Fabian, Ponce taking on new adventure with arena league’s Empire Strykers
It was time for a new adventure for Marco Fabian, and on this one he convinced his old friend Miguel Angel Ponce to come along for the ride.
Both now in their mid-30s, the former Mexican national team members are embarking on a season with the Ontariobased Empire Strykers of the fast-paced Major Arena Soccer League while taking life one day at a time in typically sunny Southern California.
They’re taking their lumps, too. The franchise has struggled for results on the turf — the team is just 3-9 this season — and to put paying customers in the seats after the buzz of the signings has worn away.
For the former Chivas Guadalajara teammates, their play going forward will largely determine whether this will be a season to remember or forget for the Inland region’s only professional soccer team.
Fabian has played all over the world and at the sport’s highest levels, but a recent contract at Andorran side Santa Coloma and a return to Europe early in 2023 was not favorable.
A long way from making his World Cup debut for Mexico at the 2014 event in Brazil, Fabian last played for a top flight professional club in 2022 when he scored two goals in 30 appearances for Mazatlan in Liga MX.
Signed in December by the Strykers to a two-year contract that also includes an option to own and operate his own MASL franchise in the future, Fabian refuses to close the door to a return to outdoor soccer
ONTARIO >> but seems content at this moment.
“I cannot say that because you can never say, ‘Never’,” Fabian said. “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I have things in mind to do and I feel good. I can still play.”
He’s shown glimpses of his technical brilliance for Empire Strykers, and has scored goals in each of his nine appearances, including the matchwinner against St. Louis Ambush on Sunday (Jan. 28).
“I don’t know if there will ever be another team but right now, in my present, I want to live my present,” Fabian said. “Right now, my everything is going to apply to Strykers and I just want to make it the best I can.”
Ponce was seriously contemplating retirement when the phone rang.
“It surprised me. I was really out of the professional game,” said Ponce, who had not played professionally since 2022. “I was supposed to retire. That’s the reality, but then this opportunity came about so I accepted it.”
Born in Sacramento, Ponce spent the majority of his early life in Tijuana and played at San Ysidro High School before an invitation came at age 15 to try out for CD Guadalajara.
He scored his first professional goal for Chivas in 2010 before going on to make 242 appearances for the club, one of the most famous in North America.
“All my life I’ve been in Mexico, in Guadalajara,” Ponce said. “My career with Chivas was there. My career with Mexico was there. But now I’m here.”
Perhaps the biggest benefit of playing in Ontario is the ability to be a professional living in the United States.
This is not lost on Fabian or Ponce, both of whom said they are enjoying the Inland area’s people and offerings more than anticipated.
“I’ve received a lot of really, really good things from the people. The people here in Ontario and all over California, I’ve received a lot of really good messages,” Fabian said. “They seem happy to get me here and I’m happy to be here and share my time, and if I can stay more time here in the U.S. then that’s good.”
Added Ponce: “I like this area. I have some friends here. I feel comfortable. I like it. We just need to get to work and get better results so we can be happy here.”
Empire Stykers started the season with only two wins in its first 12 matches, but something felt different about the team’s 8-7 overtime win over St. Louis.
“I have a lot of experience like this,” Fabian said. “We will have our good moments, but we have to keep working and learning. We are in the middle of the season so everything is going to be happening and maybe in the next games we try to not lose so we can make the playoffs.”
The team hosts Monterrey Flash, the 2015 league champions and a three-time league finalist, this Sunday at Toyota Arena, before going on the road for matches at Baltimore Blast on Feb. 9 and at Kansas City Comets on Feb. 10.
“It’s a process,” Fabian said. “We have to keep the process and believe in the team. I believe in these guys.”
BOYS: AARON GLASS
School:
Sports:
Year: Noteworthy:
GIRLS: BRI THOMAS
School: Sports:
Year: Noteworthy: