Match Preview // vs St. Louis
The San Diego Sockers—presented by Kaiser Permanente—continue their stretch run toward the playoffs as they play host to the St. Louis Ambush on Sunday afternoon at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside. The match is set for a 4:00pm PDT kickoff, and will be televised domestically on MASL TV on YouTube and MASL+, 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 (13-6-2, 38 points) head into the final three matches of the regular season knowing they will be a member of the Ron Newman Cup playoff field, but with little-to-no idea where they will be within that field. After multiple weeks in the top spot of the standings table, San Diego finds itself a point behind Baltimore (39 points), and just three points ahead of third and fourth-place Milwaukee and Kansas City (both on 35 points). St. Louis, on 34 points, plays twice this weekend, taking on Tacoma Saturday night in Washington state. San Diego could finish anywhere from first to fifth place, depending on their results. The Sockers have dropped back-to-back matches at home, losing to Baltimore and Kansas City on consecutive Sundays in key results that have tightened the standings significantly.
Last weekend was both anticipated and dreaded since the start of the season, with the Sockers and Kansas City Comets playing twice in 24 hours in a home-and-home series. None of the home fans left happy, as both visiting teams pulled out important victories; the Comets, however, took four-of-six points on the weekend to tighten the playoff race. In their second extra-time classic played at Cable Dahmer Arena this season, San Diego emerged with an overtime victory on Saturday night, 6-5. Jesus Pacheco scored the match-winner after Nilton de Andrade tied things with a sixth attacker goal in the final three minutes of regulation. The Comets, meanwhile, controlled Sunday’s match at Frontwave Arena from start to finish, scoring multiple goals in each of the first three quarters en route to an 8-6 victory. KC’s Rian Marques rebounded from a scoreless Saturday to post three goals and two assists on Sunday. San Diego made the score look closer with three sixth-attacker goals in the fourth quarter, as de Andrade netted another brace.
Sunday is the only meeting of the season between the Sockers and St. Louis Ambush, two MASL teams that rarely compete against one another. The matchup will be only the seventh between San Diego and St. Louis in the 12-year history of the league, with the two clubs tied at 3-3. The Ambush won the first three meetings against the Sockers, and San Diego has won the last three. In 2023-24, the Sockers posted an 8-2 win over the Ambush at Pechanga Arena, and in 2024-25, San Diego won twice at the Family Arena in St. Louis, once in overtime.
The Ambush (11-5-4, 34 points) have ridden the roller coaster of the MASL this season. After starting the season 2-3-1, St. Louis picked up at least a point in eleven straight matches, capped by a five-match winning streak that pushed them into a tie for first place. Since then, St. Louis has dropped the ball and dropped in the standings, losing three straight home matches by identical 5-4 scores to Baltimore (twice) and Empire (in overtime). Veteran goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento has carried St. Louis in stretches, leading the league with a 4.55 GAA and ranking second with a .729 SV%. First-year Ambush forward Daniel Torrealba is the top scorer on the club with (20-10=30) points, and new midfielder Mehrshad Ahmadi has two goals and an assist in two matches since being acquired from Utica. Defender Robert Williamson leads the club with 39 blocked shots.
MASL W EXHIBITION MATCH - Sockers Women v Empire Strykers Women - 1:45pm
Tickets to the Sockers/Ambush match provide access to the first match of the doubleheader.