Blast powers by Monterrey, Philadelphia

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Blast midfielder Robbie Aristodemo knew his team was close to turning its season around after a string of poor play had it close to falling out of contention entering the second half of the season.

“We’ve got to keep pushing the foot on the pedal,” he said. “We’ll get the results.”

And that’s exactly what the Blast did. The Blast followed an exhilarating, 10-9 victory over Monterrey with a dominating, 12-6 victory at Philadelphia to move into fifth place — three games behind league-leading Detroit (11-4). The Blast (8-7) host the Milwaukee Wave (11-5) on Friday at 7:35 before welcoming Chicago (10-5) and expansion Orlando (1-16) the following weekend.

The Blast’s performance couldn’t have come at a better time, as Baltimore entered this past weekend reeling, having lost seven of its past eight games. And it looked like the string was going to continue — until Adauto Neto deflected a three-pointer from Aristodemo past La Raza goalie Jose Bontti with a minute remaining for the game-winning goal.

“It was a shot at the right post, and I was in the right spot at the right time,” said Neto, who had two assists to go along with his first goal since Feb. 2 of last year, as he has been injured for much of the past two seasons.

Said Blast coach Danny Kelly: “We needed a win.”

And fewer than 24 hours after leaving 1st Mariner Arena, the Blast earned another one. Returning to Wachovia Spectrum for the first time since Jan. 5, when the Blast was shutout for the first time, David Bascome broke a 2-2 tie by scoring off an assist from Machel Millwood to give his team a lead it would note relinquish. The Blast pushed its lead to 12-4 on two goals by Carlos Garcia and one each by Denison Cabral and Bascome.

“We have to find our rhythm, possess the ball and continue to create opportunities,” Kelly said. “You create enough opportunities, and you’re going to finish them.”

mpeters@dcexaminer.com

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