LEITE’S OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUTS MEET THE EMPIRE STRYKERS FOR POSTSEASON SHOWDOWN.

By Henry Amini.

MILWAUKEE, WI - The Ron Newman Cup Playoffs have all but arrived and the Milwaukee Wave only have one thing to fear: fear itself.

The 7-Time Champion Milwaukee Wave have faced the inevitable trials, tribulations, and plentiful victories of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) which were amplified by the concentrated eight-team league format. 

Parity was the key word in the 2025-26 MASL regular season. On the fabled “Decision Day”, which was marked by three successive games on Sunday, March 29, saw three teams in the race for the MASL Regular Season Supporters Shield and five in the race for the second place playoff bye. A singular point was all that separated each of the top five teams from the next highest competitor. Following their home win against Utica City FC, the Milwaukee Wave finished their regular season in third place. 

“A first year as a head coach, it's been fun, stressful,” Head Coach Marcio Leite said. “I'm proud of the things we are doing.” 

Leite has led his team to be the league’s best offense, boasting 180 goals and a positive goal differential of 36. No other team came within striking distance of those margins. 

“It's a very different feeling. As a player, 
I always had control. I could impact the game in good ways and bad ways too, but it was on me,” Leite said. His name is ubiquitous amongst the dialog between fans of indoor soccer. He has been a part of the Milwaukee Wave since 2006, only interrupted by a loan to the San Diego Sockers in 2020*, and is threaded with championship DNA. Between 2019 and 2020, Leite won back to back Ron Newman Cup trophies and notably earned the MASL Finals MVP Award in his 2019 championship with the Wave. His two additional indoor soccer championships with Milwaukee date back to 2011** and 2012***, the latter of the two saw him awarded with the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Finals MVP Award. 

*The Milwaukee Wave did not play in the 2020 MASL Season, thus sending Leite on loan before returning the following season. Leite won the Ron Newman Cup Championship that year. 

**Goalkeeper Coach Marcel Feenstra earned the MISL Finals MVP that season. Associate Head Coach Jonathan Greenfield was also a significant member of that team. 

***Goalkeeper Coach Marcel Feenstra and Associate Head Coach Jonathan Greenfield were also significant members of that team. 

“It's been better than expected and advertised,” President Shan Amini said, when asked to review Leite’s first season as head coach, “He's come in, he has changed the team culture. Everybody is accountable for all of their actions on and off the field.”

Under the care of Amini and Leite, the Milwaukee Wave have made incredibly impactful signings. Notably, Oscar Flores has stormed his way onto the scene of professional indoor soccer.

“I’m very happy for my first season. It's an honor to be fighting for that great award. Thank you to the staff, to the players, and everybody in the team that has helped me…” Flores said. The interview was conducted with the assistance of teammate Cesar Correa, who served as a translator, “...I’m very happy to be in that position, but we have to keep working to get that championship.” Flores completed a spectacular rookie season with 26 goals, the fifth most in the MASL.

“Oscar I think is a front runner for a newcomer of the year,” Amini said when he was asked about the Newcomer’s impact.  Flores finished second on the Milwaukee Wave in goals scored and contributed a timely 36 points to his team. The Venezuelan forward is certainly a player to watch in the 2026 Ron Newman Cup Playoffs. 

The major claim of the Milwaukee Wave’s imminent championship push continues to be their offense. Amongst the MASL’s most efficient offensive contributors is Mario Alvarez, affectionately known as “Super Mario” to some fans. 

“[Alvarez] has been one of the most consistent players. I can't remember many games where Mario had a bad game,” Leite said in an interview in February. The defender brings a clinical approach suited perfectly to Leite’s coaching—Alvarez is a technically gifted defender in isolation and dictates tempo through an experienced understanding of the sport. Alvarez has had his most productive season of indoor soccer, scoring 42 points by way of his 21 assists and 21 goals; a testament to well-balanced soccer.  

