Sockers Sign Free-Agent Jesus Pacheco

The San Diego Sockers today announced the signing of free-agent midfielder Jesus Pacheco to a three-year Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) contract, covering the 2027-28 MASL season. As per league and club policy, terms of the deal will not be announced.

“We’ve known Pacheco for years and know what he can bring to the field,” said Sockers general manager Chiky Luna, “He’ll add a burst of youth and speed that puts some of the final touches on a midfield group we feel very good about going forward.”

Pacheco, 25, is coming off his best season in the MASL, starting 23 games for the Baltimore Blast and netting a career-high 16 goals with 12 assists (16-12=28 points). Both goals and assists were career-bests for Pacheco, as well as a total of four game-winning goals and sixteen blocked shots. 2024-25 completed a two-year run in Baltimore for Pacheco in which he totaled 24 goals and 41 points.

Previously, the Sockers saw Pacheco regularly as a young player coming up with the Ontario Fury/Empire Strykers, where he performed from 2019-23. He appeared in a career-high 24 matches for the Strykers in 2022-23, scoring his previous best with 14 goals and 19 points. In his 121-match MASL career, Pacheco has totals of (53-36=89) points, 74 fouls, and 58 blocked shots.

A native of Northridge, California, Pacheco came up playing outdoors through the Real So Cal Academy, where he was trained and coached by former Fury and USMNT player Jermaine Jones. He signed with the Fury at age 19.

The San Diego Sockers, winners of sixteen professional indoor soccer championships from 1982 to 2022 and the longest winning streak in U.S. professional team sports history (48 straight wins from 2010-13), reached their third Ron Newman Cup Final in the 2020s last season, falling in three games to the three-time defending champion Chihuahua Savage. The Sockers will open their second season at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside in the winter, with full schedule details to come closer to the fall. Season ticket inquiries and more information can be found at frontwavearena.com or sdsockers.com.