ARENA SOCCER 2025-26 SEASON REVIEW PART 2: THE MLIS and MLISX

By Delorean Fleetwood

Las Vegas, NV: The Major League Indoor Soccer wrapped up their fourth season in league history on Sunday, March 29th, 2026 at Orleans Arena in Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada.

The sport of arena soccer continues to stretch to places and cities that once held teams that set the cities passion for the game on fire. Case and point?

Las Vegas was the home to the very first world championship in professional sports and it was the Continental Indoor Soccer League’s Las Vegas Dustdevils back in 1994 led by a driving force from the old New York Arrows and San Diego Sockers dynasties, Branko Segota.

The MLIS continues to try and carve out their place in the professional ranks for in the arena soccer world, much like how the NPSL did when the MISL and CISL were on going back in the 1980s and 1990s. The MLIS also would expand their footprint, doubling their size. Gone are Pao Chicago,  (left due to differences with the league in general, though they were not specified at that time, and still aren’t as of this article) the Omaha Kings (left and returned to MASL2 due to disagreements with the league over the previous seasons playoff travel situation) and the Colorado Bucks would fold, though the MLIS didn’t leave the market (now on that in a bit).

GROW THE GAME

The MLIS would retain six teams from 2024-25, The Cleveland Crunch, Chicago Mustangs, Red Cedar (Lansing, MI), Canadian Crusaders (Toronto, ON), Summit City Sentinels (Fort Wayne, IN), and last year’s Champions, the Amarillo Bombers (Amarillo, TX). SEVEN new teams would take the field in 2025-26. That’s not all, as the league’s 13 teams would also be placed into two separate conferences: North and South. Amarillo was placed in the South with five new teams, while Cleveland, Chicago, Lansing, Fort Wayne and Toronto were placed in the North with tw new squads. The following teams, arenas and conference alignment for the 2025-26 MLIS season are as follows:

*Expansion teams in BOLD

MLIS NORTH CONFERENCE:

• Cleveland Crunch (Wolstein Center, Cleveland, OH)
• Chicago Mustangs (Grand Sports Arena, Hoffman Estates, IL)
• Red Cedar (Lansing, Michigan) (TOCA Soccer and Sports Center, Novi, MI)
• Canadian Crusaders (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)(Scarborough Soccer Center, Scarborough, ON, Canada)
• Summit City Sentinels (Fort Wayne, Indiana) (Classic City Center, Waterloo, IN)
• Bridge City (Pittsburgh)(Sewickley Sports Arena, Sewickley, PA)
• Rockford Lightning (Indoor Sports Center at Mercyhealth Sportscore Two, Loves Park, IL)

MLIS SOUTH CONFERENCE:

• Amarillo Bombers (Amarillo Civic Center, Amarillo, TX)
• Utah Uprising (Salt Lake City, Utah) (Sports City Utah, Draper, UT)
• Las Vegas Turf Monsters (Big League Dreams, Las Vegas, NV)
• Boulder United (Denver) (Foothills Fieldhouse, Denver, CO)
• CD La Cuadra (Dallas) (TOCA Soccer, Carrollton, TX)
• Atletico Pro FC (Orlando) (Sofive Lake Nona, Orlando, FL)

VIVA LAS VEGAS

The league announced back on October 16, 2025, that the MLIS and WMLIS Finals would be held March 28th and 29th at Orleans Arena in Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. The MLIS announced on November 7th the playoff format and structure. The top two teams in each conference would advance the MLIS Semi-Finals, giving the league fours teams vying for the title. However, in a slight twist, the top team in the South Conference would play the runner up in the North Conference, while the North Conference’s top seed would play the South Conference’s runner up.

As more than half the league (and five out of six in the South Conference alone) were expansion teams in 2025-26, this was likely done as a competitive balance to even this out. And honestly, this was probably the best option they could have done to give the other teams a chance, as at least one expansion team was guaranteed to make the Semi-finals in Vegas.

Before we review the MLIS, the league had one more ace up their sleeve for their league umbrella that would begin in 2025-2026.

MLISX

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On July 31st, 2025, the MLIS announced their new amateur pathway program, MLISX (Called MLIS Extended). The league is ultimately designed to give players, coaches, and officials a chance to compete towards potential promotion within the MLIS.

Among the perks the MLIS offers:

• January-March schedule featuring 8-10 regular season games.
• Budget friendly travel and chance to create local rivalries.
• Prize money totaling $5000 for the 2026 MLISX season.
• Regional and National playoffs.
• 3 complimentary game balls along with 36 jersey sleeve patches and transfers.
• Low cost season fee with everything included for just $1500.
• A chance for the MLISX Champions to be promoted to MLIS in the future.

MLISX would see six teams (with one team currently inactive, the Tampa Bay Terror, hopefully the Terror get to play next season) announced for the inagural 2026 MLISX season: 1927 SC (Fort Wayne), United North FC (Northern Indiana), FC Indiana (Lafayette), Summit City Sentinels (Fort Wayne), and the Kansas City Barilleros (Lenexa, KS).

2026 MLISX SEASON

The inaugural 2026 MLISX season would see five teams (Tampa Bay would not participate this season, likely for the lack of nearby competition as every team was located in Northern Indiana and one team in the KC metro area) play eight games during the regular season, twice against each opponent. One game between FC Indiana and the Summit City Sentinels on February 22nd was initially postponed then ultimately canceled as it would have no bearing on the final standings in terms of playoff positioning.

