The 2017–18 Baltimore Blast season is the twenty-sixth season of the Baltimore Blast professional indoor soccer club. The Blast, an Eastern Division team in the Major Arena Soccer League, play their home games at SECU Arena in Towson, Maryland.
The team is led by owner Edwin F. Hale, Sr. and head coach Danny Kelly. The Blast entered the season as defending champions as they defeated the Sonora Suns in the Ron Newman Cup finals in April 2017 for the second consecutive season.
Following a 6-5 victory on February 10 over the Milwaukee Wave, Baltimore clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Division for the 2018 Ron Newman Cup playoffs. The Blast then clinched the regular-season Eastern Division championship after an 8-7 overtime win over the Florida Tropics on February 24. The Blast finished the regular season 17-5 and defeated Syracuse, Milwaukee and Monterrey in the postseason, successfully defending their title en route to the team's tenth championship (including one won by the original Blast franchise). William Vanzela received the MASL Final MVP.
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 then rebranded as the Major Arena Soccer League. The MASL Eastern Division for the 2017-18 season remains unchanged from the previous season, consisting of the defending MASL Ron Newman Cup Champion Baltimore Blast, former MISL club Syracuse Silver Knights, former PASL club Harrisburg Heat, and the Florida Tropics.
Off-field moves The Blast announced in August 2017 that they would move from the Royal Farms Arena to the SECU Arena on the campus of Towson University, beginning in the 2017-2018 MASL season. The move will be the first time the Blast franchise will play home games in an arena other than the Royal Farms Arena.
Schedule
Regular season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record 1FridayNovember 10 7:35 PM Cedar Rapids RampageW 8–7 1–0 SECU Arena3,733 2FridayNovember 17 7:35 PM Syracuse Silver KnightsW 7–6 2–0 SECU Arena3,521 3SaturdayNovember 18 7:35 PM Florida TropicsL 4–5 2–1 RP Funding Center2,356 4FridayDecember 1 7:35 PM Ontario FuryW 8–5 3–1 SECU Arena3,800 5SaturdayDecember 2 6:05 PM St. Louis AmbushW 5–4 4–1 SECU Arena2,923 6SundayDecember 10 3:05 PM Florida TropicsW 10–1 5–1 SECU Arena3,429 7FridayDecember 15 7:35 PM Florida TropicsW 7–6 6–1 RP Funding Center1,741 8SaturdayDecember 16 7:05 PM Harrisburg HeatL 5–6 (SO) 6–2 Farm Show Large Arena1,316 9SaturdayDecember 30 7:05 PM Kansas City CometsW 5–3 7–2Silverstein Eye Centers Arena4,009 10SundayDecember 31 3:05 PM Cedar Rapids RampageW 3–2 8–2 U.S. Cellular Center1,820 11SaturdayJanuary 6 6:05 PM Harrisburg HeatW 4–3 (OT) 9–2 SECU Arena3,725 12FridayJanuary 12 7:05 PM Syracuse Silver KnightsW 5–4 (OT) 10–2 Oncenter War Memorial Arena1,747 13FridayJanuary 19 7:35 PM Kansas City CometsW 15–8 11–2 SECU Arena3,041 14SaturdayJanuary 20 6:05 PM Harrisburg HeatW 12–5 12–2 SECU Arena3,554 15FridayJanuary 26 7:35 PM Harrisburg HeatW 4–2 13–2 Farm Show Large Arena1,439 16SaturdayFebruary 3 6:05 PM Syracuse Silver KnightsW 8–7 (OT) 14–2 SECU Arena3,800 17SaturdayFebruary 10 1:05 PM Milwaukee WaveW 6–5 15–2 UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena3,476 18FridayFebruary 16 7:35 PM Cedar Rapids RampageL 5–6 15–3 U.S. Cellular Center1,826 19SaturdayFebruary 17 7:05 PM Milwaukee WaveL 1–5 15–4 UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena5,974 20FridayFebruary 23 7:35 PM Milwaukee WaveW 9–6 16–4 SECU Arena3,242 21SaturdayFebruary 24 6:05 PM Florida TropicsW 8–7 (OT) 17–4 SECU Arena3,631 22SundayMarch 4 4:05 PM Syracuse Silver KnightsL 4–6 17–5 Oncenter War Memorial Arena3,007
Post-season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record Division Final #1 Thursday March 8 7:05 P.M. Syracuse Silver Knights W 7–61–0 Oncenter War Memorial Arena 1,653 Division Final #2 Sunday March 11 5:05 P.M. Syracuse Silver Knights W 5–42–0 SECU Arena 3,611Conference FinalFridayMarch 167:35 PMMilwaukee WaveW 10–63–0SECU Arena3,173FinalSundayMarch 255:05 P.M.Monterrey FlashW 4–34–0Arena Monterrey8,220
Personnel
2017–18 roster Active Players As of March 6, 2018
Inactive Players
Staff The team's coaching staff includes head coach Danny Kelly, assistant coach David Bascome, athletic trainer Heather Kohlbus, 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, and assistant general manager Mike Conway.
Statistics
Top scorers RankScorerGamesGoalsAssistsPoints1 Tony Donatelli202221432 Vini Dantas172015353 Andrew Hoxie20169254 Jonatas Melo221113245 Adriano Dos Santos2071421 Last updated on March 6, 2018. Source:
External links Baltimore Blast official website Baltimore Blast at The Baltimore Sun
References