The Missouri Comets scored three unanswered second-half goals to beat the Blast 14-11 Saturday night and snap Baltimore’s nine-game home win streak.  MISL Player of the Week Leo Gibson led the way with three goals. The Blast will return to 1st Mariner Arena on February 2 to host the Syracuse Silver Knights.

The Comets struck first, taking a 4-0 lead off goals from Coady Andrews and Gibson.  Lucas Roque and Ptah Myers scored late in the first quarter to tie it at 4-4.

Lucio Gonzaga scored the only goal of the third quarter, a three-pointer, to give Baltimore its first lead of the night at 7-4.

Blast team captain Mike Lookingland extended the Blast lead to 9-4 in the sixth minute of the third quarter, shortly before John Sosa cut the Blast lead to 9-6.  Gibson’s second second goal of the night made it 9-8 but Blast rookie Tino Nunez answered by chipping the ball over the head of Comets goalkeeper Danny Waltman, putting the Blast on top 11-8. Gibson’s third goal cut it to 11-10 and kicked off the Comets’ three-goal run.

Stefan St. Louis recaptured the lead for the Comets just 19 seconds into the final quarter and Cristiano sealed the 14-11 victory.

The Blast will play in Syracuse on Friday, February 1 before returning to 1st Mariner Arena on the 2nd to host the Silver Knights.

Led by Lucio Gonzaga, the Blast defeated the Syracuse Silver Knights, 27-13, Sunday afternoon to improve to 14-4 on the season.  Eight Baltimore players scored in the win including three goals from Gonzaga and two each from Machel Millwood and Adriano Dos Santos.

The Blast came out fast, scoring four goals in the first four minutes of the game to take an early 8-0 lead.  J.T. Noone extended the lead to 10-0 before the Silver Knights’ Andriy Budnyy got Syracuse on the scoreboard with a three-point goal.  Syracuse’s Neto scored a power play goal to end the first quarter and cut the Blast lead to 10-5.  Baltimore’s team captain, Mike Lookingland, opened the scoring just 48 seconds into the match and Millwood, Ptah Myers and Gonzaga followed suit in the next three minutes.

The teams played more than 14 scoreless minutes in the second quarter before Tony Donatelli extended the Blast lead to 12-5 just 23 seconds before halftime.

The third and fourth quarters were similar to the first with the Blast surging ahead with goal after goal.  Baltimore opened the second half with four quick, the first coming from Dos Santos at 2:35.  Millwood and Gonzaga each added their second goals of the game and rookie Marco Mangione scored a three-pointer to give the Blast a 21-5 lead after just six minutes.  Syracuse’s Neto scored his second goal of the game, with just seconds to go in the quarter, to cut the Blast lead to 21-7.

The teams combined for six goals in the final quarter with Silver Knights adding five quick points to cut the Blast lead to 21-11.  Dos Santos and Max Ferdinand scored the next two goals and Gonzaga completed his hat trick in the 10th minute.

The Blast will return to 1st Mariner Arena Friday night to host the Rochester Lancers and Saturday night to host the Missouri Comets.  Friday night fans will be treated to a FREE post-game concert by Thousand Foot Krutch.
MISLNation
Every MISL game this season can be seen live on the Internet at www.MISLNation.com.

Upcoming Games
Friday, January 25 vs. Rochester Lancers – FREE post-game concert featuring Thousand Foot Krutch
Saturday, January 26 vs. Missouri Comets

In another typically hard-fought battle between the Blast and the Wave, the Wave’s Josh Rife scored just 40 seconds into overtime to claim the 10-8 victory.

Playing their second game in less than 24 hours, the Blast jumped out to an early 4-0 lead as Tony Donatelli opened the scoring midway through the first quarter and leading scorer Machel Millwood added a goal in the 10th minute to extend Baltimore’s lead.

After being held scoreless for 21:43, the Wave scored two goals in less than two minutes to tie the game at 4-4 in the second quarter.  Former Blast player Fabinho scored Milwaukee’s first goal, cutting Baltimore’s lead in half, before Ian Bennett tied the game at four apiece.

Milwaukee took their first lead of the game, 6-4, early in the third quarter but the Blast fought back and tied the game at 6-6 on a Lucas Roque goal.

With seven minutes to go, Rampa knocked in a goal to give the Wave the 8-6 lead but the Blast battled back again, with Donatelli scoring his second goal of the game to tie it at 8-8.

With the Wave on the power play, Rife scored the game-winner less than a minute into overtime to push the Blast into second place, a half game behind Milwaukee.

