Blast forward Machel Millwood described his team’s 10-6 victory over New Jersey on Saturday perfectly.

“Obviously, it wasn’t a pretty game, but it worked,” he said. “We need to win some ugly games in order to take us into the playoffs.”

But to be a contender to win the Major Indoor Soccer League title, the Blast also needs to do something else: prove it can persevere a grueling travel schedule to defeat quality opponents on consecutive nights.

The Blast failed to do just that this past weekend — suffering a 16-12 loss at Milwaukee with first place on the line on Friday night before salvaging a two-game stretch with a 10-6 victory over the Ironmen at 1st Mariner Arena nearly 24 hours later

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The Blast (13-8) enters a pivotal stretch of its season tied for third place with Chicago (13-8), a game behind Detroit (13-7) and 1 1/2 behind Milwaukee (15-7). But the Blast, which squandered the opportunity to move into first place by losing to Milwaukee, has five of its next six games away from 1st Mariner Arena, where it is a league-best 10-2.

The Blast, which ended a season-high six game winning streak on Friday, clearly is a different team on the road, where it is 3-6, with two of its victories coming against last-place Orlando (3-19). During the Blast’s six-game stretch, it plays at Chicago twice and at Detroit once to highlight a span that also includes stops in California and Monterrey, each of whom defeated the Blast in its last visit. The Blast’s lone home game until March 29 is against defending champion Philadelphia (10-13) on March 7.

The Blast’s toughest back-to-back games are this weekend, when it faces Chicago on Saturday night at 8 before playing in Detroit on Sunday afternoon at 4:35. But what makes the next two games even tougher is the Blast may not be at full strength.

Forward Denison Cabral, whose 50 points are second on the team behind Millwood’s 58, was ejected in the third quarter against the Wave, causing him to be suspended for the team’s victory against New Jersey. It is unclear if the league will allow Cabral to play against Chicago or Detroit, according to Blast coach Danny Kelly.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Kelly said. “But we know if we play like we did this weekend, play good team defense, working, sacrificing for each other, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win those games.”

avitelli@baltimoreexaminer.com