The 2014–15 Baltimore Blast season was the twenty-third season of the Baltimore Blast professional indoor soccer club. The Blast, an Eastern Division team in the Major Arena Soccer League, played their home games at Royal Farms Arena in downtown Baltimore, Maryland.
The team was led by owner Edwin F. Hale, Sr. and head coach Danny Kelly. The Blast finished the regular season with an 18–2 record, good enough for first place in the Eastern Division and the top seed in the Divisional Final. The team defeated the Rochester Lancers to win the Eastern Division and the Missouri Comets to win the Eastern Conference. They were beaten by the Monterrey Flash for the 2014–15 Ron Newman Cup. The MASL honored Pat Healey as league's Defender of the Year and William Vanzela as Goalkeeper of the Year.
History Launched in July 1992 as the Baltimore Spirit, an expansion team in the second National Professional Soccer League for the 1992–93 season, the team replaced the original Baltimore Blast which folded earlier in 1992 when the first Major Indoor Soccer League shut down. Ed Hale, an owner of the original Blast, bought the Spirit in July 1998 and changed the name to Baltimore Blast. In 2001, the team was a founding member of the second MISL. When that league shut down in 2008, they co-founded the National Indoor Soccer League which, one season later, became the third MISL.
After the 2013-14 season, Baltimore was one of three teams that left the MISL, leading to the league's collapse. Along with five other former MISL teams, the Blast joined the teams of the Professional Arena Soccer League, which was soon rebranded as the Major Arena Soccer League. The other teams in the Eastern Division are former MISL clubs Syracuse Silver Knights and Rochester Lancers, plus PASL clubs Detroit Waza and Harrisburg Heat.
Off-field moves Four of the five Eastern Division teams (the three former MISL clubs plus Harrisburg) keep score with multi-point scoring at their home games. Most goals are worth two points but goals scored from outside a 45-foot arc on the turf are worth three points. Games played at Detroit or in the Central, Southern, and Pacific Divisions are scored with traditional soccer scoring where every goal is worth one point.
Schedule
Pre-season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record 1 Thursday October 23 7:00pm at Harrisburg Heat W 31–11 1–0 Sports City Harrisburg
Regular season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record 1 Saturday November 8 7:35pm Syracuse Silver Knights W 16–7 1–0 Royal Farms Arena 7,812 2 Friday November 14 7:35pm Detroit Waza W 26–0 2–0 Royal Farms Arena 5,516 3 Friday November 21 7:35pm Harrisburg Heat W 27–0 3–0 Royal Farms Arena 4,911 4 Saturday November 29 7:00pm at Syracuse Silver Knights W 11–4 4–0 Oncenter War Memorial Arena 2,951 5 Friday December 12 7:35pm Milwaukee Wave W 13–8 5–0 Royal Farms Arena 6,421 6 Saturday December 13 7:35pm Milwaukee Wave W 14–10 6–0 Royal Farms Arena 5,311 7 Friday December 19 7:30pm at Syracuse Silver Knights W 12–4 7–0 Oncenter War Memorial Arena 2,237 8 Saturday December 27 1:00pm at Rochester Lancers W 19–8 8–0 Blue Cross Arena 6,230 9 Saturday January 3 7:05pm at Harrisburg Heat W 29–8 9–0 Farm Show Large Arena 1,487 10 Saturday January 10 7:35pm Syracuse Silver Knights W 22–4 10–0 Royal Farms Arena 6,431 11 Friday January 16 7:05pm at Milwaukee Wave♣ W 5–3 11–0 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 2,317 12 Saturday January 17 7:05pm at Detroit Waza♣ W 9–6 12–0 Melvindale Civic Center 734 13 Saturday January 24 6:05pm Rochester Lancers W 15–7 13–0 Royal Farms Arena 6,942 14 Friday February 6 7:00pm at Las Vegas Legends♣ L 4–5 (OT) 13–1 Orleans Arena 2,028 15 Saturday February 7 7:05pm at San Diego Sockers♣ L 2–7 13–2 Valley View Casino Center 6,247 16 Friday February 13 7:35pm Rochester Lancers W 11–0 14–2 Royal Farms Arena 6,761 17 Friday February 20 7:35pm Chicago Mustangs W 24–0 15–2 Royal Farms Arena 6,642 18 Saturday February 21 6:05pm Harrisburg Heat W 25–5 16-2 Royal Farms Arena 5,270 19 Friday February 27 7:35pm at Harrisburg Heat W 24–13 17–2 Farm Show Large Arena 4,989 20 Sunday March 1 4:00pm at Rochester Lancers W 25–23 18–2 Blue Cross Arena 10,215 ♣ Game played with traditional soccer scoring (all goals worth 1 point).
Post-season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record Division Final Wednesday March 11 7:05pm Rochester Lancers W 6–4 1–0 Royal Farms Arena 5,544 Eastern Final #1 Friday March 13 7:35pm Missouri Comets W 6–4 2–0 Royal Farms Arena 4,562 Eastern Final #2 Sunday March 15 3:05pm at Missouri Comets♣ W 10–7 3–0 Independence Events Center 3,862 MASL Final #1 Friday March 20 7:35pm Monterrey Flash L 4–6 (2OT) 3–1 Royal Farms Arena 6,712 MASL Final #2 Sunday March 22 5:05pm at Monterrey Flash♣ W 6–4 4–1 Arena Monterrey 8,783 MASL Final #3 Sunday March 22 7:35pm at Monterrey Flash♣ L 4–3 (OT) 4–2 Arena Monterrey 8,783 ♣ Game played with traditional soccer scoring (all goals worth 1 point). Mini-game played as a tie-breaker.
Personnel Team roster As of February 24, 2015
Staff The team's coaching staff includes head coach Danny Kelly, assistant coach David Bascome, trainer Jason Hickman, physical therapist Paul Ernst, team doctor Dr. Richard Levine, and equipment manager Mark Meszaros. The Blast front office includes owner Edwin F. Hale, Sr., team president and general manager Kevin Healey, assistant general manager Mike Conway, director of ticket operations Jason Carrick, and marketing coordinator Stephen Cooke.
Statistics Top scorers RankScorerGamesGoalsAssistsPoints1 Tony Donatelli201718352 Lucas Roque15257323 Pat Healey20722294 Max Ferdinand201216285 Adauto Neto1691221Last updated on March 2, 2015. Source:
Awards and honors Baltimore goalkeeper William Vanzela and defender Pat Healey were selected for the 2014-15 MASL All-League First Team. Baltimore defender Onua Abasi and midfielder/forward Vini Dantas were named to the league's all-rookie team for 2014–15.
On March 13, the MASL announced the finalists for its major year-end awards. These nominees included Baltimore goalkeeper William Vanzela for Goalkeeper of the Year, Pat Healey for Defender of the Year, and defender Onua Obasi for Rookie of the Year. On March 19, the league announced that voters selected Vanzela as the MASL's Goalkeeper of the Year and Healey as Defender of the Year.
References
External links Baltimore Blast official website Baltimore Blast at The Baltimore Sun