The Blast defeated the Rochester Lancers, 15-5, Saturday night for their eighth straight home win of the season, improving to 12-2.   Leading scorer Machel Millwood led the way with two goals as the Blast set a franchise record for most home wins to open the season.

Rochester’s Mauricio Salles scored a three-point restart goal late in the first quarter to give the Lancers a 3-0 lead before J.T. Noone struck twice in four minutes to put the Blast on top, 4-3.  Former Blast player Rey Martinez scored next to put the Lancers back on top, 5-4, but Blast rookie Lucas Roque scored late in the first half to make it 6-5 at halftime.  Roque also scored two goals in Friday’s 23-12 win over the Lancers and two goals in Tuesday’s victory in Rochester.

Millwood scored his first goal of the night, the only goal of the third quarter, to extend the Blast lead to 8-5.  His second goal, a three-pointer, came on the power play midway through the final quarter. Tony Donatelli and Lucio Gonzaga added late goals to seal the 15-5 victory.

The Blast are on a 17-game regular-season home winning streak.

Upcoming Games
Friday, January 11 at Chicago Soul
Saturday, January 12 at Milwaukee Wave

Max Ferdinand recorded a hat trick Friday night to lead the Blast to a 23-12 victory over the visiting Rochester Lancers.  The Blast, 11-2, will host the Lancers again Saturday night for the third game between the teams in the first five days of 2013.

Ferdinand opened the scoring in the fifth minute of play to give the Blast an early 2-0 lead before Rochester’s Mauricio Salles tied the game and Jeremy Ortiz gave the Lancers a 4-2 lead late in the quarter.

Blast team captain Mike Lookingland scored early in the second quarter to tie the game at 4-4 and Ferdinand’s second goal put the Blast back on top, 6-4.  Rookie Lucas Roque, who scored two goals in Tuesday’s 17-4 win over the Lancers, added a goal to increase the the Blast lead to 8-4 at halftime.

The Lancers came out fast in the second half, scoring two quick goals to tie the games at 8-8. Elliot Fauske scored in the third minute to cut the Blast lead to 8-6 and Salles recorded his second goal of the game a minute later to tie it up. Roque’s second goal of the game kicked off a four-goal run for the Blast to end the quarter with a 17-8 lead.  Machel Millwood, the team’s leading scorer, knocked in two goals in the last five minutes and Lucio Gonzaga added a long-range three pointer.

“We had to dig deep to come back and win this game,” said Millwood of the team’s third-quarter scoring frenzy.

The teams traded goals in the final quarter with Alan McGreal scoring first for the Lancers to cut the Blast lead to 17-10.  Ferdinand completed his hat trick in the ninth minute (19-10) before former Blast player Rey Martinez cut the score to 19-12. Ptah Myers scored next and Adauto Neto ended the game with a shootout goal to make it 23-12.

Notes:

• The Blast have started the 2012-13 season with seven straight home wins, trying the team record set by the 1993-94 then-Baltimore Spirit; a win tomorrow would break the record
• Seven different Blast players scored in the win
• The Blast are on a 16-game regular-season home win streak

Upcoming Games
Saturday, January 5 vs. Rochester Lancers
Friday, January 11 at Chicago Soul
Saturday, January 12 at Milwaukee Wave

The Blast improved to 9-0 on the season and held the Comets scoreless for 46 minutes in Saturday’s 15-9 victory.  Lucio Gonzaga led the way with two goals and rookie goalkeeper William Vanzela recorded 16 saves in his fifth win of the season.

Baltimore started and ended the first quarter in similar fashion – with goals.  Team captain Mike Lookingland got things started, just 40 seconds into the game, giving the Blast an early 2-0 lead and Lucio Gonzaga added a goal late in the quarter to extend the Blast lead to 4-0.

The Blast scoring streak continued into the second quarter with Gonzaga scoring a three-point goal and Mike Deasel knocking in another goal to put the Blast on top, 9-0. Tony Donatelli scored late in the half to give the Blast an 11-0 halftime lead.

Lucas Roque and Machel Millwood added goals in the third quarter to increase Baltimore’s lead to 15-0.

After holding the Comets scoreless for 46:21, the Blast gave up four goals in the final quarter as Missouri continued to fight through their second road game in 24 hours.  Ryan Junge ended Vanzela’s shutout at 1:21 of the fourth quarter and Brian Harris cut the Blast lead to 15-4 less than two minutes later.  Lucas Rodriguez scored a three-point goal to make it 15-7 and Byron Alvarez concerted a penalty kick to make the final score 15-9.

