Blast score season-high 25 points in win over Orlando

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Between Machel Millwood and Denison Cabral, there was no way the Baltimore Blast were going to lose on Saturday. Millwood and Cabral each scored hat tricks in the first half, combined for seven goals and led the Blast to 25-6 victory over the Orlando Sharks at the 1st Mariner Arena.

“We’re hot,” said Cabral, who scored all three of his goals in the first eight minutes of the second quarter to build his Major Indoor Soccer League career total to 401.

The Blast (11-7) scored 10 points in the opening quarter and 18 in the first half – both season-highs – en route to their fifth consecutive victory and third over Orlando this season.

Orlando, which began the season 0-16, brought a three-game winning streak to Baltimore. The last-place Sharks will try to begin a new streak against the Blast Saturday in Orlando, Fla.

“You can’t overlook anybody in this league,” Baltimore coach Danny Kelly said. “We were prepared for them just like Milwaukee, Chicago, whatever.”

It only took Orlando (3-16) 13 seconds to get on the board. Shawn Boney fielded a ball in the left corner of Baltimore’s zone and sent a crossing pass to Bill Sedgewick on the left. Sedgewick finished the one-timer for a 2-0 lead.

But Baltimore answered with 20 consecutive points. The Blast shot 50 percent (5-for-10) and scored on its final four shots of the first quarter. Millwood, Cabral, Adauto Neto and Carlos Garcia combined to score all 11 goals for Baltimore.

“We just wanted to focus on finishing,” said Millwood, who had four goals and an assist. “The scoring will come. We’ve got enough guys on the team who can score.”

Cabral’s shot was blocked by JP Rodqiguez, and Machel Millwood grabbed the rebound and scored his first goal to tie the score at 2 with 12:35 left in the first.

Neto and Garcia, who each scored twice, combined for a pair of first-quarter goals to give the Blast a 6-2 lead.

Millwood redirected Mike Lookingland’s inside pass with the back of his right foot to score his second goal with 1:51 to play in the first.

Neto beat two defenders to score his second goal of the first quarter 33 seconds later to give Baltimore a 10-2 advantage.

Nothing changed for Orlando in the second quarter. The Blast built an 18-2 lead, highlighted by Cabral’s hat trick – the first by a Baltimore player this season.

“That’s what I expect from Denison,” Kelly said. “That was vintage Denison. Any chance he got, he just put it away.”

Robbie Aristodemo found Cabral open on the left wing. Cabral took two steps forward before sending a 25-foot shot over Orlando keeper Paul Nagy’s head to push the Blast’s lead to 12-2 46 seconds into the second quarter.

Cabral booted a penalty shot past Nagy with 7:45 to go, and his third score – a short shot on a pass from Millwood – came 30 seconds later to put the Blast ahead, 16-2.

“I can’t take credit for that,” Cabral said. “We’re playing well on our defense. I scored two power-play goals. … I guess it’s just being in the right place in the right time.”

Millwood collected his hat trick with 18.7 seconds left in the half. He took a pass from Giuliano Celenza beneath the penalty zone and dribbled around Gaston Pernia and beat Nagy with a short shot.

P.J. Wakefield gave a lead cross-pass from the left wing deep into Orlando’s zone, and Millwood connected on the one-timer for a 20-2 advantage.

Orlando’s Miodrag Djerisilo ended Baltimore’s 20-0 run with 6:16 left in the third quarter when he tapped in a pass from Damien Pottinger.

Garcia answered with his second goal with 5:09 remaining, and Wakefield dropped in a 3-pointer on a power play to finish the Blast’s scoring outburst.

Baltimore was 5-for-5 on power-play opportunities.

“We’d like to score 25 points every game,” Kelly said. “Unfortunately, that’s difficult to do. Tonight, the bounces went our way.”

Boney bent a right-side shot into the left upper-left corner of the goal with 2:06 left in the third to cut Baltimore’s lead to 22-6.

Orlando scored five consecutive points in the fourth quarter to cut the gap to 25-11. Chris Cerroni buried a 3-pointer past Kern 3:44 into the quarter, and Djerisilo followed with a 2-point goal 87 seconds later.

Pottinger’s goal made the score 25-13 with 4:25 left.

Baltimore is 9-2 at home, including a pair of victories this weekend to move into sole possession a fourth place – one game behind first-place Detroit.

“We wanted to finish the weekend with two good games,” Cabral said. “And we accomplished that.”

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