The superstar ridden offense is emboldened by Alex “Saucy” Sanchez. The MASL MVP Candidate and 2026 Golden Boot winner was responsible for 49 of the Milwaukee Wave’s 180 points and 32 of those were goals he scored himself. Sanchez is just 24 years old and already has an eye-catching catalog of goals with both feet. When it pertains to the electric playstyle the Milwaukee Wave bolster, Sanchez is at the heart of their identity and rarely does a game go by where he doesn’t burn a hole in the net. 

There’s certainly no lack of offensive production on the Milwaukee Wave’s roster. Alex Steinwasher has quietly made his way onto the scene as a quick and composed playmaker, contributing 40 points in his third season with the team. 

“I believe that if we can play at our highest level, from now on… We can win the whole thing,” Marcio Leite said. “We just need to focus on the defensive side and give up less goals because during those playoff games, it's not going to be like tonight... 
The score is going to be much closer, and the team that is going to give up the least goals is going to win.” The return of Javier Steinwasher marks a shift in this team’s defensive organization and they’re rooted with an emphasis on the defensive side of their game entering the playoffs. 

“I take great pride in not getting beat. 
I don't want to get beat ever in anything that I do,” Cesar Correa said on Sunday. He anchors the Milwaukee Wave defense as a tank engine who will fight through any tackle. While he doesn't host a particularly tall frame, he’s the favorable party in most 50/50 challenges on the ball. 

“We are excited to make the playoffs. Now it’s a different season, different games, different mindset because, you know, when you got two games, 
that's it. You have to perform,” Ricardo Carvalho said. Carvalho has scored 20 points through just 12 games and alludes to his playoff experience with the understanding that every minute counts.

The first round opponent of the Milwaukee Wave is the Empire Strykers, who have been led by player-coach Robert Palmer. The Strykers have been undefeated since the shift in their approach to leadership. While they may have finished in the lowest playoff spot, it would be ignorant to count out any single MASL team. Both teams will be playing with conviction and the Milwaukee Wave will look to make right their 1-2 regular season series loss to the Empire Strykers. 

While offensive firepower is the ultimate tool in favor of the Milwaukee Wave, their unpredictability makes them a fierce championship contender. With versatile defenders, the return of defenders like Steinwasher, the two-sided presence of players like Derek Huffman, who has been out of action with a minor injury, Leite can bring a highly variable approach to the postseason. He and his players hold the cards in their hands. 

“Jerry [Perez] has come in and gives us that extra dimension of an attacking goalkeeper when we want to use that but he also does well as a just straight up goalkeeper when needed.” Feenstra’s goalkeeping room is filled with talent. William Banahene and Perez will most likely carry their team into the postseason and provide two effective but different styles of play. Banahene, the ferocious and high-flying goalkeeper has become a household name around the MASL and is the winningest goalkeeper since the 2023 season. Perez contrasts this by playing high off of his line and has contributed seven goals, more than any other goalkeeper this season. 

When asked about the postseason, each member of the organization responded with messages of hope and determination.

“We're ready. I feel like we can be the best team in the league,” Correa said. 


”We have the best offense in the league. So it doesn't matter who we face, we’re going to score,” Carvalho said. 

“There's always pressure because we're the Milwaukee Wave and we're a championship organization,” Amini said, “I think we have a championship roster.” 

With the Ron Newman Cup Playoffs, TST 7v7,  and the 2026 World Cup in succession to one another, we should take to heart the words commonly attributed to the late King Pele prophesying that, “Football is a universal language, a passport to adventure.” One can’t help but be grateful to live in a time where the culture of soccer is at such a flourishing stage and would certainly be remiss to let pass any opportunity to watch the game in its most competitive stages. 

Punch your ticket as the Milwaukee Wave’s crucial seventh attacker at the 2026 Ron Newman Cup Playoffs. Tickets are on sale now!

The Milwaukee Wave will face the Empire Strikers for game 1 Thursday, April 2 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California at 8:35pm CST. Watch LIVE! and for FREE! on MASLtv.

They’ll then host the Strykers at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Monday, April 6 at 6:35pm CST for the closeout game of their first round of playoffs.

Tickets for their home game can be purchased through Ticket Master via the Milwaukee Wave Website or at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena box-office on game day. ###