Blast march to 12-7 win over Milwaukee

“It was one of those nights where everything seemed to be cooking for me,” said Wakefield, who scored a pair of 3-point goals and added an assist to lead the Baltimore Blast in a 12-7 victory over the Wave on Friday at 1st Mariner Arena. “It feels good to get in offensively.”

Baltimore (9-7) used a seven-point third quarter to post its second win against Milwaukee this season. The Blast – who topped the Wave (11-6), 13-8, in their second game of the season – have won their last three games following a 4-0 shutout from the Philadelphia KiXX.

The seven points was a career high for Wakefield.

“He’s got the ability to not only be one of the best defenders in the league, but he’s also got the ability to go forward,” Blast coach Danny Kelly said. “He’s got a tremendous shot, and he’s a very smart player.”

Wakefield’s first goal gave the Blast a 3-0 lead 4 minutes and 22 seconds into the game. He took a pass from Baltimore goalkeeper Sagu to the top of the arc and launched a shot past Wave keeper Nick Vorberg.

“Sagu just gave me a good ball, and I got it inside and put in a good shot,” Wakefield said. “I was just fortunate to put it away.”

Wakefield scored his second 3-pointer with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. Aristodemo saw Wakefield open on the right wing, and the sixth-year defender blew a shot past Vorberg for a 12-5 lead.

Marcio Leite’s scored two goals for Milwaukee. His second goal, an eight-foot strike to the right corner of the net on a six-attacker offense, cut the Wave’s deficit to 12-7 with 9:38 left in the game.

Baltimore held Milwaukee to 24 shots, while and Sagu collected nine saves.

“We played real well,” Kelly said. “That’s what we’re capable of. We did the things we talked about doing. They laid it out on the floor every shift and defended well.”

Leite beat Sagu in the 12th minute of the game with a scorching shot to the upper-right corner of the net to even the score at 3.

Machel Millwood finished off a one-timer 48 seconds later to put the Blast back ahead, 5-3. Carlos Garcia tracked a loose ball down in the left corner of Milwaukee’s zone and tapped a pass to Millwood before falling back into the boards. Millwood caught the ball on the outside with his right foot and tipped it past Vorberg for the goal.

The Wave broke through the Blast’s defense with 7:36 left in the third quarter to tie the score at 5. Brett Weisner dribbled down the left side of the penalty zone and fed a left-side pass to Warren Ukah, who lifted a shot over Sagu’s outstretched arms.

Lucio didn’t waste much time in putting Baltimore back on top. The Brazilian forward took a pass from Wakefield at the midfield stripe and dribbled into the top of the arc before launching a 30-foot shot past Vorberg to give the Blast a 7-5 lead with 5:08 left in the quarter.

Millwood and David Bascome teamed up to give Baltimore a 9-5 lead with 3:25 left in the third quarter. Millwood brought the ball deep into Milwaukee’s left corner and set Bascome up in front of the net, and the 37-year-old forward buried the shot in the back of the net.

“It’s a total team effort” Kelly said. “It’s something we can build on.”