New Milwaukee Wave coach Marcio Leite knows his players well.
He’s been part of the organization for all but one season since 2006, was promoted from assistant and inherits a team that is largely unchanged from the one that played in the semifinals of the MASL playoffs last season.
But that doesn’t make his task for the 2025-26 arena soccer season easy.
“I have the privilege of working under two of the greatest coaches that the indoor game has ever had,” Leite said in a phone interview Oct. 16, the day the schedule was announced. “I had Keith Tozer as my first coach when I was a player, and I worked as an assistant coach with Giuliano (Oliviero).
“He won a championship, and he always brought the Wave to a very high standard. Every year we were fighting for a championship, and again, I think he was potentially the best coach in the league, so I learned a lot.
“My goal is to make the team better, even though I know that will be a huge challenge replacing a legend like Giuliano.”
Leite’s ascension has been part of a restructuring within ROC Ventures that included making seven-year ROC employee Shan Amini president and general manager of the Wave and moving ROC chief operating officer Dan Kuenzi, who had been GM of both the Wave and Milwaukee Milkmen baseball team, to focus on the baseball side.
At the same time, Amini said, ROC wanted to align its soccer camps, the SC Wave academy program and the MASL team. Leite already was the director of coaching for SC Wave. Oliviero, whose Wave contract expired in April, works with the Elmbrook United club.
Oliviero had been head coach since he succeeded Tozer, now the MASL commissioner, in 2014 after a long career as a player and player/assistant coach.
“This is not, hey, Giuliano wasn’t a capable coach or didn’t do an excellent job. I’ve got nothing but respect for him,” Amini said “This comes down to involvement in the Milwaukee Wave camps.
“We need the coach really overseeing that. Because one of the goals of the Milwaukee Wave camps is to generate income that then helps support the Milwaukee Wave, which keeps our ticket prices in line so we can still be an affordable family event.”
Leite, 41, followed a path similar to Oliviero’s. He retired from playing before the 2024-25 season and became Oliviero’s top assistant after serving as a player/coach for six seasons. He has been part of the Wave since 2006, except for the 2020-21 season, when the Wave was idle due to COVID-19 restrictions and he won a championship with the San Diego Sockers.
The Wave roster will return largely intact from 2024-25, Amini said, with 22 players already under contract.
That also means the team is getting older.
Two-time league MVP Ian Bennett remains the face of the franchise, but he is 42. Max Ferdinand, who has been another important offensive threat, will be 39 when the season starts.
“We’ve got this young core of players that are now going on their second, third and fourth years,” Amini said. “Alex Sanchez I’ve used as an example; he’s the up-and-coming superstar in the league. He re-signed a long-term contract with us.”
Sanchez, 24, was the team’s runaway scoring leader with 27 goals and 21 assists for 48 points and was one of only two players to play in all 26 regular-season and playoff games.
“So we’re really excited about the young players, but we’re also excited about the leadership of some of these older players that are going to take important roles, like Ian and Max Ferdinand,” Amini continued. “Those guys are going to be leaders on the team, so we’re going to leverage that along with their ability to still play.”
Absent from the roster is Frank Tayou, the league’s all-time leading scorer, who was acquired by the Wave for its 2025 playoff run. He declined his player option and chose free agency, Amini said.
Just eight teams will play this season in what had been a 12-team league.
The three-time defending champion Chihuahua Savage opted not to play due to requirements for a facilities upgrade. The Harrisburg Heat will play in MASL2 for one season due to a move to Hershey, Pennsylvania. There have been no announcements about the status of the Dallas Sidekicks or Texas Outlaws, but neither team is included on the MASL schedule or website.
The flip side of the contraction is that each team will play every other team during their 24-game season.
The Wave opens Dec. 7 at San Diego and plays at the UWM Panther Arena for the first time four games later, Dec. 19, against the Baltimore Blast. Other schedule highlights include the traditional New Year’s Eve home game (vs. Empire, 3:05 p.m.) and a finishing stretch of five consecutive home games from March 15-29.
“The team last year making to the semifinals was very, very important,” Leite said. “That game in the semifinal could have gone in a different direction. We could have been the team in the final fighting for a championship.
“But again, in 19 years that I’ve been the league, I was able to win four championships. So hopefully I can bring some of that experience in those big moments in big games to the rest of the team and help them to accomplish the championship title, which is the goal for the Milwaukee Wave every season.”
2025-26 Milwaukee Wave schedule
Dec. 7: at San Diego
Dec. 12: at Kansas City
Dec. 14: at St. Louis
Dec. 19: vs. Baltimore, 6:35 p.m.
Dec. 27: at Baltimore
Dec. 28: at Utica City
Dec. 31: vs. Empire, 3:05 p.m.
Jan. 11: at Kansas City
Jan. 17: vs. San Diego, 6:05 p.m.
Jan. 18: vs. Kansas City, 2:05 p.m.
Jan 24: at St. Louis
Jan. 25: vs. St. Louis, 3:05 p.m.
Feb. 1: at Utica City
Feb. 10: vs. Kansas City, 10:35 a.m.
Feb. 15: at Tacoma
Feb. 16: at Empire
Feb. 21: at Baltimore
Feb. 22: vs. St. Louis, 3:05 p.m.
March 1: at Utica City
March 8: vs. Tacoma, 2:05 p.m.
March 15: vs. Empire, 2:05 p.m.
March 20: vs. Utica City, 6:35 p.m.
March 22: vs. Baltimore, 3:05 p.m.
March 29: vs. Utica City, 2:05 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Who’s the new Milwaukee Wave coach, why the change and what can we expect in 2025-26 in the MASL?
Reporting by Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
