Strykers Face St. Louis at Home, Tacoma Away in Two-Day Span

Ontario, Calif. — When the Empire Strykers host the St. Louis Ambush and travel to take on the Tacoma Stars this weekend, it will present a welcome opportunity for Head Coach Onua Obasi's men to get the sour taste of a home defeat to rival San Diego out of their mouths. The back-to-back meetings mark an important opportunity for the Strykers to show their resolve and ability to bounce back early in their 2025-26 Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) campaign.

 

The 1-1-0 (wins-losses-overtime/shootout losses) Empire Strykers host 1-2-0 St. Louis on Friday, December 19, at 7:05 p.m. PST, followed by the trip to Tacoma and a 6:05 p.m. PST kickoff the very next day. Tickets to the home game are available at www.TheEmpireStrykers.com.

 

While the English-language video broadcast of the Ambush clash will air exclusively in the U.S. on CBS Sports Golazo Network, the Spanish-language video broadcast will air exclusively in Mexico via the FOX Sports lineup of channels. International viewers in many countries outside the U.S. can watch live in English on Sportworld, Unbeaten Network, APEX Sports and SLVR, with a video broadcast in Spanish also being made available globally (except in Mexico) via the MASL's YouTube channel. Around the world, fans will be able to listen in English via the exclusive radio broadcast on FOX Sports 1270AM.

 

Saturday's meeting with the 2-0-0 Stars will air globally on the MASL's YouTube channel (English) and in Mexico via the FOX Sports lineup of channels (Spanish). Many international viewers may also enjoy the action with English commentary via Sportworld, Unbeaten Network, APEX Sports, SLVR or Victory+.

 

After opening their season with a much-celebrated 5-4 overtime win away to the San Diego Sockers, Empire fell to its visiting rivals by a score of 6-3 in front of 5,148 fans at Ontario's Toyota Arena. The San Diego victory was powered in large part by a stingy team performance on defense — with goalkeeper Chris Toth's .786 save percentage leading the charge — and by three-point displays from attackers Leonardo De Oliveira and Nick Perera.

 

The tightly contested affair remained level until a Strykers mistake in the third quarter opened the door for the Sockers to jump in front 2-1 and take full advantage of their momentum by pulling away in the final period. Empire made it interesting by cutting its deficit to 5-3 with consecutive goals, one of them coming courtesy of an impressive individual effort by offseason addition Ant Powell, but San Diego would seal the deal courtesy of a sixth late in the game.

 

With his side trailing 5-1, former Dallas Sidekicks attacker Powell provided some hope by collecting a pass from Robert Palmer and cutting inside from the left before firing a low drive inside the near post. The play gave those watching from the stands and on their screens a second taste of the 29-year-old's abilities, as he had already provided a clever assist on Marco Fabián's opener in the first quarter.

 

“My performance this time was better than in the first game on the road,” said Powell. “I made progress, but I feel like I can give a lot more and do a lot better. It's just a matter of building on this game and building my confidence.

 

“As a team, we're very disappointed with the result and our performance overall. I think we can do a lot better. In the first game at San Diego, we performed a lot better defensively and made a lot less mistakes.”

 

The Strykers' first chance to improve comes in Friday's meeting with the St. Louis Ambush. The Ambush opened its season with back-to-back defeats to the mighty Kansas City Comets, falling 7-3 at home and 8-3 on the road, but then sent shockwaves through the league by ending the visiting Milwaukee Wave's early-season dominance by way of a 7-6 overtime victory.

 

“I watched both games against Kansas City and the game against Milwaukee,” offered Empire's Powell. “St. Louis is a good squad overall, but I still think this is a promising chance to get a win if we eliminate our mistakes and control what we can by executing our game plan.”

 

He continued, “Our ideology is to have a lot of possession. It's how [Head Coach] Obasi wants us to play, so I'm assuming that's going to happen here. We'll probably keep moving the ball, wait for opportunities, and then try to pounce when we get them.”

 

The Strykers hold a 9-0 all-time record against the Ambush, which includes a 1-0 overtime/shootout record. Even though both sides were founded in 2013, they did not play each other until the 2019-20 MASL campaign. Last season, Empire went 2-0 against the Missourians, defeating them 8-6 at home and 7-5 on the road. Both wins came  in mid-January of this year.

 

Three games into its campaign, St. Louis, which barely squeezed into the playoffs in 2024-25, draws most of its hope from promise shown on offense.

 

While veteran goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento currently ranks third in the MASL in total saves (32), his teammates Daniel Torrealba and Jeff Michaud share the team lead in blocks (2 each). However, Torrealba's attacking efforts alongside Duduca Carvalho have been far more noteworthy.

 

Midfielder Torrealba and forward Carvalho jointly sit tied for ninth in the MASL in points (5 each) and in points per game (both 1.67 in 3), and Carvalho is also tied for ninth in the league in goals (3) as well as tied for first on the Ambush in assists with Michaud and Mario Falsone (2 each). Colin O'Keefe is St. Louis' current runner-up in goals (2).

