Milwaukee Wave News Release -- www.milwaukeewave.com
Friday, March 16, 2012
MILWAUKEE, Wisc. -- The Milwaukee Wave and Baltimore Blast have been on a collision course for a rematch of last season’s title bout throughout the 2011-12 MISL season. Now the teams that tied for the top regular season record at 18-6 now will battle again for the MISL Championship.
The Blast will have only one thing on their minds and that is revenge. Last season the Wave took down the Blast in Baltimore to claim the 2011 MISL Championship. The Wave jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in that contest, only to have Baltimore tie it up in a minute and a half. But then Giuliano Oliviero drilled a 3-pointer before halftime, giving Milwaukee a lead it wouldn’t relinquish and igniting a 10-0 run that all but clinched the crown. Baltimore now has a chance to pay back the Wave for the championship it celebrated on the Blast's home field.
The teams share a long history, dating back to the 1992-93 season when the teams played each other for the first time with the Wave leading the all-time regular season series. The teams have combined to win 10 of the last 14 league championships with both teams having claimed five championships.
Baltimore took down Rochester in two games in the MISL Eastern Division Finals, outscoring the Lancers 22-10. Max Ferdinand leads the Blast in scoring in the postseason, notching 10 points on four goals and two assists, while Pat Healey has poured in six points as well. More impressive than the offensive numbers has been the staunch defense. Goalkeeper Sagu has held opponents to only five points per game in the postseason and boasts a .821 save percentage.
Milwaukee defeated Missouri in two games in the MISL Central Division Finals, blowing out the Comets in the opening game and holding on for dear life in the second for a 36-17 cumulative score. No one player has reached double-digit tallies yet for the Wave this postseason, but 12 players have recorded at least one point. That has been Milwaukee’s calling card throughout the season, scoring in bunches behind a balanced attack. Marco Terminesi leads the Wave in the postseason with eight points with three others scoring six. Defensively Milwaukee has been stout in front of Marcel Feenstra. Last year’s playoff MVP has a .758 save percentage in the playoffs and is only allowing 8.5 points per game. He will be backed-up by Ante Cop, an emergency addition to the Wave's roster after Nick Vorberg was placed on Injured Reserve after an injury suffered in training this week.
The first game of the series will take place Friday night at 7:35 p.m. ET in Baltimore with the return leg coming on Sunday at 3:10 p.m. CT in Milwaukee. Should the two teams split those matches a 15 minute mini-game would be played after Game 2 on Sunday evening. The lights are on and the stage is set for what should be another historic chapter in the rivalry between these two clubs.
Tickets are available for Sunday’s Game 2 by calling (414) 224-9283.