Initially, the top four teams were set to play in the inaugural MLISX playoffs (which took place on March 28th-29th, ironically), but for reasons unknown at the time of this article, the Kansas City Barilleros, would not participate. Whether this was for a lack of travel or something else entirely, it wasn’t made publicly available.

The inaugural season began on January 17th and ended on March 15th, spanning two months. Games were played on weekends. Most weekends had both Saturday and Sunday match-ups. With the exception of two games played on March 7th and 8th at All American Indoor Sports between Kansas City and Lafayette, all other regular season contests took place at the Classic City Center in Waterloo, Indiana.

1927 SC won the regular season crown with a 7-1 record, winning six in regulation. Their only defeat came in their first game against the Barilleros. They led 6-4 with 4:32 remaining in the third before Kansas City would explode for 4 unanswered goals (including a power play goal late in the 3rd, a penalty shot early in the 4th, and an empty netter with 23 seconds left). 1927 would get one back with 11 seconds left, but ultimately could not tie the game, as they lost their inaugural game 8-7 to Kansas City. A close call win in OT 7-6 vs Summit City, prevented any other blemish on what turned out to be a great season by 1927 SC. 1927 had five double digit point scorers in the regular season, led by: Uriel Macias (11G-4A-15PTS), Max Amaoko (11G-4A-15PTS), Jose Rodriguez (8G-2A-10PTS), Jacob Capito (5G-5A-10PTS), and Keaton Albert (2G-8A-10PTS). Daniel Pellegrine, Peyton Blair, and Adrian Camarena backstopped 1927 at goalkeeper. They had the second best offense, only to Kansas City, and the best defense in the MLISX, outscoring teams 62-41 for a +21 goal differential. With the top seed in hand, 1927 SC was ready to make a move towards the 2026 MLISX Championship in March.

2026 MLISX TOURNAMENT

The 2026 MLISX Tournament would take place at the Classic City Center in Waterloo, Indiana on March 28th and 29th, 2026. While not confirmed, it is possible, similar to the incident with the Omaha Kings regarding the 2025 MLIS Playoff structure (the issue was, they had to travel to either Chicago or Cleveland, the site of the Final, despite being the 4 seed in the Wild Card Game and Chicago was the 5 seed, thus denying them what they believed, was a home playoff game they felt they deserved. As such, they refused to participate in the 2025 MLIS Finals and would return to MASL2 the following season. Though this situation was likely done to cut down on travel costs, which is understandable from the MLIS’ viewpoint, Omaha had a legitimate complaint as well regarding a home game in the playoffs in front of their fans. What I’m being told is second and possibly third hand information and was given to me via a Cleveland Crunch fan group chat on the Facebook Messenger app). Kansas City was the second seed,  going 6-2 during the regular season. Was their lack of a home game as a two seed in the first round enough to refuse participation like Omaha did last year? Was the travel from Kansas City to Waterloo a potential financial liability for the Barilleros? Was there possibly an unexpected issue that came up? No explanation that I can find online or on any social media platforms has provided any answers, much less any clues as to what happened. As of this article, I have reached out to the KC Barilleros via instagram, but have received no reply.

The playoffs would go on with the 1, 3, and 4 seeds. As Kansas City did not make the trip, Lafayette, who had the three seed, advanced to the 2026 MLISX Final by default, which is probably good news for them, as they lost both games to the Barilleros in Lenexa, 11-5 on March 7th and 6-4 on March 8th. The 1 vs. 4 matchup of 1927 SC vs. Northern Indiana would still take place.

Uriel Macias scored from Keaton Albert just 2:45 into the game in a lead 1927 would never relinquish. Albert would then score on a assust from Jose Rodriguez with 7:35 left in the 1st to double their lead. Jose would triple their lead just 95 seconds later on a feed from Macias to make it 3-0 going into the 2nd. With 12:12 remaining, Max Amaoko scored unassisted and Keaton would score his second of the game on a feed from Douglas Appiah to make it 5-0 with 5:15 remaining. 1927’s German Mendivil, assisted by Josh Whitney, and Northern Indiana’s Thiago Levi, unassisted, would trade goals making it 6-1 at halftime for 1927.

Exactly halfway into the 3rd, Oneal David would make it 7-1 on a pass from Casey Zimmerman. Northern Indiana would get their second from Matute Ariel, assisted by Thiago Levi just 67 seconds later. 1927 would close the third, scoring twice in 77 seconds. Albert would complete a hat trick, unassisted, with 2:51 to go, while Max Amaoko would score assisted from Jose Rodriguez for his second to make it 9-2 going into the final period. Casey Zimmerman scored unassisted with 12:20 remaining and Jose Rodriguez would score his second of the night with 5:41 remaining to make 11-1. Northern Indiana would get one more from Maxime Bregeon, assisted by Cesar Cruz 71 seconds later. 1927 won 11-3 to advance to play FC Indiana in the 2026 MLISX Championship. Keaton Albert (3G-1A-4PTS) and Jose Rodriguez (2G-2A-4PTS) shined for 1927 SC, while Thiago Levi (1G-1A-2PTS) starred for Northern Indiana in season ending loss. Pedro Muller would backstop 1927 SC at goalkeeper for the MLISX Semi-Finals, despite not playing during the regular season.

2026 MLISX FINAL

Pedro Muller got the start at goalkeeper once again to lead 1927 SC’s top ranked defense in the Final. 1927 won both regular season contests, 10-5 on January 24th for their first win in team history and 7-4 on February 22nd for the season sweep of the series.

The first quarter of the 2026 MLISX Championship saw a combined SEVEN goals in the first period, as Owen Lieland and Uriel Macias scored, unassissted, just 61 seconds apart, with 13:06 and 12:05 remaining to give 1927 the early two lead. Garey Mills would make it 2-1 with 8:27 remaining in the opening frame. 1927 would respond scoring twice more in just 87 seconds. German Mendivil, unassisted with 4:06 to go and Uriel Macias, assisted by Douglas Appiah, with 2:39 left to make it 4-1. FC Indiana would respond 76 seconds later with Mills assisting Alan Bernandez to trim the defecit to 4-2. Keaton Albert would get in on the fun just 15 seconds later on a feed from Jose Rodriguez restoring the three goal lead going into the second. Neither team scored in the second, giving 1927 a 5-2 lead going into the half.

1927 would pick up right they left off in the first, scoring three unanswered goals to start the third, the first two unassisted. German Mendivil with 11:03 to go, Diego Lopez with 6:56 remaining, and finally, with 4:58 left in the third, Diego would get a brace in 1:58 on a feed from Casey Zimmerman to double 1927’s lead 8-2 late the third. FC Indiana would trim the lead, scoring twice in just 66 seconds, Tony Romero, assisted by Rashid Segane with 1:19 remaining and with 13 seconds left in the quarter, Segane would score on a feed from Mills to make it 8-4 heading into the final period. 1927 would make it 9-4 on a Josh Koshko marker, assisted by Max Amaoko with 6:27 remaining. FC Indiana would get that one back with 4:54 left on unassisted tally by Bernandez. 1927 would put the final nail in the coffin, after Diego Hernandez completed his second half hat trick just 58 seconds later to make it 10-5. The score would hold for the final 3:56, as 1927 SC would win the inaugural MLISX Championship. Diego Lopez (3G-0A-3PTS) for 1927 SC and Garey Mills (1G-2A-3PTS) for FC Indiana, led all scorers.

Congratulations to 1927 SC of Fort Wayne, Indiana on winning the inagural 2026 MLISX Championship. Great season overall. I look forward to covering the MLISX in 2027 and beyond.

With the inaugural MLISX Championship under their belt, can we expect to see 1927 SC represent Fort Wayne, Indiana for the MLISX in the near future? Would it be replacing the Summit City Sentinels as the city’s team? Or would they coexist side by side? Those answers and more will answered in the months to come for the 2027 MLISX season and beyond.

With the book closed on the 2026 MLISX season, we turn to the MLIS.

2025-26 MLIS SEASON RECAP

SOUTH CONFERENCE RECAP:

In our South Conference preview back on November 15th, 2025, I made predictions for who I thought would clinch the South’s top two seeds and advance to play in Vegas. Looking back, I nailed the top three teams at seasons end. The other three, however, I did not. I was bullish on Utah making some noise in the South to challenge the  Amarillo Bombers. That also proved correct, as Utah split the regular season with Amarillo, getting stomped 14-4 on February 1st, but won the South Conference game of the year (in my humble opinion) during the rematch on March 8th, winning 11-10. Both games took place at Sports City.

Trailing 5-2 at halftime, Utah would trail 6-5 before Amarillo’s Cleberson Rodrigues would score at the horn to make it 7-5 heading into the 4th. What transpired at the end of that game, has to be seen to be believed. Chris Reyes scored twice in 22 seconds to tie the game with 10:33 remaining. Mathues Lucas scored 57 seconds later to give Utah an improbable 9-8 lead with their third goal in 79 seconds to completely swing this game in their favor. Amarillo would slowly take control of the game after Rodrigues and Emanuel Celaya scored to give the Bombers the 10-9 advantage. Then it happened: Chandler Hoffman tied things up with 42 seconds to go on a set piece. Then with one second remaining, Amarillo was called for a handball trying to make a desperation block. Steve Jasso scored the penalty shot to give Salt Lake the unbelievable 11-10 come from behind victory for the Uprising, handing the Bombers their only loss in the regular season. Amarillo was THAT close from an undefeated regular season.

Amarillo may have already clinched the top seed in the South before this contest in Draper, but that doesn’t take away from the playoff atmosphere at Sports Center Utah or the effort by Utah Uprising to knock off the defending champions. Utah would earn their second place finish in the South with a 9-3 record, losing the aforementioned meeting against Amarillo and dropping the opening weekend series against Orlando at Sofive Lake Nona. With a near perfect season, going 11-1, Amarillo punched their ticket to the MLIS Semi-Final in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Orlando looked like the South Conference’s contender to Amarillo early on with their opening series sweep of Utah. Three weeks later, they would split a pair of games at home, losing the second in OT to the Las Vegas Turf Monsters, giving them a 3-0-1 start on the season. A weekend road sweep at Boulder 8-4 and Dallas 12-2, put Orlando at 5-0-1 for the first half of their inaugural MLIS season.

Orlando began the new year by picking up where they left off. A weekend home sweep of Dallas, 16-5 and 16-3, paced this Atletico Pro squad to a 7-0-1 record, following their 32-8 two game conquest of Dallas. The final four games of the season would be played away from the Sunshine State. Everything began to unravel for Orlando during this stretch. Their second OT loss came against Boulder 6-5, putting them at 7-0-2 heading into a critical weekend series at Amarillo. They lost both games at the Civic Center, 11-5 and 8-7 in a game that was much closer than that one goal game would indicate. With their record at 7-2-2 and out of the playoff hunt after Utah’s miracle win against Amarillo, Orlando laid an egg against DALLAS of all teams to finish the season, losing 10-5, to end what was once a promising season at 7-3-2, 3rd in the South Conference. Those two OT losses would come back to haunt Atletico Pro, as they held the tiebreaker against Utah if both teams finished 9-3. Make no mistake, this team narrowly missed the postseason. Orlando will be a team to be reckoned with next season, proving the South Conference is in good hands at the top with the likes of Amarillo, Utah, and Orlando.

