Blast defeat Heat

Baltimore, MD (January 12, 2019) – In front of a sellout crowd at SECU Arena, the Baltimore Blast collected their fifth win of the season against their rival Harrisburg Heat 9-4.

Harrisburg Heat opened the scoring on the night with Dominic Francis’ sixth goal of the season, receiving a pass off the boards from defender Patrick Thompson. The Blast would quickly level the scoring with Jamie Thomas’ second goal of the season. Minutes later, Andrew Hoxie would add his fifth goal of the season as he dribbled around the goalkeeper to make it 2-1 Blast. The Heat would equalize with one minute remaining as Tom Mellor found Julian Escobar in front of goal to tie the game at two.

A tripping penalty from Heat goalkeeper Matt Perrella early into the quarter gave Vini Dantas an opportunity to take the lead from a set piece. Vini took the kick himself and fired it past Perrella to give the Blast a 3-2 lead. Both teams created excellent chances throughout the quarter. Jonatas Melo hit the post on a shot from the top of the arc with a minute left in the quarter. Seconds later, Tavoy Morgan ran through the Blast defense to tie the game at three. The Blast and Heat went into halftime tied at three, with the Blast registering eight shots in the half, and the Heat registering nine shots.

The Blast quickly retook the lead eighteen seconds into the third quarter, as Vini Dantas found Josh Hughes across the box, who then tapped the ball past the Harrisburg goalkeeper. Tavoy Morgan would equalize minutes later with a solo effort past Blast goalkeeper William Vanzela. Tony Donatelli made the lead 5-4 for the Blast with four minutes remaining in the third quarter from a set piece play by Jonatas Melo. William Vanzela made a great point-blank save late in the third quarter, while the Heat cleared a shot from Vini Dantas off the line seconds later. The Blast went into the third quarter break up 5-4.

Josh Hughes opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with his second goal of the night, receiving Jereme Raley’s first assist of the season to make it 6-4 Blast. Midway through the fourth quarter, Vini Dantas passed the ball off of the corner boards, which found the foot of Jonatas Melo to make the score 7-4. Vini Dantas scored his fourth point of the night with a great shot from a tight angle past the goalkeeper to extend the Blast lead to 8-4. Harrisburg would deploy an extra attacker for the remaining four minutes of the game and forced Blast goalkeeper William Vanzela to make some great saves. Jamie Thomas caught the Harrisburg defense out of position and scored his second goal of the game with two minutes remaining to make the score 9-4 Blast. The clock would run down from there as both teams shook hands in a 9-4 Blast victory.

Vini Dantas lead the Blast in points with four, while Jamie Thomas and Josh Hughes collected two goals. The Blast out shot the Heat 22-15 and Blast goalkeeper William Vanzela registered eight saves in the win.

The Blast are back in action Saturday, January 19^th when they face the Harrisburg Heat at 6:00 pm EST at SECU Arena.

MASL Match Report 
January 12, 2019
Baltimore Blast vs. Harrisburg Heat
Venue: SECU Arena
Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. EST
Attendance: 3,811

Scoring Summary