By Andrew Primrose

The Milwaukee Wave and the Baltimore Blast squared off March 16 for Game One of the MISL Championship series. Spurred by an exceptional defensive effort, the Wave earned a 14-2 victory before 6,072 at 1st Mariner Arena, which leaves them just one home win shy of their second consecutive championship and sixth overall. The game marked the 15th postseason meeting between the two flagship franchises of indoor soccer and the Wave dominated from start to finish.

Nicolas Perera got the scoring started for the Wave with an absolute rocket of a shot from just outside the three-point line, which caught a small corner of the far post and ricocheted into the net. Perera's goal gave the Wave an early lead and enabled them to settle into a defensive stance, which stifled the Blast for the entire game. The Wave finished with 22 blocked shots, and goalkeeper Marcel Feenstra had 11 saves.

The Blast did break through for one score, when Ricardinho scored off a pass off the boards from Machel Millwood to make it 3-2. Milwaukee forward Marcio Leite added two late-second-quarter goals, which left the Wave with a 7-2 advantage at the half. Despite the Blast continuing to dominate the time of possession during the third quarter, the Wave continued to build their lead, with Leite completing a hat trick and Jonathan Greenfield adding a goal 37 seconds later to leave the score 11-2 at the end of the third quarter.

The Blast went to a sixth attacker with more than five minutes left during the fourth, but even with the man advantage, the Blast were unable to beat the Wave's stifling defense. Josh Rife put the game away for the Wave with an empty-net goal at the two-minute mark.

Game 2 of the MISL Championship Series will be streamed online at misllivesoccer.com at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Blast will be hosting a special Sunday afternoon viewing party at Amped Up Family Amphitheater in White Marsh. The webcast will be projected onto the big screen and the event is free of charge. More information on this viewing party is available at baltimoreblast.com.

Posted March 17, 2012