MASL: Empire clinches playoff berth with 11-6 win at Dallas
- Dan Stickradt
- Apr 4
- 3 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
BY EMPIRE STRYKERS COMMUNICATIONS
ALLEN, Texas — The Empire Strykers clinched a spot in the 2024-25 Major Arena Soccer League playoffs with an emphatic 11-6 road win over the Dallas Sidekicks on Saturday night.
After several missed opportunities to secure a berth, the Strykers left no doubt, dominating from the start and jumping out to an 8-1 lead. They eased up in the fourth quarter in an effort to create more scoring chances for Golden Boot contender Justin Stinson.
Stinson finished with his third straight hat trick and two assists, temporarily moving him to the top of the MASL scoring chart with 32 goals. The St. Louis native could still be passed when the final slate of regular-season games is played Sunday.
Midfielder Jorge DeLeon matched Stinson’s offensive output, scoring three goals and adding two assists.
Goalkeeper Brian Orozco, defender Robert Palmer and forward Leonardo Espinoza also had standout performances. Orozco posted a .778 save percentage, allowing just two goals in 43 minutes. Palmer recorded three assists — tying him for second in the league among defenders — and made five blocks. Espinoza added three points.
Despite the lopsided loss, Dallas defenders Nestor Hernandez and Moises Hernandez turned in strong efforts. Nestor Hernandez, a former Strykers fan favorite, had a goal, an assist and six blocks. Moises Hernandez added a goal and three blocks.
In a tight first quarter, Moises Hernandez fired a direct free kick off the underside of the crossbar. Stinson responded shortly after, taking a pass from Emmanuel Aguirre and drilling a low, right-footed shot from behind the yellow line that found the far post for a 1-0 lead.
Nestor Hernandez equalized early in the second period off a Jamie Lovegrove assist, but Empire responded with two late goals to lead 3-1 at the half. Tony De La Torre collected a Palmer pass and rifled a shot into the top right corner. Stinson then added his second, again assisted by Palmer.
The Strykers extended their lead to 6-1 in the third quarter. DeLeon scored off a feed from Espinoza, followed by a breakaway goal from Abdul Mansaray, set up by Palmer. Stinson then assisted DeLeon for the team's sixth.
Empire opened the fourth with two more goals. Espinoza scored off a DeLeon assist, and Randy Martinez finished a pass from Polo Hernandez against six Dallas attackers to make it 8-1.
Dallas responded when Flavio Guzman fired a left-footed shot inside the far post off an assist from Anthony Powell. With Empire switching to a six-attacker formation to boost Stinson’s goal count, the move paid off quickly — Stinson completed his hat trick with another assist from DeLeon, making it 9-2.
Dallas countered with six attackers of its own. Lovegrove set up Moises Hernandez for a backheel goal, Powell found Rafael Rodriguez for another, and Felipe De Sousa added a third straight tally off Felipe Silva’s pass to cut the deficit to 9-5.
Empire quickly squashed the comeback attempt. DeLeon completed his hat trick off an Espinoza assist while both teams played without goalkeepers. Stinson then set up Mounir Alami for the Strykers’ 11th goal.
After Empire reinstated its goalkeeper, Dallas added a final goal as Joaquin Rivas scored off a Nestor Hernandez pass to cap the 11-6 result.
The Strykers now head to the playoffs, with the first two rounds hosted by the San Diego Sockers next weekend at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
ASL playoffs, with the first two rounds hosted by the San Diego Sockers at Frontwave Arena.
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