August 19, 2024 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Empire Strykers News Release
Ontario, Calif. – Seven Empire Strykers players have been called up to the U.S. arena soccer national team’s September 29 match against regional rival Mexico. With the exception of veterans Israel Sesay and Robert Palmer, who are the latest participants to have been officially confirmed, all the selections are under the age of 30 and coming off breakout Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) campaigns. Joining Sesay and Palmer for the high-profile event at Toyota Arena will be club teammates Momo Gueye, Justin Stinson, Stefan Mijatovic, Alan Perez, and Brian Orozco.
Tickets to the meeting between the U.S. men and their Mexican counterparts are available exclusively on Ticketmaster. They also cover a clash of the two countries’ women’s sides earlier in the day.
During a 2023-24 season that saw Empire’s young squad struggle to prevent opposition tallies, defender Momo Gueye, 28, provided plenty of reason for hope with his gritty performances and intelligent excursions into the attacking half. The Senegalese American finished with a team-best 26 blocked opposition shots as well as with 23 appearances, 7 goals, and 11 assists. All four totals mark career highs.
While 27-year-old attackers Justin Stinson and Stefan Mijatovic closed out the campaign on loan with Tacoma, the pair registered a clear majority of their appearances in 2023-24 as members of the Strykers. When adding up each player’s regular season totals with both teams, Stinson ranks second on Empire in goals (23), assists (15), points (38), and points-per-game average (1.8). Meanwhile, Mijatovic tops the roster in assists (17) while placing third in goals (16), points (33), and points-per-game average (1.5). All of Stinson’s and Mijatovic’s totals in the aforementioned categories mark career highs.
Alan Perez, 25, was arguably the Strykers’ 2023-24 most improved player with prior MASL experience. Performing in his third campaign with Empire, the Southern California native bested his previous career highs in all major statistical categories – most of them by massive margins. Over the course of his 22 appearances (previous high: 21), Perez recorded 9 goals (previous high: 2), 13 assists (previous high: 2), 22 points (previous high: 3), and a 1.0 points-per-game average (previous high: 0.3).
Playing at goalkeeper, a position generally dominated by older veterans, indoor rookie Brian Orozco won over the starting gig halfway through…