Around The League // Week 15
It’s clinching season in the MASL, and with just 17 games left, practically nothing is set in stone. Welcome back to Around The League, your home for numbers and nuance from the past week of action in the Major Arena Soccer League. On Sunday, Baltimore proved itself to be one of the league's best and hottest teams with a win on the road against San Diego, but we’ll start with the Tacoma Stars, who earned their first road win of the season to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Battle-Tested Stars Earn Their Stripes
Luck hasn’t been on Tacoma’s side during road trips this season. They’ve struggled immensely, picking up just one point and accumulating a -47 goal differential in their first eight games. With their backs against the wall and a playoff spot slipping through their fingers, the Stars kicked off a critical three-game road stretch with a massive 6-3 road win over the Empire Strykers.
“Getting a win on the road against a tough opponent like the Empire Strykers says a lot about this group,” said Tacoma’s head coach, Adam Becker. “I’m very proud of the discipline, focus, and attention to detail we showed tonight.”
Goalkeeper Luis Birrueta was a wall on the night, making 17 saves and finishing with an .850 Save Percentage. Six Stars added at least two blocks, including Franck Tayou, who also led his team on offense with two points. On both sides of the turf, diversification was the name of the game as 10 different players recorded either a goal or an assist, helping the Stars earn three critical points on the road for the first time this season.
“Our targets really set the tone early with their work rate,” Becker said, “tracking back, blocking shots, and doing the little things that make a difference. The guys stuck to the game plan and executed on both ends of the field, and when you do that against a quality team, you give yourself a great chance to come away with a result.”
The importance of this result cannot be overstated. In Empire’s previous two meetings with Tacoma at Toyota Arena, the Strykers scored a combined 20 goals and conceded just five. They outshot the visitors by eight in both contests and scored 33% of their shots, well above the league average (22.3%).
While Empire’s quantity stood firm in game three, their quality appeared to take the day off. The Strykers took a whopping 26 more shots than their opponents on Thursday night, but converted just 7.89% of them. By contrast, six of Tacoma’s 12 shots found the back of the net.
As we look at the standings and schedules, the win moves Tacoma ahead of Empire by one point, with four and three games to play, respectively. The Stars will immediately travel to Baltimore to face the high-flying Blast before taking on Utica for their third game in four days. Given the schedules both teams face in the next few weeks, 32 points would likely be the mark to secure a playoff spot.
For Empire, that would mean two wins and an overtime loss, while any two wins would do it for Tacoma. This Sunday, the Strykers will travel to Milwaukee to face the Wave, knowing a win would put them back in the driver's seat. Every goal and every game will matter from here on out in the hunt for the sixth and final playoff spot, especially as those atop the table continue to clinch.
Catch the Stars when they take on the Blast this Saturday, Mar. 14, at 6:05 p.m. EDT, and don’t miss either contest on Sunday afternoon when Utica hosts Tacoma and Empire visits Milwaukee, with both kickoffs scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EDT.
12 Points Up For Grabs In Kansas City and San Diego
There’s a lot of talk about six-pointers in soccer, with the term attempting to contextualize the impact of winning a game against a team near you in the table. Yes, you still only get three points for winning, but you’re also effectively taking three points away from your rival. It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around often, but when it does, you must seize it.
For San Diego and Kansas City, the fact that they play a whopping four games in the final three weeks of the season magnifies this effect. Theoretically, this would be a 24-pointer, right? While neither team will truly expect to take all 12 points from the pair of series, they will hope to get at least the lion’s share, and in turn, keep the other from running away in the standings.
Let’s not forget, these two teams got a first look at each other last month when they celebrated Valentine’s Day at Cable Dahmer Arena. Both sides enjoyed periods of sustained dominance, flipping the game on its head. After Kansas City scored four straight goals to take a 5-2 lead, the visitors responded with four straight goals of their own, retaking the lead late in the 4th quarter. With a regulation loss looming, veteran forward Dom Francis stepped up and equalized for the Comets with two seconds left to force overtime.
While the Sockers eventually ran out 7-6 winners after midfielder Charlie Gonzalez converted his side’s fourth attempt in the ensuing shootout, anyone in attendance would tell you this game could have easily gone either way. The game displayed the very best of both teams, but it also showed the worst, and if we even get a fraction of the action we got that night, we’ll be in for a treat again.
As we close out the MASL Shield race and approach the playoffs, those points will certainly make a difference. While Baltimore and Milwaukee continue to grind out the results they need, San Diego and Kansas City cannot afford to drop seven or more points. It would be disastrous to either team and could mean the difference between home-field advantage through the playoffs and no home-field advantage at all.
For the Comets, they’ll need to focus on their system. Looking at the data, Kansas City is playing at a high level despite the drop in results, with figures from their last six games comparable to their season averages. The ball just isn’t bouncing their way as often as they’d like. Their speed and transition play worked well against San Diego in February, but they also need to be sound defensively for all four quarters.
For the Sockers, the key to victory will be responsibility in marking and creativity on offense. They’re not hurting for skilled attackers, but San Diego will need to create more shooting chances than normal, just as they did last time in Kansas City. The 49 shots they took against the Comets are the most in any game so far this season, and they’ll certainly need more of that to get the better of Kansas City this time around.
It's also worth noting that both two-game series will play in Kansas City first before traveling to Frontwave Arena in San Diego, meaning the Sockers will have an extra flight in their legs for both games. However, don’t be shocked if they rest a few key players for the second game.
Pay attention to the rosters chosen for all four contests, as they could offer insight into their preparation for the playoffs and how either coach plans to address a back-to-back series like this going forward. Kickoff from Cable Dahmer Arena is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 14, at 7:05 p.m. CDT, and the reverse fixture will take place in San Diego precisely 24 hours later.