The MLIS announced all the way back on November 27th, 2024, that they would be expanding to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. On September 26th, 2025 ,we announced that the team would be known as the Las Vegas Turf Monsters. As of our last update when doing our South Conference preview, no venue for the Turf Monsters had been announced. It was later shown to be the Big League Dreams Complex, just Northeast of downtown Vegas.

The Turf Monsters highlight of the season was arguably their OT win against Atletico Pro in Orlando. Their other two wins came against Dallas in a weekend sweep on the road, February 21st and 22nd, 6-4 and 2-1. The Turf Monsters would go winless at home, in route to an inaugural season of 3-9. Good enough for 5th in the South Conference. Las Vegas has some major work to do before the Turf Monsters can be considered scary.

As for Boulder? You could say they are a spiritual successor of the Colorado Bucks, who did not last after the 2024-25 season concluded. In their place, also playing at Foothills Fieldhouse in Denver, is Boulder United FC Halo. Boulder had a subpar season, finishing 5-7, 4th in the South Conference. Aside from their OT win against Orlando, Boulder defeated Las Vegas and Dallas twice for their other wins. It should be noted that Boulder lost to Amarillo by just one goal, twice during the regular season, proving Boulder isn’t too far off from competing in the South in 2026-27.

As for Dallas? Well, what else is there to say? They were dead last in the South at 1-11, their only win came against an Orlando team that was already eliminated from playoff contention. They had the worst offense and defense in the MLIS, getting outscored 138-44 for a -94 goal differential. They were just 18% on the power play and had a paltry 52% penalty kill. Their lone bright spot on offense was Jonathan Sandoval (15G-4A-19PTS). It’ll take a lot more than prayers to lift Dallas up heading into 2026-27.

NORTH CONFERENCE RECAP:

The North Conference was a much easier picture to predict than the South, as two of the top teams in the league, Cleveland and Toronto, were the easy picks to represent the North Conference in Vegas. The Crunch and Crusaders battled three times last season with all three tied after regulation. Two were decided in OT, the other, in a shootout.

In our North Conference preview back on November 15th, I also gave my predictions on predicted order of finish. Safe to say, I got all of them wrong. That makes me 3/13 overall. However, the top two teams at the end of the season, were in fact, Cleveland and Toronto, just not in the order I initially predicted they would go.

For starters, the Crunch predictably split their two contests against the Crusaders, losing 7-5 in Scarborough on February 7th and winning the rematch at the Wolstein Center on March 14th, 8-4. What was not expected was to see them lose to anyone else, but that’s exactly what they did, losing 8-7 in OT on the road to the Rockford Lightning of all teams. The Valentine’s Day setback likely cost the Crunch the top seed in the North Conference. Despite the setback in Rockford, they finished 2nd in the North and third in the MLIS overall, with a 10-1-1 record.

Toronto took full advantage of the Crunch’s misfortune at Rockford and kept true to themselves at home going 6-0 (Cleveland did so as well), while their lone defeat was the aforementioned game in Cleveland 8-4, to finish 11-1 and secure the top seed in the North Conference.

The Steel City’s team, Bridge City put together a solid season for the black and yellow, going 7-5, good enough for 3rd in the rugged North, but out of the playoffs. Aside from two defeats against Cleveland and Toronto, they also lost to Chicago on January 31st, 7-6. Pittsburgh fans have a lot to look forward to in the future with this team. In the already tough North Conference, expect Pittsburgh to take another step forward. While they are still third behind Cleveland and Toronto, Bridge City should begin close that gap by the end of 2026-27. Bridge City is here to stay.

Chicago had a disappointing season to say the least, going 6-6 and finishing fourth. Chicago was expected to contend with Cleveland and Toronto. Instead, they lost twice to both teams AND lost to RED CEDAR of all teams. The 11-10 defeat from the boys from Lansing on January 18th, sums up the season perfectly for the Mustangs. While they swept their new local rival in Rockford, they split games against Pittsburgh, losing their season finale in Sewickley, 9-4. With Bridge City now in the mix, the Mustangs will have a few furloughs to make up if they are going to compete in 26-27.

Red Cedar made some unexpected noise after the awful season they had last year, going 5-7 to finish 5th. The highlight of their season was arguably the win at Hoffman Heights against Chicago. They would also sweep Rockford and Fort Wayne, defeating both teams, once in OT each. Their 16-15 OT win against Summit City was our pick for North Conference game of the year in 2025-26. This game was absolutely nuts. Its on YouTube, so I would highly recommend watching it. This game is ultimately our pick for MLIS game of the YEAR. Words cannot describe how insane it was. Red Cedar is a hard one to predict for next season, but with the likely  improvement of Pittsburgh, Red Cedar can maintain at least 5th in the North, but with significantly more talent above them and Fort Wayne and Rockford expected to be much better, was this merely a flash in the pan for Red Cedar?

The Rockford Lightning performed a little under what I expected from them coming into their inaugural MLIS campaign, going 3-7-2 to finish 6th out of 7 teams in the North. They had the rare dubious feat in arena soccer of being shutout, when they lost to Toronto 11-0 in their third game. The OT win against Cleveland without question was their best achievement on the season. Their other two wins came against Fort Wayne. Rockford will look to make moves to catch lightning in a bottle for the 2026-27 MLIS season.

