Around The League // Week 5
Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome back to Around The League, your home for numbers and nuance from the past week of action in the Major Arena Soccer League. It’s our first edition of 2026, and we’re celebrating the festivities the only way we can: with a heavy slate of indoor soccer action! A lot happened in the past week, from Boris Pardo posting his first career regular-season shutout to St. Louis’ overtime win over their cross-state rivals, but we’ll begin with a focus on Utica’s dramatic six-goal comeback on Sunday.
Comeback City
It’s no debate, the first few games of Utica’s season did not paint a stunning picture of this team’s potential for 2025-26. They’ve struggled to turn possession into dangerous chances this season, and despite an impressive smattering of attacking talent, they looked shell-shocked by the Comets’ offensive firepower. Against the Wave, the team showed signs of life and the offensive potential necessary to compete with the very best.
On Sunday, high-flying Milwaukee hoped to end its East Coast road trip on a high after falling 10-7 in Baltimore the day before. Through tired legs, the Wave came out flying, thoroughly dominating every aspect of the game for the first 15 minutes. Milwaukee outshot their hosts 10-4 and were rewarded with a 4-0 lead entering the second period.
ALEX SANCHEZ HAS ANOTHER IN THE 1ST@MilwaukeeWave extend their lead to 4-0#MASLpic.twitter.com/9s2kVKLMB6
— MASL (@MASLarena) December 28, 2025
Though they scored two of the contest’s following three goals, Utica found its footing and began playing its game while Milwaukee retreated. The Wave took just nine shots during the remainder of the game as they attempted to land the plane before Utica could make up ground. Head coach Hewerton Moreira’s side slowly chipped away at the 6-1 deficit, led by Sergio Pinal’s heroic target play.
The San Jose native scored three goals before feeding Thayssan Santos for the equalizer with less than two minutes remaining. In overtime, Utica kept their foot to the floor, despite a blue card that gave Milwaukee a power play. Just as Kansas City broke Utica’s hearts on opening night, the hosts found space in transition and raced forward with devastating pace. Jose Tavares found Geo Alves’ darting run at the backpost with a perfect pass, and in an instant, Utica earned its first win of the season.
FINAL:
— MASL (@MASLarena) December 28, 2025
IT'S A SHORTHANDED OVERTIME GAME-WINNER FOR GEO ALVES, WHO CAPS OFF SIX STRAIGHT @UticaCityFC GOALS TO WIN THIS ONE 7-6 OVER THE @MilwaukeeWave IN THE COMEBACK OF THE YEAR SO FAR#MASLpic.twitter.com/mjAddh5iC6
You can discuss tired legs and the impact of travel all you want, but the ability of a team to look up at the scoreboard, trailing 6-1 in the third quarter, and still see a glimmer of hope, is truly incredible. For that same team to then also, not panic, buckle down, and turn that faint glimmer of hope into points, plural, is nothing short of staggering.
“There’s only so much you can do with the X’s and O’s,” said Moreira during his halftime interview. “You have to have the desire to win, you know. That’s our home field, and we have to always play hard in here.”
I’ll reiterate a lesson we learned last week after the Wave’s comeback over Baltimore. While it may feel risk-averse to stop attacking and instead focus on protecting your lead, it’s a strategy that allows your opponent to control play and dictate the game’s flow and momentum. Leading a game is one of the best ways to create dangerous attacking moments.
THAYSSAN SANTOS HAS LEVELED THIS GAME FOR @UticaCityFC
— MASL (@MASLarena) December 28, 2025
IT IS BEDLAM HERE IN UTICA #MASLpic.twitter.com/p6QUo9u8H5
While your opponent is committing more players forward in the hopes of pushing for a way back into the game, transitioning from defense to offense allows your team to capitalize on numerical mismatches. These counterattacks are when we see shots without defenders in the way, goalkeepers overcompensating, and close-range attempts that find the back of the net significantly more often than slow, controlled possession-based attacks.
Milwaukee’s schedule opens up for a bit to start the new year. After playing three games in five days and seven in December, their next game won’t come until Jan. 11, when they travel to Kansas City for the second edition of their rivalry with the Comets. Utica will hit the road for the first time to face the Blast for a rematch of their New Year’s Eve contest on Sunday, Jan. 4, at 1:00 PM EST.
Perfect Pardo
On paper, this heavyweight battle between the high-flying Tacoma Stars and the struggling San Diego Sockers was an opportunity for the visitors to prove they were a force to be reckoned with on the road after three straight wins at home. Needless to say, this did not come to pass. The Sockers comfortably demonstrated their superiority and set the tone for this regional rivalry with a historic shutout, the first of Boris Pardo’s illustrious career.
Offensively, the Sockers were the epitome of efficiency, scoring 47.1% of their shots, more than double the league average of 22.3%. Charlie Gonzalez and Sebastian Mendez led the way with four and three points, respectively, with both players finding the net on three occasions.
SEBASTIAN MENDEZ FINISHES OFF A FIRST-HALF HAT TRICK, AND CHARLIE GONZALEZ HAS 3 POINTS IN THE HALF@SanDiegoSockers extend their lead to 6-0 @CBSSportsGolazo#MASLpic.twitter.com/03HjmVLG3Y
— MASL (@MASLarena) December 31, 2025
We could wax lyrical about San Diego’s offense for another 1000 words, especially after their lacklustre start to the season, but the man of the hour, who humbly directed praise to his defenders during his post-game interview, is where I’d like to focus.
