MASL QUARTERFINALS: Baltimore clamps down on Utica City to advance to semifinals
- Dan Stickradt
- Apr 6
- 2 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
BY DAN STICKRADT
NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF NEWS | WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR
Premier Media Group | National Soccer Network
BUSINESS: (248) 525-2349
TWITTER: @msn_stickradt @NatSoccerTV
OCEANSIDE, Calif. – The Baltimore Blast proved late Saturday night that great defense really wins postseason games.
The third-seeded Blast only yielded a pair of second-quarter goals and never trailed in recording a 6-2 victory over Utica City FC in the Major Arena Soccer League Ron Newman Cup Playoffs quarterfinals at Frontwave Arena.
Baltimore (17-7-1) scored a goal in the first period, two more in the second frame, two in the third stanza and one more in the fourth quarter to prevail and keep its postseason hope alive for at least one more day.
Utica City FC only scored twice in a span of 2:25 in the second quarter before being silenced the rest of the game.
Baltimore’s Oumar Sylla banged home the go-ahead goal off a a Victor Perreiras with 10 seconds left in the second quarter which not only gave the Blast a 3-2 lead at the break but proved to be the game-winning goal.
The tally also kickstarted a 4-0 run by Baltimore over the final 30:10 of the game.
Baltimore had six different goals scorers on the evening, with Kevaughn Frater, Patrick Thompson, Sylla, Perreiras, Brumno Henrique and Jonatas Melo scoring in succession for the Blast. Frater, Mike Deasel, Perreiras, Henrique, Matheus Silva and Juan Pieira all recorded single assists for the Blast.
Julian Rodriguez gained the win under the framework, yielding just two goals while making 13 saves.
Mehrshad Ahmadi converted a Geo Alves feed at the 4:45 mark of the second quarter to trim the deficit down to 2-1. Emmanuel Billiard leveled the game at 2-2 at the 7:10 mark of the second frame courtesy of an Ahmadi helper.
That was the last ray of hope Utica City would enjoy, as the Blast defense stood tall for the remainder of the contest – not allowing a goal for the final 37:50 of the match.
Utica City FC (13-10-2) actually held a 23-17 total shots in the game, including 15-14 with shots on frame. Utica could not get untracked offensively for most of the game.
Baltimore will face No. 2 seeded San Diego Sockers (21-4
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