Blast defeat Heat 11-3 on first night of back-to-back

Towson, MD. – For a second-straight home game, the Baltimore Blast have set a season high in goals scored. The team routed the Harrisburg Heat 11-3.

Moises Gonzalez led the way for the Blast with two goals and two assists, while Ricardinho Sobreira had two goals and one assist.

Juan Pereira started the game with a shot into the upper right corner of the net, scoring from a tough angle. Less than a minute later, Jonatas Melo scored off an assist from Max Ferdinand to give Baltimore a 2-0 lead.

With just under six minutes remaining in the first quarter, Tony Donatelli took a rebound off a shot and chipped it into the goal, giving the Blast a 3-0 lead. Jereme Raley picked up the assist after the missed shot. 

A three-line violation by Harrisburg led to a Blast free-kick, and Gonzalez booted the kick into the goal. Baltimore led 4-0 at the end of the first quarter, recording four goals off nine shots. 

Gonzalez picked up an assist on a pass to Sobreira that he was able to tip into the net.

Zach Reget put Harrisburg on the board with a goal around halfway through the second quarter, with Alfredo Pichardo picking up the assist. A minute later, Lucas Roque scored for the Blast off an assist from Pereira. The Blast took a 6-1 lead. After a free kick was awarded to Harrisburg, Dominic Francis scored to cut their deficit to 6-2.

At halftime, Baltimore led Harrisburg 6-2. Gonzalez and Pereira recorded two points apiece to lead a balanced offensive attack from the Blast across the first 30 minutes of play. 

Francis picked up his second goal of the night halfway through the third quarter to slash the Blast lead to 6-3. Matt Braem picked up the assist. The rest of the quarter was scoreless, with the Blast leading 6-3 heading into the fourth. 

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Sobreira picked up his second goal of the night to give the Blast a four-goal advantage. Donatelli picked up the assist. Melo picked up his second goal with 8:29 remaining in the game to give the Blast an 8-3 lead. Two minutes later, Gonzalez scored his second free kick goal of the game. 

With 5:30 remaining, Sobreira sent the ball into the box where it was received and scored by Ferdinand. The team's eleventh goal of the night came from Raley, with Gonzalez picking up the assist.