2016–17 Baltimore Blast season

The 2016–17 Baltimore Blast season is the twenty-fifth 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 Royal Farms Arena in downtown Baltimore, Maryland.^[3][4]

Baltimore Blast

2016–17 MASL season
Owner	Edwin F. Hale, Sr.^[1]
Head Coach	Danny Kelly
Arena	Royal Farms Arena 201 West Baltimore Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201
Major Arena Soccer League	1st, Eastern (regular season)
Ron Newman Cup	MASL Champion
Top goalscorer	Tony Donatelli (18 goals, 19 assists)
Highest home attendance	9,722 (February 4 vs. Milwaukee Wave)
Lowest home attendance	4,121 (November 18 vs. Florida Tropics SC)
Average home league attendance	6,299 (10 games)^[2]
← 2015-16 (MASL) 2017-18 (MASL) →

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 2016. Following an 8-4 victory on February 17 over the Syracuse Silver Knights, Baltimore clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Division for the 2017 Ron Newman Cup playoffs.^[5] The Blast then clinched the regular-season Eastern Division championship after a 5-4 overtime win in Syracuse on February 24.^[6]

The Blast finished the regular season 14-6 and defeated Harrisburg, Milwaukee and Sonora in the postseason, successfully defending their title en route to the team's ninth championship (including one won by the original Blast franchise). Vini Dantas received the MASL Finals 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.^[7] Ed Hale, an owner of the original Blast, bought the Spirit in July 1998 and changed the name to Baltimore Blast.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10][11] With the Waza Flo folding and the launch of the Florida Tropics SC, the MASL Eastern Division for the 2016-17 season consists of the defending MASL Ron Newman Cup Champion Baltimore Blast, former MISL club Syracuse Silver Knights, former PASL club Harrisburg Heat, and the expansion Tropics.^[12]

Off-field moves

In the offseason, the Baltimore Blast, Harrisburg Heat, and St. Louis Ambush left the MASL, and joined the expansion Florida Tropics SC to form the Indoor Professional League.^[13] The Blast, Heat and Ambush re-joined the MASL in August 2016, with the Tropics being considered an expansion franchise for the MASL.^[14]

Schedule

  Win   Loss ^[15][16]

Regular season

Game	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Location	Attendance
					Score	Record
1	Saturday	November 5	7:05 pm	Harrisburg Heat	W 11–6	1–0	Farm Show Large Arena	1,627
2	Friday	November 11	7:35 pm	Milwaukee Wave	L 3–4	1–1	Royal Farms Arena	7,813
3	Friday	November 18	7:35 pm	Florida Tropics	W 7–1	2–1	Royal Farms Arena	4,121
4	Saturday	December 3	7:05 pm	Florida Tropics	W 5–1	3–1	Lakeland Center	2,134
5	Saturday	December 10	7:35 pm	Florida Tropics	W 7–0	4–1	Royal Farms Arena	7,450
6	Sunday	December 11	5:05 pm	Kansas City Comets	L 1–5	4–2	Silverstein Eye Centers Arena	3,118
7	Saturday	December 17	7:05 pm	Dallas Sidekicks	W 8–4	5–2	Allen Event Center	1,661
8	Thursday	December 29	7:00 pm	Syracuse Silver Knights	W 6–3	6–2	Oncenter War Memorial Arena	2,032
9	Friday	December 30	7:35 pm	Harrisburg Heat	L 4–7	6–3	Farm Show Large Arena	1,675
10	Saturday	January 7	7:05 pm	Dallas Sidekicks	W 7–2	7–3	Royal Farms Arena	7,230
11	Saturday	January 14	7:05 pm	Harrisburg Heat	W 5–2	8–3	Royal Farms Arena	5,102
12	Friday	January 20	7:05 pm	Cedar Rapids Rampage	L 3–5	8–4	U.S. Cellular Center	1,871
13	Saturday	January 21	6:05 pm	Milwaukee Wave	L 2–7	8–5	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena	3,171
14	Sunday	January 29	4:05 pm	St. Louis Ambush	W 10–1	9–5	Royal Farms Arena	4,751
15	Saturday	February 4	7:05 pm	Milwaukee Wave	W 5–2	10–5	Royal Farms Arena	9,722
16	Friday	February 17	7:35 pm	Syracuse Silver Knights	W 8–4	11–5	Royal Farms Arena	6,131
17	Sunday	February 19	4:05 pm	Syracuse Silver Knights	L 2–7	11–6	Royal Farms Arena	4,524
18	Friday	February 24	7:30 pm	Syracuse Silver Knights	W 5–4 (OT)	12-6	Oncenter War Memorial Arena	2,949
19	Sunday	February 26	3:05 pm	St. Louis Ambush	W 3–1	13-6	Family Arena	3,378
20	Sunday	March 5	4:05 pm	Harrisburg Heat	W 11–3	14-6	Royal Farms Arena	6,152

