By Frank Oroszlan

The Baltimore Blast opened their 2006-07 campaign with an 8-6 loss to the expansion Detroit Ignition. The Blast started off slowly and did not seem to mesh well on the field. By the time the team did find its rhythm, the Blast were facing a large deficit with less than half the game left to play.

The Ignition scored their first goal in the sixth minute of play when Hewerton Moreira rocketed a two-point shot past Blast goalkeeper Sagu. Detroit continued to build its lead off goals from Jamar Beasley and Miki Djerisilo and headed into halftime with a 6-0 lead over a stunned Blast squad.

The 2006 MISL Champion Baltimore Blast (Sabina Moran/PressBox)

Halftime gave Baltimore time to recover from its slumping performance and a rejuvenated team took the field in the second half with determination.

With the game looking grim for the defending MISL champs, Giuliano Celenza scored the Blast's first goal nine minutes into the third quarter to cut the deficit to 6-2. Celenza's goal also helped jump start a 6-0 Baltimore run.

The Blast's second score came from Carlos Garcia 24 seconds later to bring the game within two. Celenza then recorded his second goal of the game off an assist by player/assistant coach David Bascome to tie the game with less than six minutes left in regulation.

Tied at 6-6 and with time running down, it looked as if it could be anybody's game.
Detroit's game-winner came from Carlos 'Chile' Farias with 25 seconds left in the game.

Ignition goalkeeper Sanaldo had a stellar performance in the net (12 saves) and made a crucial save to defend a Blast penalty kick taken by Celenza in the second half.

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The Blast are looking to repeat as MISL champions and win their fourth title in five years. With the addition of the Detroit Ignition to the league, three Blast players were selected through the MISL Expansion Draft: Sanaldo, Joel Bailey and Garcia. Of those selected, only Sanaldo signed with the Ignition.

Even though the Blast brought back star players like 2005-06 MISL MVP Adauto Neto and Machel Millwood, other losses, including Danny Kelly's transition to full-time coach, have forced Baltimore to revamp its roster for the 2006-07 season.

On Oct. 31, the Blast announced they had signed five new players: Graham Munro, Patrick Ouckama, Matt Watson, Gordon Chin and Cristian Neagu.

The 2006-07 group has an impressive resume. Two of the five players received top honors in their collegiate leagues. Munro (Binghamton University) is a three-time Defender of the Year winner in the America East Conference and Watson (UMBC) has earned similar merit as a two-time Midfielder of the Year in the AEC. Neagu, who was selected in the MISL Dispersal Draft, was named second-team All-CAA in 2002 and 2003 while playing for Virginia Commonwealth.

The Blast will play their home opener Nov. 11 against the Chicago Storm at 1st Mariner Arena. After a tough season-opening loss, the Blast will need to come out strong and control the game from the first whistle to the final tick of the clock.

Issue 1.29: November 9, 2006