Dallas may have stole a win during a meaningless contest for one of the top teams in the South, but Fort Wayne is the better squad overall, despite finishing last in the North Conference at 0-11-1. Summit City’s highlight was, you guessed it, the lone game that got points for them in the standings. Their 16-15 OT loss at the hands of Red Cedar in Novi was the best they played all season. Not only that, but it was OUR pick for MLIS game of the year. Fort Wayne saw SEVEN games decided by three goals or less, including three in which they lost by just ONE. This was a very competitive team that not only played in a bloodbath conference, but they had numerous breaks that didn’t go in their favor. One of those three goal defeats was to TORONTO, so Fort Wayne is a much better squad then they are given credit for. They played good enough to get 2-4 wins on the year. Expect Fort Wayne to rise out of the North Conference basement for the 2026-27 MLIS season.

With the best regular season the MLIS has seen in it’s history so far, the 2026 MLIS Semi-Finals in Vegas will feature Toronto(N1) vs. Utah(S2) and a rematch of last years MLIS Final with Amarillo(S1) vs Cleveland(N2). Would Utah continue their rise to the top of the MLIS ladder? Or would Toronto avenge their Semi-Final loss from a season ago? Would Cleveland avenge THEIR loss to Amarillo at home from last season? Or will Amarillo continue to hold the edge over the Crunch? Viva Las Vegas!

2026 MLIS SEMI-FINALS

With the MLIS Final Four under way, here’s a synopsis of the straws that stir their teams.

First up, our defending champions, the Amarillo Bombers. They are led by seven players with double digit points: Emanuel Celaya (25G-2A-27PTS, 3rd in MLIS in goals), Cleberson Rodrigues (16G-6A-22PTS), the ever dangerous Miguel Reyes (9G-10A-19PTS, team leader in assists), Luis Esteban (13G-5A-18PTS), Kike Canaz (11G-7A-18PTS), Miguel Angel Diaz (8G-7A-15PTS), and Jose Lopez (7G-7A-14PTS). Jose Chavez and Victor Lopez backstopped Amarillo at goalkeeper. They had the second best offense and defense in the MLIS outscoring teams 129-57 for a +72 goal differential. They were 31% on the power play with a stingy 91% penalty kill.

Next up is the Toronto Canadian Crusaders. They had seven double digit point scorers (including three who posted 21 or more): Leaford Allen (20G-3A-23PTS, 5th in MLIS and team leader in goals), Omar Hussein (9G-14A-23PTS, 3rd in MLS and team leader in assists, tied for team lead in points), Sebastian Lopez (11G-10A-21PTS), Raheem Rose (5G-13A-18PTS, tied for 5th in MLIS in assists), Andrea Schifano (11G-4A-15PTS), Yevhenii Zaiets (3G-12A-15PTS), and Yonis Jama (12G-1A-13PTS). MLIS Goalkeeper of the year, Filip Zendelek backstopped the Crusaders in net. Toronto had the fourth best offense and the MLIS’ best defense,o utscoring their opponents 106-55 for a +51 goal differential. They had a sizzling power play of 56% and a solid penalty kill at 87%.

The Cleveland Crunch are back with the same cast and crew that fans at the Wolstein Center have come to love during their time in MLIS. They had the best offense in the MLIS and the third best defense, outscoring their opposition 133-67 for a +66 goal differential. They were a solid team on the power play at 36% with an equally solid penalty kill of 82%. They had NINE players who recorded double digit point totals (including five with at least 15 and at least three with 24) led by MLIS MVP and Top Playmaker, Admir Suljevic (18G-22A-40PTS, 2nd in MLIS in points. Made even more impressive, as he only played 9 games), Michael Derezic (17G-8A-25PTS, played in 7 games), Gabriel Pewu (16G-8A-24PTS), Omar Najjar (8G-9A-17PTS), David Jordan (12G-3A-15PTS), Ryan Minick (5G-8A-13PTS), Brenden Swann (5G-7A-12PTS, Aidan Bozak (3G-9A-12PTS, played in 7 games), and Jannis Schmidt (6G-5A-11PTS, played in 6 games). Liam Mcintosh and Marijo Musa backstopped the Cleveland Crunch at goalkeeper.

Finally, we turn our attention to the Salt Lake City, Utah Uprising. As the only new team in the bracket in this season’s Final, Utah has a solid foundation that should challenge Amarillo in the South next season. They too, had seven players with double digit point totals during the regular season (including 4 with at least 22 and two with 36 apiece) Led by: Chris Reyes (27G-7A-36PTS, 2nd in MLIS in goals, tied for 3rd in points, team leader in goals), Leonardo Sobreia (23G-13A-36PTS, tied with Chris Reyes for 3rd in MLIS in points), Steve Jasso (9G-14G-23PTS, tied for 3rd in MLIS in assists, lead team in assists), Gui Leme (13G-9A-22PTS), James Pena (9G-7A-16PTS), Tayvius Hector Mejia (8G-4A-12PTS), and Braydon Gipson (4G-6A-10PTS) Matheus Lucas and Berk Forbes backstopped the Uprising at goalkeeper. Utah was an interesting mix, with the third best offense and only the SEVENTH best defense in the MLIS, outscoring teams 126-83 for a +43 goal differential. They had a putrid 11% power play and a penalty kill that was subpar at 64%.

Before we go over the Semi-Finals, the WMLIS (along with MASLW and WISL-W will be covered in our Wednesday article covering all the women’s action in arena soccer.