Post-season

Game	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Location	Attendance
					Score	Record
Division Final #1	Saturday	March 11	7:05 p.m.	Harrisburg Heat	L 4–5	0-1	Royal Farms Arena	4,214
Division Final #2	Wednesday	March 15	7:35 p.m.	Harrisburg Heat	W 7–4	1-1	Farm Show Large Arena	1,142
Division Final #3	Wednesday	March 15	9:35 p.m.	Harrisburg Heat	W 4–1	2-1	Farm Show Large Arena	1,142
Conference Final #1	Saturday	March 18	7:05 p.m.	Milwaukee Wave	W 8–7 (OT)	3-1	Royal Farms Arena	3,235
Conference Final #2	Tuesday	March 21	6:35 p.m.	Milwaukee Wave	L 4–8	3-2	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena	2,218
Conference Final #3	Tuesday	March 21	8:35 p.m.	Milwaukee Wave	W 2–1	4-2	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena	2,218
Ron Newman Cup Final #1	Friday	April 7	8:05 pm	Soles de Sonora	L 2–4	4-3	Royal Farms Arena	6,701
Ron Newman Cup Final #2	Sunday	April 9	9:05 pm	Soles de Sonora	W 9–8 (OT)	5-3	El Centro de Usos Múltiples	8,000
Ron Newman Cup Final #3	Monday	April 10	12:05 am	Soles de Sonora	W 1–0	6-3	El Centro de Usos Múltiples	8,000

Personnel

Team roster

• As of January 13, 2017^[17]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 0 GK   ITA William Vanzela 1 GK   USA Chris Fenner 4 FW   USA Andrew Hoxie 6 DF   USA Josh Hughes 8 FW   BRA Lucas Roque 9 DF   USA Pat Healey 11 FW   USA Tony Donatelli 12 DF   BRA Adriano Dos Santos 13 DF   USA Jereme Raley 17 DF   USA Jamie Thomas

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF   USA Travis Pittman 21 FW   ITA Daniel Peruzzi 22 MF   BRA Juan Pereira 23 MF   BRA Jonatas Melo 24 FW   FRA Sofiane Tergou 26 DF   BRA Elton de Oliveria 28 FW   BRA Vini Dantas 32 DF   USA Jordan Becker 78 DF   USA Nelson Santana 80 MF   USA Geaton Caltabiano

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, assistant general manager Mike Conway, and marketing coordinator Stephen Cooke.^[18]

Statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Scorer	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Tony Donatelli	20	19	23	42
2	Vini Dantas	18	20	11	31
3	Andrew Hoxie	19	17	6	23
4	Jonatas Melo	20	11	8	19
5	Lucas Roque	11	6	7	13

Last updated on March 5, 2017. Source:^[19]

External links

• Baltimore Blast official website
• Baltimore Blast at The Baltimore Sun

References

1. "Biography set to detail life of ex-banker ed Hale – including CIA stint".
2. "Stats - Major Arena Soccer League".
3. "City to vote on 'Royal Farms Arena'".
4. "Board approves changing Baltimore Arena's name to Royal Farms Arena".
5. "Blast double up Silver Knights to clinch playoff berth".
6. "Digest: Blast win in OT, clinch regular-season division championship".
7. Can soccer succeed in Baltimore?
8. "'Hale Storm' reveals prominent former banker's CIA ties, two failed marriages".
9. "Syracuse Silver Knights begin play in new MASL with opening match against old foe Baltimore". November 6, 2014.
10. Baltimore Blast joining with other teams to form new indoor soccer league Graham, Glenn, April 13, 2014, Baltamore Sun
11. "Blast among 24 teams to join new Major Arena Soccer League".
12. "MASL FINALIZES DIVISIONS AND CONFERENCES FOR 2016-17 SEASON - Major Arena Soccer League".
13. "Baltimore Blast owner ed Hale plans to remove team from MASL, form new league".
14. . Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
15. "Stats - Major Arena Soccer League".
16. "Stats - Major Arena Soccer League".
17. . Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
18. . Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
19. "Stats - Major Arena Soccer League".