Match Preview // vs Baltimore
The San Diego Sockers—presented by Kaiser Permanente—welcome the ten-time indoor champion Baltimore Blast to Frontwave Arena for a Sunday afternoon showdown between the two hottest teams in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The match is set for a 3:00pm PDT kickoff, and will be televised domestically on Fox Soccer Plus, MASL+, and MASL TV (on YouTube), as well as supplemental coverage on the National Soccer Network and Victory+, and international coverage on Sportworld, Fox Sports Mexico, and the Unbeaten Network.
The Sockers (12-4-2, 36 points) are riding a season-best eight-match points streak (7-0-1), which has pushed them to the top of a congested MASL standings table. The top five teams in the league are all within five standings points of one another, and San Diego holds a one-win (three point) lead over the Blast and St. Louis Ambush. The Sockers have one match-in-hand over all contenders, as they have played 18 matches, and the next five clubs in the standings have all played 19 matches. The top six teams (of eight) in the standings reach the playoffs, and the top-two teams receive first-round byes. The Sockers lead the league with a +27 goal differential (112 for, 85 against).
On Thursday, San Diego traveled to Ontario and shut out the Strykers 4-0, the second shutout authored by the Sockers this season. Chris Toth fashioned his third career MASL shutout and second with San Diego, stopping all 14 shots he faced, including 11 saves in the second half. It was the fourth regular-season shutout in modern Sockers history (more details below). Sebastian Mendez led the Sockers’ attack with two goals, while Kraig Chiles added a goal and an assist. The Sockers finished the season series 3-1-2 against Empire, winning the series on points 11-7.
Sunday’s match pits the two hottest current teams in the MASL, as Baltimore has won a season-best six in a row, while San Diego has earned points in eight straight matches. This is the third and final meeting between the Sockers and Blast this season. Twice in January, San Diego traveled to Baltimore and emerged victorious, winning 9-6 on January 10, and 10-5 on January 24. Sockers goalkeeper Boris Pardo was magnificent in net in both victories, parrying 40-of-51 shots against him in the two matches (.784 SV%). Nick Perera has paced the San Diego offense in the season series with (4-2=6) points, while Leonardo de Oliveira has contributed six assists.
Fierce rivals dating back to the heyday of indoor soccer in the 1980s, the Sockers and Baltimore Blast have been league-mates in the MASL since 2014, but rarely have faced one another in active play. San Diego has only faced the Blast eight times, posting a 6-2 record, including a 4-1 mark on Baltimore’s reduced-size field at SECU Arena. The clubs did meet in the 2025 Ron Newman Cup Playoffs for a single match in San Diego, which the Sockers won 11-3. The all-time series dating back to the MISL sees San Diego with a 33-25 mark against Baltimore.
The Blast (11-6-2, 33 points) have ridden a six-match winning streak into a shot at the MASL Supporters Shield, now sitting just three points off the top of the table. Outside of a 9-5 win at home on Friday against Utica, the winning streak has been executed in tight quarters, with Baltimore winning five straight one-goal games, including two overtime wins. Top scorer Juan Pereira (18-11=29 points) has powered the offense during the hot streak with (6-5=11) points. Baltimore is 5-3-1 away on the season. Defender Oumar Sylla leads the MASL with 18 assists. Forward Kevaughn Frater is coming off a hat trick against Utica, and ranks third on the Blast with 14 goals scored. Julian Rodriguez and Jorge Navarrete alternate in net for Baltimore. Both have save percentages over .700 (Rodriguez .713, Navarrete .745).