AROUND THE LEAGUE: WEEK 14

by Joseph Reina

            Just three points separate the top five teams with the playoffs looming large. Welcome back to Around The League, your home for numbers and nuance from the past week of action in the Major Arena Soccer League. Kelvin Oliveira made his highly anticipated return to the turf in Utica, and the San Diego Sockers gained full control of first place in the standings, but we’ll start with the Baltimore Blast, who seemingly left the playoff race behind, with another race on the horizon.

Baltimore Joins The Shield Race

As it stands, there is no hotter team in the MASL than the Baltimore Blast. Coach David Bascome’s side is enjoying a five-game winning streak after taking down the Ambush in St. Louis not once, but twice this past weekend. With only a handful of games left, the race to the playoffs is a sprint, and the Blast is in full stride.

St. Louis impressed early and led late in both contests, but faltered at the crucial moments, allowing Baltimore to equalize and take the lead with just minutes left to play. In game one, the Ambush carried a 4-3 lead into the final frame before Oumar Sylla spectacularly leveled the score and Wellington Bramusse found the back of the net, flipping the script in favor of the visitors. 

In the second game, St. Louis actually scored three straight goals, including two in the fourth quarter, to take another 4-3 lead. At first, it seemed as if they had righted the wrong from two days prior, but like a recurring nightmare, the Blast struck back with another pair of game-changing goals in the final two minutes and change. This time, it was Eber Ospina who equalized and Juan Pereira who found the winner. 

For the Blast, it’s a perfect encapsulation of their dominant run, which includes gritty, determined wins over Utica, Empire, and Milwaukee. They’ve converted 26.1% of their shots during that time, while goalkeepers Julian Rodriguez and Jorge Navarette saved 75.6% of the shots they faced. Both of those totals would be the best in the league, and make for a team nobody would want to face in the playoffs.

Five Blast players are averaging over a point per game, including Jonatas Melo and Pereira. The two have been with Baltimore for over ten years and have a combined 399 games between them, but this year is shaping up to be one of their best, with 27 and 26 points respectively. The pair of seasoned veterans is leading from the front, but crucially, they’re not doing it alone. 

Behind them, Sylla, Chad Poarch, Alejandro Chavez, and a host of other consistent forces are making their presence known, while Rodriguez continues to put together one of the most impressive and impactful goalkeeping performances we’ve seen in recent years. His .713 save percentage is the third best in the league, and he sits second for saves with 204, only behind Paulo Nascimento.

With six games remaining, the Blast sit just three points off the Sockers in first place, but have the joint-third-highest points possible, with 48. In those final six contests, they’ll face the Sockers, Comets, and Wave, with two further games against Tacoma and one final clash with Utica this Friday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. EST. A strong push to close out the season could push the Blast back into the top four, or even higher, earning them home-field advantage in the season’s most crucial games.

Milwaukee Spoils Kelvin’s Homecoming

One of the league’s most prolific scorers hit the turf again this week in Utica as Kelvin Oliviera made his return to the Adirondack Bank Center. Utica City FC took on the Milwaukee Wave in dire need of three points, but it was the visitors who ended the night celebrating after a dramatic comeback win.

Oliveira, who averaged 3.5 points per game last season, made an instant impact with four goals in his first game back, while new signing Juan Salazar added another goal on his debut for Utica. This attacking flurry gave the hosts a deserved 5-1 lead going into the 4th quarter, where they ran into a well-oiled sixth attacker. 

Milwaukee is widely regarded as one of the league’s best in sixth-attacker situations. Against Utica, they completely controlled the final 15 minutes of regulation, outshooting their opponents 10-1, and scoring an astonishing four goals, three of which came in a span of just two minutes and 31 seconds. Max Ludwig’s impressive effort leveled the score at five, with just over five minutes to play, and sent the game to overtime.

In the golden-goal period, rather than take their chances in 5v5 play, head coach Marcio Leite opted to pull his goalkeeper and keep his sixth attacker on the field. This risky strategy proved worthwhile when Ricardo Carvalho found the net for his second goal of the game, sending the Wave home with two points that could prove huge in the hunt for the MASL Shield. 

The win ends a three-game losing streak for Milwaukee and shows just how dangerous they can be, even on days when they’re not at their best. With just five games left to play, their losing streak ensured they have the fewest points possible (47) among the league’s top-five teams, but they do have a decent chance to hit that mark, with all five of their remaining games coming at home. This weekend, they’ll face Tacoma before welcoming Empire, Utica, Baltimore, and Utica again on the final day of the season.

For Utica, it’s a missed opportunity to catch the rest of the pack. The team lost three key players at the trade deadline in Nilton de Andrade, Mehrshad Ahmadi, and Emmanuel Belliard, and while Salazar is a great pickup, he won’t be able to replace all three on his own. Kelvin managed to carry the team to a competitive performance, but it sounds like his time in Utica is over once again, leaving a massive attacking hole. 

Based on predictions from masseyratings.com, it will take 32 points to make the playoffs, which, coincidentally, is exactly as many as Utica could earn if they won all of their remaining six games in regulation. From here on out, it’s win or go home, starting with a trip to Baltimore this weekend. They managed to win there earlier this year, but can they do it again with their backs against the wall? We’ll see this Friday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. EST.