WAVE ARE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP! SAN DIEGO SOCKERS FACE HIGH TIDE IN MILWAUKEE.

By Henry Amini. 

MILWAUKEE, WI - Fortune favors the bold. The Milwaukee Wave are challenging for their eighth championship in a legendary matchup with the San Diego Sockers. 

The fabled matchup between two of arena soccer’s most decorated franchises is set to unfold, starting on Wednesday, April 22 at 6:35pm CST. The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) Ron Newman Cup Finals is the most prestigious trophy indoor soccer has to offer and these two teams are no stranger to championship pedigree. 

The Milwaukee Wave will return to the MASL Finals for the first time since 2019, a year in which they defeated the Monterrey Flash earning Marcio Leite his second Finals MVP Award. Leite has since shifted into the head coaching role and, in his first season, brought the Wave to their first finals appearance in seven seasons after an array of semifinals disappointments. 

“For a new coach in the league, being teammates with a lot of these guys—obviously I was assistant coach, but I played with a lot of them—I didn't prepare myself for this and then I took the job in October, I believe. 
So for me, I had a lot of questions: ‘Can I do this? Can I make them believe in whatever we’re going to try to do?’ 
You never know, as an assistant coach,” Leite said. As a Milwaukee Wave head coach the expectations speak for themselves: Win Championships. In extremely limited time, Leite is just two wins away from achieving the league’s highest honor. 

The Ron Newman Cup Finals will be played out in a best of three series, with the first game being played in Milwaukee. Game two and a possible game three will determine the next champion of the MASL. 

This iteration of the Milwaukee Wave team found regular season success through employing the league’s best offense but questions arose surrounding their defense which were perpetuated by their game one loss to the Empire Strykers. They answered those questions in the following games when they defended their way to victory against both the Strykers and the dominant Baltimore Blast, conceding five goals or less in each of their wins.  

“Coach Marcio spoke to me before the season and told me to focus on the defensive side of the ball, and that's what I did. We have so much attacking power that if I just do my job, win the ball, connect… At this point in the season, the playoffs, everyone needs to do their role to the best of their ability, and that's what I focus on,” Tony Walls said. The 13th year veteran has spent time in the MLS and numerous other arena soccer teams and he’s entering his first MASL finals. The shifted focus to defensive resilience was the missing puzzle piece which carried the Wave into the championship series. 

The matchup with the blast showcased the excitement and talent this team possesses and the Wave fired on all cylinders between the second and third games of the series. 

“It's an emotional high right now. For the guys that have been around the last four years, it's been three disappointments in semifinals… The job is not done yet,” Javier Steinwasher said. Javi has emerged as a crucial member of the Wave’s leadership and the continuity in his attitude towards winning has been a necessary part to his team’s success. 

“We're defending together, it just comes easy and the amount he talks on the field, the amount he does for us as a defensive group, It's unreal… I love playing with him” Alex Steinwasher said. The two brothers are integral to the well-oiled engine that is Leite’s Milwaukee Wave. 

With everything on the line, this Milwaukee Wave team is facing a particularly strong opponent in the San Diego Sockers. The Sockers currently claim the regular season shield and play an incredibly mature brand of soccer. Leite’s players, however, remain determined. 

“This squad that we have is just unreal,” Mario Alvarez said. The regular season candidate for the Defender of The Year has been a force of life, contributing six points throughout the playoffs. 

“With our energy in the team, I trust every single one of us,” Cesar Correa said. He has been one of the rocks in the Wave’s defensive turnaround in the postseason and he contributed a spectacular goal in game two against the Blast. Correa went on to describe the joy that this team plays with, a part of this team’s newfound identity.

“With a new coach, new staff, and everything, I'm so happy for them, and especially the players. They get to taste going to the finals. It's not easy to get there, so you can't take this for granted. It's a blessing to get there and you just got to get the job done. 
It's like a whole new season,” Ian Bennett said. The Wave superstar has become royalty throughout the city of Milwaukee and his career has been nothing short of spectacular. With the shot at one more championship, Bennett’s experience shines through to the rest of his team. A championship series is the ultimate stage for a clean slate; regular season successes become irrelevant, anyone can be the hero. 

If Leite’s time as a representative and legend for the Milwaukee Wave has told us anything, it’s that he won’t be satisfied with anything less than a championship. His emphasis has always been to uphold perpetually high standards and prioritize team success over everything. 

With their eighth championship on the line, the Milwaukee Wave need YOU to fill the arena with noise on Wednesday, April 22 at 6:35pm CST, where they’ll take on the San Diego Sockers for the ultimate showdown.###