March 28th, 2026 saw FOUR games played at Orleans Arena. The start times were at Noon, 2PM, 4PM, and finally 6PM. Even better? Tickets were good for ALL FOUR GAMES. They were also general admission seats, giving the buyer the choice to sit anywhere they wanted. Odds are, no fan stayed for all four games except for yours truly. But hey, when you love something and cherish it like I do, you’ll travel to Greenland if that’s what calls for it.

Seriously, get out and take chances and do what you love. You’ll be glad that you did and have no regrets.

The WMLIS had a Semi-Final game at Noon, then it was Toronto vs. Utah at 2PM. There was a theme of delays throughout the day, as the game didn’t start until 2:19PM PST and didn’t end until 4:30PM. We also had a 20 minute delay in the first quarter due to turf issues from what I recall (Turf Monsters trying to sabotage the event in Las Vegas after not being invited as the hosts? We may never know, after all, what happens in Vegas, STAYS in Vegas).

The first half was all Toronto needed to advance to the 2026 MLIS Finals. With 8:56 left in the opening quarter Sebastian Lopez scored unassisted to break the ice. Approximately 2:58 later, Andrea Schifano, assisted by Yonis Jama, doubled the Crusaders lead. Mehdi Essoussi made it 3-0 Toronto just 16 seconds later unassisted. With exactly two minutes left Daniel Chamale on a feed from the goalkeeper Filip Zendelek, gave the Crusaders a dream start to end the first period. Schifano, assisted by Raheem Rose and then Rose from Chamale, would score just 2:05 apart, making it 6-0. Toronto would make it a seven goal advantage with just three seconds left in the first half, on a power play strike from Sebastian Lopez, assisted by Chamale once more.

Salt Lake, despite the huge deficit didn’t play like a team that was down 7-0, rather they were very physical from the beginning and didn’t deserve being shutout (that 11% power play coming to haunt them one more). Dalton Gibson (#37 for Utah) was fun to watch the entire game. His physical play was something to behold. Utah showed their resilience by scoring the next three goals, Chandler Hoffman from Tayvius Hector Mejia, James Pena, unassisted then Pena again from Hoffman, with 12:26, 8:04, and 4:45 to go in the third respectively, making it 7-3 Toronto. Omar Hussein would restore the five goal lead on a feed from Schifano to make it 8-3 going into the fourth quarter. Hoffman would score just 11 seconds into the period, assisted by Kaydon Zamora-Reeves making it 8-4. Toronto held down the fort until, Utah made it a three goal defecit on Jackson Bunn’s feed from Anderson Laparra Ruiz, making it 8-5 with just 2:22 left. Toronto would answer 15 seconds later, unassisted from Rose. Toronto would add two more, from Michael Osorio with 46 seconds left and Sebastian Lopez, securing a hat trick with seven seconds remaining, giving Toronto a dominate 11-5 and advance to Sunday’s MLIS Final. Andrea Schifano (2G-2A-4PTS), Daniel Chamale (1G-2A-3PTS), Raheem Rose (2G-1A-3PTS), and Sebastian Lopez (3G-0A-3PTS) starred for Toronto, while Chandler Hoffman (2G-1A-3PTS) and James Pena (2G-0A-2PTS) shined for the Uprising on the disappointing loss. It should be noted that Reyes and Sobreia DID NOT play in this game.

With the lessons learned by Utah, they should be back next year. They have the best one-two scoring punch in the MLIS with Chris Reyes and Leonardo Sobreia, two top playmakers in Steve Jasso and Gui Leme, along with a physical defense led by Dalton Gibson. Utah will be back.

Finally, the game that arguably had the most promise of the entire season. One that needs no introduction if one knows the history between these two teams. After the other WMLIS Semi-Final played the 4PM time slot game, Amarillo vs Cleveland was ready to start play. They would began at 7:02 PM. For 57:05, this was turning out to be the greatest game in the HISTORY of Major League Indoor Soccer. And coming from ME, that’s saying something. I would know. I was there and witnessed it happen.

Amarillo broke the ice with 9:33 left in the first, on a Cleberson Rodrigues feed from Kike Canez. That 1-0 would hold until Sam Mutemwa would tie the game on a pass from Chris Cvecko with 1:54 remaining in the first half. It would be tied 1-1 at the half. This was hands down, the best first 30 minutes in league history. To this day? I still stand by that. Proudly.

