Take two, Tropics and Blast meet up in Lakeland for Holiday doubleheader

LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Florida Tropics will hook up with the Baltimore Blast for a holiday doubleheader this week with games on Wednesday, Dec. 21, and Friday, Dec. 23 at the RP Funding Center.

Kickoff for both contests will be 7:05 p.m. and both games will be streamed live on MASL TV on Twitch.

The two teams come in heading in opposite directions. The Tropics have won both of their two games so far this year, including a 7-6 win in Baltimore to open the 2022-23 season on Dec. 10. Meanwhile, the Blast come in after a surprising r5-4 road loss in Harrisburg last weekend, and are just 1-2-1 (overtime loss) this year.

Drew Ruggles, the 2019-20 MASL Defender of the Year, is off to a hot start for Florida, with five goals in two games. He is fourth in the league in goals so far, despite the fact the Tropics are just one of four teams to have played twice this season. His 3.5 points per game average – he’s also picked up two assists – is tops in the league.

Goalkeeper Jorge Navarrete is also among the league leaders, with a .757 save percentage which is fifth overall in the MASL, and 4.50 goals against average which is sixth in the league.

Speaking of hot starts, Baltimore Lucas Roque has 10 goals in the Blast’s four games. Their lone win of the season came at home on Dec. 3 against Utica. The Blast have actually dropped three straight games, one in overtime, since. All four of their games, including their win, have been decided by just one goal.

Tickets for the games against Baltimore this week, and on Dec. 30 against the Chihuahua Savage are available starting at just $7 per game (which includes service fees when purchased by phone) by calling the arena box office at 863-834-8111. Although tickets are also available online at www.rpfundingcenter.com, service fees are significantly higher through Ticketmaster as opposed to calling the box office directly.