MISL News Release
Thursday, March 8, 2012
TAMPA, Fla. – The Major Indoor Soccer League Playoffs open this weekend as the road to the MISL Championship Series begins with the Eastern and Central Division Finals. After a remarkable regular season that saw more than 336,000 fans fill arenas, four teams remain standing in their quest for the MISL Championship.
The Eastern Division Finals brings a contrast as the storied Baltimore Blast, now in their 32nd season, face the upstart Rochester Lancers, who reached the postseason in their first year. The Blast, who on Wednesday saw goalkeeper Sagu be named Points-Against Average Champion and Max Ferdinand be named Assist Champion for the regular season, will try to continue their regular-season for against the Lancers, where they swept all four games.
The Lancers, though, ran the Blast close in each of their last two meetings. On January 7, the Blast eked out an 8-5 victory at 1st Mariner Arena before taking an 8-7 victory on January 29 in their final meeting of the regular season. The Lancers’ attacking style, which saw it finish the season with a league-high 23 3-point goals, going up against the Blast’s tight defense, which conceded the fewest points in the MISL, should lead to a classic series.
The Central Division Finals offer a rematch from the 2011 MISL Playoffs, with the Missouri Comets facing the Milwaukee Wave for the second consecutive year. Last year the Comets came close to upsetting the Wave before Milwaukee claimed its fifth championship against Baltimore, with their semifinal series being decided by a 15-minute mini-game after the series finished tied 1-1.
This season the rivalry has only increased, with the Wave taking the season series 4-2, but the Comets winning two of the last three meetings including a 21-6 victory in both team’s final game of the regular season. The Comets, and MISL Scoring Champion Geison, will try to gain revenge for last year’s playoff exit and reach the Championship Series in just the second year since their return to the MISL, but the Wave and legendary coach Keith Tozer will be certain to put up a strong fight in defense of their title.
All four of this weekend’s games can be viewed on MISL Live (www.misllivesoccer.com), the MISL’s free online video player. The Eastern Division Finals open with Game 1 on Saturday night at 7:35 p.m. ET, with Game 2 scheduled for Monday night at 7 p.m. ET. The Central Division Finals begin with Game 1 on Friday night at 8:35 p.m. ET, with Game 2 set for Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET.