February 17, 2024 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – San Diego Sockers News Release
San Diego Sockers celebrate a goal against the Empire Strykers
(San Diego Sockers)
The San Diego Sockers–presented by Kaiser Permanente San Diego–travel up the I-15 to take on their regional rivals, the Empire Strykers, on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA. The match is set for a 4:05pm kickoff, and will be streamed live on Twitch channel @masl_soccer.
The Sockers (13-2, 38 points), owners of the best record in MASL history all-time at 162-33-5, are the first team in the league to clinch a spot in the Ron Newman Cup playoffs for 2024. The Sockers have won the first two MASL Supporters Shields, awarded to the club with the league’s best regular season record. Their 13-2 record is the best through fifteen matches in the West, but trails 15-0 Monterrey in the East. San Diego is 58-4-1 over the last 2 1/2 regular seasons (63 matches).
San Diego and Empire meeting for the third of six times this season. The two clubs will face one another four times in the next six matches. The Sockers are 2-0 against the Strykers so far, with wins of 7-3 at home on December 17, and 8-5 in Ontario on January 17. The clubs’ last fixture saw the Sockers take an 8-1 lead midway through the fourth quarter, only for Empire to rally back with four sixth-attacker goals in quick succession to narrow the scoreline. In the all-time series, San Diego is 33-9 against the Ontario Fury/Empire Strykers franchise.
The Sockers are in a busy flurry within the 2023-24 schedule, with Sunday marking their fourth match in ten days. Coming off a Friday night match last weekend in Chihuahua, San Diego hosted Texas on Tuesday and Thursday before traveling to Empire for Sunday’s afternoon contest at Toyota Arena in Ontario. The Sockers previously completed a four-match road trip through Tacoma, Texas and Chihuhahua, compiling a 3-1 record from January 28 to February 9.
In San Diego’s last match, the club overcame a lineup crippled by injuries, posting four goals in the first and fourth quarters to complete a season sweep of the Texas Outlaws with an 8-4 final score. The Sockers went 3-0 against Texas this season, including two wins this week at Pechanga Arena. Brandon Escoto scored his team-leading 18th and 19th goals of the season, while Felipe Gonzalez added two goals of his own. San Diego won despite missing the club’s top two scorers (Tavoy Morgan, Charlie Gonzalez) and top-two playmaking…