 loss to the visiting Monterrey Flash, there has been an air of confidence about the Empire Strykers this week. With the Strykers having caused plenty of problems for the winningest team in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL), Head Coach Paul Wright was optimistic about the state of his team as it faces a pair of demanding away games on back-to-back nights. Following their strong showing against the 15-0-0 (wins-losses-shootout/overtime losses) Flash in front of 3,700 at Ontario’s Toyota Arena, Wright’s men look to stay in the playoff hunt by improving on their current record of 3-10-0.
Empire will hit the road for Friday’s 4:35 p.m. PT meeting with the Baltimore Blast and Saturday’s 4:05 p.m. PT meeting with the 7-6-2 Kansas City Comets. All the action will be streamed live on Twitch and may be accessed via the platform’s app and website. A full channel lineup for MASL broadcasts may be found here.
Playing in front of a boisterous home crowd on Sunday, the Strykers found themselves down 1-5 in the second quarter. After a spirited rally which saw them score before halftime, win the third period 1-0, and pull another one back in the fourth, the Southern Californians missed a golden chance to cut their deficit to 5-6 with just over three minutes left. Justin Stinson, who bagged three points in the match, saw his penalty shot saved by Monterrey backup Christian Hernandez. As Stinson and company kept pushing with a sixth attacker, the Flash found the empty net twice to round out the final score.
“I think both,” responded Empire’s Mexican star, Marco Fabián, when asked after the game whether he felt more disappointed or more proud of his side’s play. “Of course, disappointed because we know we can compete with the best team of the league. I think every single game we feel better, and today it’s a little frustrating because we know we can win this game. At the same time, I’m proud of these guys. […] The third quarter was fantastic, so if we could play like this, I think we can get more wins.”
Agreed Paul Wright, “Immediately after, it was disappointing that we couldn’t finish the comeback. We knew by halftime that we were capable of winning the game, and that feeling grew when we shut them out in the third quarter and kept pushing in the fourth. By now, we’ve reminded ourselves that Monterrey is the team no one’s beaten, so we take it…