Blast Win Eastern Division Regular Season Championship

The Baltimore Blast traveled to Syracuse on Friday night for a matchup against the Silver Knights. After splitting two games in Baltimore last weekend the Blast were able to defeat the Silver Knights 5-4 in overtime and clinch the top spot in the Eastern Division.

Both teams came out focusing on defensive play. The Blast would shut out the Silver Knights in the first half by applying defensive pressure and controlling possession. In the first quarter Daniel Peruzzi recorded his third goal of the season to give the Blast the lead. With 2:13 left in the second quarter Nelson Santana would record his third goal of the season off of Tony Donatelli’s team leading 19th assist. Blast goalkeeper, William Vanzela, recorded 3 saves in the half and the Blast went into the locker room leading 2-0.

The third quarter saw offense come alive with 4 goals recorded. The Silver Knights would score back to back goals from Antonio Manfut and Kenardo Forbes to tie the game at 2. The Blast would answer when Andrew Hoxie recorded his 13th goal of the season off an assist from Travis Pittman. At the 9:10 mark the Silver Knights would tie the game again when Jake Schindler was able to score off a rebound. Entering the final the quarter the game was tied 3-3.

In the fourth quarter the Blast would regain the lead when Andrew Hoxie recorded his second goal of the game of an assist from Adriano Dos Santos. The Blast defense held strong for the majority of the quarter with key blocks from Pat Healey, Jereme Raley, and Adriano Dos Santos but as time expired Joey Tavernese found the back of the net with 0.0 on the clock to send the game to overtime. The teams entered overtime tied 4-4.

It only took the Blast :22 seconds to find the back of the net in the extra period. Juan Pereira recorded his 6th goal of the season assisted by Pat Healey to clinch the division title for the Blast.

The Blast were led by Andrew Hoxie who recorded two goals. In net for the Blast William Vanzela recorded 18 saves in the victory.