The Blast has kicked off their 33rd season of professional indoor soccer in Baltimore with nine straight wins, marking the seventh time since the 1992-93 season the team has started with five or more wins.  The team will look to match the 1993-94 Baltimore Spirit squad’s record of 10 straight wins to open the season.

There’s no Place Like Home
The Blast, 9-3 at home last season, started 2012-13 with four home games in the span of just 13 days.  The team, 6-0 at home this season, has boasted winning records at home each of the last six seasons and has had winning home records in 18 of the last 20 seasons.  The Blast are currently on a 15-game regular-season home win streak.

Saturday, December 15 vs. Missouri Comets

1^st Mariner Arena, 7:35 p.m.

By the Numbers:

Baltimore Blast: First place, 8-0

*Missouri Comets: Second place, 5-3

* The Comets will play the Syracuse Silver Knights Friday night at 7:30

The Blast has kicked off their 33^rd season of professional indoor soccer in Baltimore with eight straight wins, marking the seventh time since the 1992-93 season the team has started with five or more wins.  The Blast is looking to extend the win streak to nine games Saturday night against the Comets and, ultimately, to match the 1993-94 Baltimore Spirit squad’s record of 10 straight wins to open the season.

The 2012-13 Blast squad features seven new players, including goalkeepers Troy Hernandez and William Vanzela (both are 4-0).  The team is led by Machel Millwood, Baltimore’s longest-tenured player, who has 27 points.  Max Ferdinand follows with 25 points and newcomer Tony Donatelli has 24 points in his return to the indoor game.  Pat Healey and Neto (14 points) as well as Mike Lookingland and Lucio Gonzaga (13) also rank among the league’s top 25 point scorers.  Lookingland and Vanzela, who have combined to lead the Blast’s defensive efforts, were named November MISL Players of the Month.

There’s no Place Like Home

The Blast, 9-3 at home last season, started 2012-13 with four home games in the span of just 13 days.  The team, 5-0 at home this season, has boasted winning records at home each of the last six seasons and has had winning home records in 18 of the last 20 seasons.  The Blast returns to 1^st Mariner Arena Saturday night with hopes of extending its 14-game regular-season home win streak.

The Competition

The Comets started the season 4-0 before the Blast came to town and handed them their first loss of the season (12-4 on November 24).  The loss to the Blast was the first of three straight Comets’ losses before the team rebounded last weekend with a 14-11 win over Chicago.  Led by this week’s MISL Player of the Week, Byron Alvarez (32 points), the Comets will play in Syracuse Friday night before heading to Baltimore for Saturday’s game.  Leo Gibson (13 points) was also named to the MISL Team of the Week after recording three points and four blocks in Sunday’s victory over the Soul.

MISLNation

Every MISL game this season can be seen live on the Internet at MISLNation.com.

Upcoming Games

Friday, December 21 at Chicago Soul

Saturday, December 22 at Milwaukee Wave

Make Your Holidays Blastastic

Blast game tickets and merchandise make great holiday gifts and stocking stuffers.

The Blast improved to 3-0 after a 10-4 win over the Syracuse Silver  Knights Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena.  With William Vanzela manning the  nets, Lucio Gonzaga and Max Ferdinand led the way with two goals.

After nearly 12 minutes of scoreless play in the first quarter,  Syracuse defender Nelson Santana put the Silver Knights on top 2-0.  Despite the low-scoring first quarter, the teams combined for four  second-quarter goals with the Blast jumping out to a 6-4 lead.

Max Ferdinand tied the game just 27 seconds into the second quarter  and Machel Millwood gave the Blast a 4-2 lead in the sixth minute.   Bozidar Jelovac knocked in a goal two minutes later for the second tie  of the game (4-4) before Gonzaga, who missed all of last season after  knee surgery, scored to give the Blast a 6-4 halftime lead.

Gonzaga scored his second goal of the match, the only goal of the  third quarter, to extend Baltimore’s lead to 8-4 and Ferdinand scored  again early in the fourth to clinch the Blast victory.
Notes:

• Gonzaga has  one goal in each of Baltimore’s three games.
• Vanzela recorded 15 saves in his first start.
• Tino Nunez made his Blast debut and recorded an assist on Gonzaga’s second goal.

Upcoming Games Friday, November 16 vs. Milwaukee Wave – 7:35 p.m. Saturday, November 17 at Rochester – 7 p.m.