Following a 14-2 loss at 1st Mariner Arena March 16, the Baltimore Blast traveled to Milwaukee for the second game of the 2012 MISL Championship Series March 18.

The second game was much more competitive than the first, with the two teams tied, 10-10, at the end of regulation. But the end result was the same -- the Wave won when defender Joe Hammes scored the game-winning goal 46 seconds into overtime.

Milwaukee has now topped Baltimore for the MISL championship two years in a row, and won the franchise's sixth championship in front of 5,243 fans at U.S. Cellular Arena. The Wave's Marcio Leite, who scored five goals during the two-game series, earned Most Valuable Player honors.

The Blast started off strong, taking a 4-0 lead during the game's first three minutes off of goals from defender Ptah Myers and forward Machel Millwood. During a physical first half -- throughout the game, these two rivals racked up 18 minutes of penalties -- Baltimore established a 6-2 lead.

But Milwaukee fought back during the third quarter, scoring three unanswered goals. Josh Rife, Leite and Ian Bennett each had a two-point goal, to give the Wave an 8-6 lead.

Blast midfielder Ricardinho, who scored the team's lone goal during Game 1, knotted the score during the fourth quarter when he scored his second goal of Game 2. When Milwaukee defender J.P. Rodrigues was called for a penalty, Millwood then added his own second score with 12:15 left during the game, giving Baltimore a 10-8 lead.

Leite tied the game later on a power-play opportunity, which marked the last goal before Hammes scored the decisive one in overtime.

-- PressBox Staff

Posted March 18, 2012