BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Blast scored four second half goals to claim an 8-6 victory against the Missouri Comets in Game 2 of the MISL Championship Series on Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena, giving the Blast a 2-0 series victory and their seventh MISL Championship. Blast goalkeeper William Vanzela claimed Most Valuable Player honors for the series, as he finished with 30 saves in two games to key Baltimore’s pair of victories.

The Blast trailed Missouri 4-0 at the halftime break, with Byron Alvarez scoring both goals for the Comets and Danny Waltman making eight saves to keep Baltimore off the scoreboard. The Blast finally broke through three minutes, 44 seconds into the third, as Max Ferdinand scored a spectacular power play goal to reduce the deficit to two. Baltimore then drew even, again on the power play, as Tony Donatelli stole in to score his fourth goal of the series, firing home a low cross by Ferdinand to make it 4-4 at the end of the third quarter.

Baltimore took its first lead of the night four minutes into the fourth quarter, Adriano Dos Santos finding the back of the net, and the Blast were able to bolster their lead with a spectacular bicycle kick finish by All-Rookie Team selection Lucas Roque as he controlled his effort after a shot off the end boards by Chris Williams.

Missouri kept its hopes of forcing overtime, and potentially a Game 3 mini-game alive with 5:39 to play as Alvarez completed his hat trick. The Blast’s defense, led by MISL Defender of the Year Mike Lookingland, limited their opportunities in the final five minutes, however, and Vanzela finished with 12 saves as Baltimore claimed its first title since 2009.

After falling 21-12 on Thursday night, Missouri had got off to an ideal start. Following a tense opening, the Comets finally took the lead with 5:02 to play in the first quarter as they caught the Blast on a counter-attack, Alvarez finishing from the left after being found by Cristiano as Missouri held a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes.

Missouri goalkeeper Danny Waltman then had a standout second quarter, keeping the Blast off the board with a number of outstanding saves. The Comets were also able to double their lead, with Byron Alvarez converting a shootout opportunity after Robert Palmer had been brought down on a breakaway by Ferdinand.

Led by Tony Donatelli the Blast earned a convincing 21-12 MISL Championship Series Game One road victory Thursday night over the Missouri Comets. Game Two is set for Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena. Donatelli recorded at hat trick and Ptah Myers, Adauto Neto and Machel Millwood added two goals each while goalkeeper William Vanzela recorded 18 saves.

The Blast wasted no time scoring the first goal of the game as Donatelli knocked in a goal just 33 seconds into the match. Missouri’s Byron Alvarez tied the game at 2-2 but the tie was short-lived and the Blast jumped out to a 6-2 lead thanks to goals from Neto and Myers before the end of the first quarter.

Donatelli opened the second quarter with another first-minute goal and the Blast turned his goal into a four-goal scoring run that resulted in a 14-2 lead midway through the quarter. Rookie Lucas Roque scored next, followed by Millwood and a second goal from Neto.

The Comets fought back in the third quarter, outscoring the Blast, 6-2, and cutting Baltimore’s lead to 16-8. Milan Ivanovic opened the second-half scoring one minute before Myers scored his second goal of the game to keep the Blast on top 16-4. Ryan Junge and Lucas Rodriquez followed up with goals to continue the Comets scoring streak (16-8).

Millwood’s second goal came in the eighth minute of the final quarter to make it 18-8 but the Comets scored the next two goals, both with their sixth attacker on the field. Donatelli’s three-point goal with just 25 seconds remaining sealed Baltimore’s victory.

Game Two will take place Saturday night in Baltimore, with a deciding Mini Game to be played immediately following regulation, if needed. The Comets are no strangers to a Game One loss, having rallied in the Semifinals to beat the Milwaukee Wave in Game Two and again in the Mini Game.

2013 MISL Championship Series – Baltimore Blast vs. Missouri Comets

Game One: Blast 21-12

Game Two: Saturday, March 16, 1^st Mariner Arena – 7:35 p.m.

By the Numbers:

Baltimore Blast: First Seed, 21-5 regular season record, 3-0 Postseason record

Missouri Comets: Third Seed, 13-13 regular season record, 2-2 Postseason record

The Blast ended the regular season on a six-game win streak, en route to claiming the 2012-13 MISL regular season title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. With two wins over the Chicago Soul in the MISL Semifinals, the Blast have extended that win streak to eight straight games.

The team opened the regular season with nine straight home wins, a win streak that was broken by a 14-11 loss to this weekend’s opponent, the Missouri Comets. Prior to the first home loss, the Blast set a franchise record for most home wins to start the season (nine).

Veteran Adauto Neto led the Blast in the Semifinals with four goals and one assist for nine points; rookie Lucas Roque followed with four goals (eight points). Lucio Gonzaga will miss the Championship Series after suffering a knee injury Saturday night against the Soul.

The Competition

After losing Game One of the Semifinals, 12-10 in overtime to the Wave, the Comets fought back to win Game Two, 9-8 to tie the series. They went on to win the Mini Game, 5-4, to knock the Wave out of the postseason and advance to the Championship Series.

MISLNation

The MISL Championship Series can be seen live on the Internet at www.MISLNation.com.
Tickets

Tickets for Saturday’s home MISL Championship Series Game Two against the Comets are available by calling 410-73-BLAST or by going to www.TicketMaster.com.

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.