 

With the Empire Strykers having only played two games in 2025-26, and thus fewer than most other MASL teams, goalkeeper Brian Orozco and backline anchor Robert Palmer rank among the league's early statistical leaders. Palmer sits tied for fourth in blocks (9). Orozco, who has already collected a game-winning assist, currently holds the third-highest save percentage (73.3%).

 

While notably ranking tied for second in the league in assists (21) for the 2024-25 regular season and boasting 1.2 points per game (in 23), Robert Palmer is also Empire's undisputed defensive leader. The 36-year-old finished fifth MASL-wide in blocks (51), with recent arrival from the Texas Outlaws, Steven Chávez, having registered the second most (15) of all current Strykers.

 

2025 All-Stars Marco Fabián and Justin Stinson form a lethal attacking duo for Empire. While Fabián placed tied for eighth in the league in points per game (1.95 in 21) last season as well as eighth in both points (41) and goals (25), along with claiming runner-up on the Strykers in assists (16), Stinson finished second in the MASL in goals (32), tied for fifth in points (43) and for sixth in power play goals (3), and second on his side in points per game (1.79 in 24).

 

A big part of what made the Empire attack so unpredictable were the contributions by the team's three backstops. While Brian Orozco scored three times and added an assist in 22 appearances, Brandon Gomez put up two goals and two helpers, and Claysson De Lima collected four assists. Gomez and De Lima each played in 13 games.

 

Saturday's Strykers opponents, the Tacoma Stars, have played the same number of games as Empire and have shocked pundits and fans alike with back-to-back home wins over the visiting Baltimore Blast. After downing the Blast, which had opened its campaign with an 11-3 thumping of visiting Kansas City, by a score of 3-2 after regulation time, the Stars bagged an 8-6 victory less than 24 hours later.

 

“I watched their games against Baltimore,” said Strykers forward Ant Powell. “They showed up and got the results, and they looked a lot better than I expected and than probably most people would have predicted. It seems like they're well coached and that they all know their jobs.”

 

The Tacoma wins came as a surprise to many mostly because the club during the offseason lost longtime standouts Chris Toth and Nick Perera to San Diego. While the Stars seemed to lack prominent signings, Ant Powell acknowledged the team's cohesion and pointed specifically to a pair of players who at one point shared the Dallas Sidekicks locker room with him.

 

While ex-Sidekicks midfielder Yahir Romero arrived late in 2024-25, former Ontario Fury/Empire Strykers fan favorite Nestor Hernandez joined from Dallas in July. Both Romero and Hernandez featured in the wins over Baltimore.

 

“They're definitely good players,” said Texas native Powell. “I know they'll want to make an impact against us.”

 

Despite Tacoma — like Empire — being only two games into its campaign, forward Tyler John ranks tied for ninth in the MASL in goals (3). John's teammate and longtime backup to goalkeeping legend Chris Toth, Washington State native Luis Birrueta, impressively sits second in goals-against average (4.00 in 2).

 

Last season, Toth was once again among the league leaders in net. Logan Jones served as the veteran's main protector in the back, as he finished tied for third in the league in blocks (62). Adrian Correa (27) trailed significantly behind on the Stars roster.

 

Like Toth, Nick Perera again ranked among the MASL's elite in 2024-25, with the rest of the indoor giant's squad performing by committee. Mike Ramos led the supporting cast, placing tied for third in the league in power play goals alongside teammate Alex Caceres (3 each), first among all current Tacoma players — so not counting Perera — in points (27), assists (11) and points per game (1.29 in 21), and second in goals (16). Tyler John finished tops among all current Stars in goals (18) as well as runner-up in points (23) and points per game (1.05 in 22), and Yahir Romero and Willie Spur shared second in assists (8 each).

 

When the Strykers face Tacoma on Saturday, they will be at the distinct disadvantage of having played the previous night and coming off a three-hour-ish flight. The opposition will enter the match on a full five days' rest.

 

“The travel definitely makes an impact,” said Empire's Powell, “but it depends on how heavy the legs are from the day before and how much toll that first game took on your whole body.”

 

With the two West Coast sides having faced each other for the first time as MASL founding members during the 2014-15 campaign, the Strykers trail 20-21 in the all-time series, which includes a 2-3 record in overtime/shootout decisions. Empire and the Stars have never met in the playoffs.

 

Last season, the Strykers took the series 4-1, winning their final two meetings with the Washingtonians 12-5 at home and 7-6 away in regulation. After years of fierce battles over which side would make the MASL playoffs at the expense of the other, the four defeats went a long way toward Tacoma missing out on the knockout rounds in 2024-25.

 

Having reached the postseason for the first time following three straight absences, Empire hopes to get results in both upcoming matches and thereby jumpstart a run toward this season's championship series.

 

“It's just a matter of converting our chances, making less mistakes, being sharper and more locked in, and then following the plan and doing what we're good at,” offered forward Ant Powell in concluding his preview of the tasks ahead. “With that, we always have a chance to get the result we want.”

 

Empire Strykers season tickets and single-game tickets to all matches at Ontario's Toyota Arena are available at www.TheEmpireStrykers.com.