“Those guys right there, walking around, high-fiving the fans, each and every single one of them, it’s them,” said Pardo. “We each play our part, but they defended, they blocked, they marked everybody up that needed to be marked, and hats off to those guys. I appreciate the recognition, but it's more for the team.”
Boris Pardo with the shutout 🙌
— San Diego Sockers (@SanDiegoSockers) December 31, 2025
That's our player of the game!! pic.twitter.com/BsXo110tHI
The Sockers are typically sound, but have struggled this season in both conceding shots and preventing dangerous chances. In their first three games, their opponents took 23.33 Shots Per Game (SPG), and their goalkeepers faced an average of 17.667 SPG, with a Defensive Goals Per Shot (GPS) figure of 0.229, slightly above the league average on all three fronts. Against Tacoma, we saw a team that figured out how to tactically approach the game, with consistently threatening attacks that kept Tacoma from fully committing numbers forward.
As Pardo said, San Diego’s defenders stayed with their marks, which shows tangible improvement from their first few games. Against Milwaukee and Empire, we bemoaned their ability to stay with runners, especially in transition, but this time out, they made few, if any, mistakes. They also blocked eight shots, allowing Pardo to face significantly fewer dangerous chances than usual.
That’s not to say he wasn’t busy; quite the opposite. “The King of Queens,” as he was referred to on the broadcast, made a host of crucial saves throughout the game to keep the visitors off the board, capped off by an acrobatic save with 30 seconds left in the contest, that prevented Tacoma’s Yahir Romero from spoiling the night with a goal.
BORIS PARDO WITH THE DISTRIBUTION TO CHARLIE GONZALEZ FOR THE HAT TRICK!@SanDiegoSockers extend the lead to 8-0@CBSSportsGolazo#MASLpic.twitter.com/o2pCh7X3vg
— MASL (@MASLarena) December 31, 2025
In case the ten saves and shutout weren’t enough, Pardo registered his first assist of the season with a quick distribution to Gonzalez, who completed his hat-trick with the Sockers’ eighth goal of the night.
The win will encourage this San Diego organization, which has endured a slower-than-expected start to the season, but it looks like they’re starting to find the rhythm we knew they would. Though their roster is among the strongest in the league, this performance was all about the team and their system. From the front to the back, everyone played their part, and this dominant result should send a message to the rest of the league that the Sockers are ready to compete.
This season is already shaping up to be one of the most competitive and fascinating in MASL history, and it’s good to see teams improving as the campaign goes on. The Sockers will hope to carry this momentum into a dangerous weekend, hosting the Strykers on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 10:00 PM EST, before traveling north to take on a rested Stars team the following day at 8:05 PM EST.
Flowers for Ambush and Blast
It’s hard to overstate the importance of winning your regional rivalry, especially this season. Kansas City already clinched the I-70 series trophy with a fourth win this past weekend, but St. Louis knows avoiding the dreaded sweep could be the difference between making the playoffs and watching from home
The Ambush came out swinging at home against the visitors’ slightly rotated lineup, taking a whopping 12 shots in the first quarter. Though neither team found the net in the opening 15 minutes, the Ambush capitalized on a pair of defensive miscues in the second period and found themselves two goals up.
FINAL:
— MASL (@MASLarena) December 31, 2025
RANDY MARTINEZ THE OVERTIME WINNER AS THE @stlouisambush TAKE DOWN THE @KCComets TO CLOSE OUT 2025#MASLpic.twitter.com/g1hG4256Nt
The Comets came roaring back and forced overtime, spurred on by a hat-trick from Dom Francis, but couldn’t get anything going when it mattered most. The Ambush made great use of a transitional moment, as William Eskay found Randy Martinez, who fired home from close range to snatch the win. The question is, can they keep it up and get a second win on the road? Don’t miss their sixth and final showdown in Kansas City this Sunday, Jan. 4, at 5:05 PM EST.
Out east in upstate New York, the Blast took down Utica for their first road win of the season. Much has been made of Baltimore’s ability to get results on the road in 2025/25, but when looking at the data and their overall performance, it would appear that their underwhelming results may have masked their true potential.
FINAL:
— MASL (@MASLarena) December 31, 2025
Led by two goals from Nico Williams in his 2025-26 debut, the @BaltimoreBlast end the year on a high note, taking down @UticaCityFC on the road#MASLpic.twitter.com/oS1lnjY3XD
The Blast looked impressive in Milwaukee two weeks ago, but they faltered at a crucial moment and didn’t get the win they perhaps deserved. Against Utica, that was not the case. The visitors looked at ease for much of the game with a consistent attacking presence and a rock-solid defensive setup that kept the hosts in check.
The win restores the standard from last season after Baltimore dominated the rivalry with five wins to just one for Utica. City will need to make a statement, and soon, if they want to keep this six-game rivalry series from getting out of hand. The next two contests between these two sides will be in Baltimore, meaning a win on the road is likely imperative. Catch game two this Sunday, Jan. 4, at TU Arena in Baltimore, with kickoff slated for 1:00 PM EST.