Michael Derezic would give the Crunch the lead 40 seconds into the second half unassisted. With 7:28 remaining in the third, Amarillo’s Pedro Francisco Castaneda, assisted by Miguel Reyes, would make it 2-2 halfway through the third. Cleveland’s Sam Mutemwa and Amarillo’s Luis Esteban would score 13 seconds apart to make it 3-3 with 2:31 remaining. We would remain tied heading into the final period. Best first 45 minutes in league history? Yes. Definitely. Cleveland would score, unassisted by David Jordan, with 12:39 to go. David Trevizo would provide the most clutch 36 seconds in his career, assisted by Esteban with 9:34 left, and by Reyes with 8:58 to give Amarillo the 5-4 lead. It was at this moment that Amarillo’s borderline dangerous physical play began to frustrate Cleveland, much like it did last year. While I fully agree the lack of calls against the Bombers definitely affected the gameplan of the Crunch, it looked like they were finally going to overcome that and get their revenge for last years loss at the Wolstein Center. To be fair, Bozak was boarded early in the game with no call, infuriating the Crunch faithful and coaching staff. Reyes got boarded RIGHT NEXT TO ME later in the contest, showing that the officials let this game get too out of hand. Happy Hour took place at Orleans Arena just before the start of the game, which caused the entire Amarillo fanbase that made the trip, to act increasingly rude and unruly. The atmosphere in the stands and on the field was similar to the infamous “Malice at the Palace” from 2004. I kept thinking about that possibility as we approached the halfway mark of the final period. The Bombers fans were nothing short of disrespectful through the entire game. I am used to unruly individuals, so I understand. I just tend to observe things and can sense things quite naturally. But, I genuinely thought we were about to have a moment the league was going to want to forget. Thankfully, that did not happen. Rodrigues’ goal with 2:55 remaining from Castaneda ultimately proved to be the dagger for Crunch fans everywhere. Two empty goals, one from Trevizo giving him a hat trick, with 1:34 to go and Emanuel Celaya from Castaneda with 57 seconds left, made it 8-4, spoiling potentially the greatest game in league history. Gabriel Pewu would score with 39 seconds left from Landon Kuhn, but Amarillo iced the game with Darren Mitchell scoring with 26 seconds left, sending the Bombers a resounding 9-5 victory advancing to the MLIS Finals in a rematch against their Semi-Final opponent from last season, Toronto. David Trevizo (3G-0A-3PTS) and Pedro Francisco Castaneda (1G-2A-3PTS) starred in the Bombers win, while Sam Mutemwa (2G-0A-2PTS) paced the Crunch in the season ending loss to their bitter rivals from the North Texas Panhandle.

For Cleveland, they are no stranger to humiliating and unfair defeats in their sports history, yet each time it happens, the very same fans have the right to feel disappointed. So do the Crunch themselves. This was supposed to be their time to shine and rise to the top, just like the glory days in the NPSL. Instead, its back to the drawing board and a lesson in mental toughness. They will be likely still be my favorite to win it in 2026-27, as the Crunch have arguably the most talented roster in MLIS. Look for Cleveland to bounce back next season, again.

2026 MLIS FINAL

The WMLIS Final took place at 2PM PST on Sunday March 29th, 2026 (more on that Wednesday), once that game was over, the MLIS Final would kick off at 4PM. However, with the fanfare that came with the WMLIS Finals, the MLIS Final didn’t officially start until 4:48 PM. The game was a quick affair ending in just under two hours at 6:41PM.

Would Amarillo stay on top, after the road they traveled to get here, as MLIS Regular Season Champions? Or would Toronto bring Canadian fans their first arena soccer championship, since the Detroit-Windsor Border Stars took home the American Indoor Soccer League Championship in 2004-05? Let the games begin.

Amarillo scored just 25 seconds into the game after a bad display by the Toronto defense, as Kike Canaz fired it home for the early 1-0 advantage, unassisted. With 10:12 to go in the opening stanza, Cleberson Rodrigues, assisted by Miguel Angel Diaz, doubled their lead. Leaford Allen would get Toronto on the board on a feed from Michael Osorio with 8:32 remaining in the first. The Bombers would cap off a three goal first period when Miguel Reyes would score, assisted by David Trevizo with 2:54 to go, making it 3-1 heading into the second quarter. It was at the midway point in the second quarter, that Toronto began to slowly take control of the game the same way Amarillo had done to Cleveland in last year’s final. Toronto would tie it, on a Raheem Rose strike from Andrea Schifano with 6:19 remaining, and with 2:20 to go in the half on a marker from Allen, assisted by Omar Hussein, making it 3-3. Amarillo took the lead back just 12 seconds later, thanks to Miguel Angel Diaz scoring on a pass from Luis Esteban. The Bombers led 4-3 at the break, but Toronto clearly had the momentum inspite of the one goal defecit they faced. Toronto took the physical play from Amarillo much better, resulting in their confidence on offense. The game was called a lot tighter compared to last night, too. No doubt the league took some flack after last night’s near disaster with Amarillo and Cleveland. Well deserved given how borderline dangerous it got the previous night. It also helps that there was no Happy Hour to rile up the Amarillo fanbase, as was the case last night.

After seven combined goals in the first half, my hunch was that we wouldn’t see anymore than six more for the remainder of the game. If I was a betting man (which I’m not), I had 4.5 2nd half goals scored. Safe to say my hunch would more than prove to be correct. With 9:51 to go, we would see Leaford Allen secure an MLIS Final hat trick, with his unassisted strike, tying it up at four apiece. That score would remain going into the fourth. Toronto was slowly winning the war of attrition and as I suspected at the end of the first half, Toronto was going to take control of this contest. The score didn’t show it, but the Crusaders had the Bombers on their heels since the mid way point of the second quarter, even long before Toronto tied it up. You could see the effort Toronto was putting in, like an anaconda slowly squeezing its prey, wearing it out. The Canadian Crusaders finally received their reward in the form of two goals, 68 seconds apart from each other. Hussein would score with 4:27 to go, for what proved to be the MLIS Final game winner, from Yonis Jama. Then Jama was rewarded with a goal of his courtesy of a pass from Osorio, giving the Crusaders a 6-4 lead that would hold for the final 3:19 to give the Toronto Canadian Crusaders their first MLIS Championship and the nation of Canada their second ever Arena Soccer Championship and first since the old American Indoor Soccer League’s Detroit-Windsor Border Stars won the AISL Championship in 2004-05, defeating the Cincinnati Excite in Windsor. Toronto had finally conquered the MLIS as champions.

