Friday, November 9, 2012
BALTIMORE -- In another high-scoring affair between Baltimore and Chicago, the Blast defeated the Soul 17-9 on Friday night at 1st Mariner Arena. With a goal and an assist in the first half, Blast forward Machel Millwood moved into fifth on the team's all-time scoring list.
Unlike last week's opening night match between the Blast and Soul, the Blast scored the first goal of the game when Lucio Gonzaga found the back of the net for the 2-0 lead. The teams traded goals for the rest of the first quarter, as Carlos Munoz tied it 2-2 before Pat Healey regained the lead for the Blast. Chicago midfielder Matthew Stewart scored next, giving the Soul a short-lived 5-4 lead with a blast from 3-point range, but Blast captain Mike Lookingland put the Blast back on top, 6-5, to end the quarter with shot from the left side.
Rookie Marco Mangione, the son of original Blast player Nick Mangione, scored the first goal of his career early in the second quarter to extend Baltimore's lead to 8-5. With Adriano Dos Santos serving a tripping penalty, Christian Meza converted on a power play opportunity to cut the Blast lead to 8-7 before Adauto Neto and Millwood scored back-to-back goals two minutes apart to make it 12-7. Tony Donatelli, who scored three goals last weekend against the Soul, scored a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds to play in the first half and extend the Blast lead to 15-7.
The game maintained its pace after the break, but the defenses held sway throughout the third quarter that saw neither side able to find the back of the net. After nearly 10 scoreless minutes in the fourth quarter, Healey knocked in a power play goal to give the Blast a 17-7 lead. Shortly after Healey's second goal of the night, Stewart scored his second goal to cut Baltimore's lead to 17-9, but that would be as close as the Soul would come to a rally as the Blast close out the victory.
The Blast will return to 1st Mariner Arena on Saturday night at 7:35 p.m. to host the Syracuse Silver Knights (1-1) for the first time this season. Tickets are available at the arena box office, and the game is also being streamed live at MISLNation.com.