Did you know this wasn’t the first title in the team’s history? That’s right! The team originated in the now defunct National Indoor Soccer League as the Central Florida Crusaders. They played their games at the Addition Financial Arena (home to UCF basketball) in Orlando, from 2022-2024. The NISL of the early 2020’s was plagued with internal issues. Such that the league eventually merged with the MLIS on March 19th, 2024. The Crusaders went 13-2 in their inaugural season, winning the 2022-23 NISL Championship. There was no title game held due to operational issues. They would relocate to Scarborough, Ontario in 2024.

Amarillo will definitely look back on opportunities missed during the season. This was the MISL’s best team during the regular season and one could argue, much like with Cleveland last season, that they should have won it all. The Bombers are still the team to beat in the South Conference, but Utah is slowly rising up to meet their challenge. Not to mention Orlando will likely be much better overall, making the South a very competitive battle at the top next season. Amarillo will be back, but expect the gap between them and Orlando and Utah to close by season’s end.

What can I say about Toronto? After what looked like a Toronto vs Cleveland finals last year (the games between them, two decided in OT and the other in a shootout), Amarillo came through and wrecked the perceived lack of parity in the MLIS. Toronto last a heartbreaker last year. This year they did what many (including myself) didn’t think they would do, top Cleveland in the North Conference and win the MLIS Championship in Las Vegas at season’s end. The Crusaders will have Amarillo, Cleveland, and Utah gunning for them next season. As it stands, Cleveland is still the team to beat in the North Conference, but if it’s anyone in the North as it stands that can defeat Cleveland, its Toronto. What an amazing season.

Here are my 2025-26 final power rankings for MLIS teams:

1. Canadian Crusaders
2. Amarillo Bombers
3. Cleveland Crunch
4. Utah Uprising
5. Orlando Atletico Pro
6. Bridge City
7. Chicago Mustangs
8. Boulder United
9. Red Cedar
10. Rockford Lightning
11. Las Vegas Turf Monsters
12. Summit City Sentinels
13. Dallas CD La Cuadra

SLY AS A FOX

On May 8th, 2026, the MLIS announced that Boulder United would be rebranding as the Colorado Foxes, after a former coach with the assumed ownership. With a third identity in as many years, Denver will still have MLIS soccer to cheer on come 2026-27. While no announcements have been made to suggest otherwise, the Foxes will likely continue to play home games at the Foothills Fieldhouse, just like the Bucks and Boulder did the past two seasons.

WEEKEND AT BERNIE’S

The MLIS has teamed up with some powerful individuals to give the league a boost going forward in the future. Enter Commissioner Bernie Lilavois. A longtime soccer veteran, who’s indoor playing days span from the old Continental Indoor Soccer League to the MASL precursor, PASL Premier/Pro. He also played the outdoor game extensively as well, leading his alma mater Cal State Northridge to the NCAA DII Championship Game where they lost to Florida Tech. In the old American Professional Soccer League (the precursor to the old A-League, the roots of the USL First Division, and by extension USL Championship itself), he led one of the most beloved teams of the day, the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks to the 1991 APSL Championship. His indoor career might be a bit more well known, as he proved to be a driving force for teams like the Anaheim Splash, Cincinnati Silverbacks, Buffalo Blizzard, and my hometown World Indoor Soccer League team, the Portland Pythons. His coaching career also includes winning the 2008-09 PASL Pro with the Stockton Cougars, defeating the Cincinnati Kings 13-5. He’s also coached the United States National Arena Soccer Team as well.

But what secret sauce does a veteran with 452 career goals (both indoor and outdoor) have that should help the league going forward? Real Estate. Sound familiar? For those that follow the USL (I do), there’s a name that should sound familiar to those in the USL circles: Justin Papadakis. The recently departed Chief Real Estate Officer, played a massive role in shaping the future of the USL through establishing connections with local communities and businesses. Not only that, but those relationships sparked a massive spike in real estate developments and stadium village growth. “Mixed use development” ring any bells? Well that’s because Bernie is also a realtor. That’s right. As an experienced Realtor, he can give the MLIS a much needed boost to growth in a similar way. His connections with the Las Vegas market likely helped secure the Orleans Arena for the Finals in March (I called it back on September 12th, 2025), the league meetings also took place in Vegas this past offseason.

Now what does this all mean? You need solid connections and good land investments and opportunities. Enter Bernie Lilavois with his experience on and off the field. Establishing stable relationships and financial connections is the key moving forward. With the devoted work from League President Dr. Sev Hrywnak and Commissioner Bernie Lilavois, the MLIS is in good hands.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The MLIS is beginning to grow from the likes of teams that pad the score sheets such as the Lima Ohio Extreme (could we see them return in MLISX?) and seeing parity across the board. The top half of the league continues to grow with a solid six contenders heading into next season. Dr. Hrywnak, assured me after the MLIS Final, that they are building something special here. I believe it. And it’s such a blessing to be a part of it, not only as a fan, but as an observer too.

Having the privilege to hold the trophy afterwards, capped off another chance I took, three weeks after the in Seattle for the WISL Championship. Despite not getting media credentials for this year’s Final, both the WISL and MLIS know about me and have me on their radar. I want to extend my gratitude to both Commissioner Bernie Lilavois and President Dr. Sev Hrywnak for their contributions and acknowledging you have a star on the rise that wants to walk this journey together with you. Also, my thanks once more to Andi Ruscitto for her contributions and kindness towards me as well. I cannot wait to see what awaits us together for the 2026-27 MLIS season. Life is like arena soccer: fast, unpredictable, and off the wall. See you in 26-27!

For more info on the MLIS and MLISX go to mlispro.com

On Wednesday, we will cover the Women’s Arena Soccer recaps from MASLW, WMLIS, and WISL-W.

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