WICHITA, Kan. -- Joe Mallia and a hustling defense dominated the Spirit's first meeting with the Wichita Wings last night.
The score was Baltimore 13, Wichita 7, but it wasn't really that close. A three-point goal by John Garvey cut the margin, but it was with 1:43 left to play.
Mallia set the tone early with some spectacular saves, and the defense took it from there.
The Wings went to a sixth attacker with eight minutes left, but for long periods of time, could not get the ball inside the yellow line.
It was the Spirit's first victory in Kansas Coliseum, where they were 0-2 last season. The victory leveled the Spirit's road record to 4-4.
Baltimore not only put pressure on the Wings offense, but also shut out Paul Wright, the Wings' new signee. Wright's 146 points led Baltimore last season and helped the Spirit win its second straight American Division championship in the National Professional Soccer League.
Wright seldom got a shot, and he whiffed at his best chance at the wide open far post in the waning seconds of the game.
Defender Jason Dieter got his sixth goal of the season to give the Spirit an 11-2 lead early in the third period. Wichita player-coach Kim Roentved answered with a set-play goal, but the Spirit defense continued to dominate the game.
Baltimore came within a couple of minutes of shutting out the Wings in the first half.
The Wings were shut out three previous times, but that was early in the season, before they added some punch with late signings.
Eddie Henderson averted the first-half shutout with a shot from 40 feet with 1:54 left in the second period.
The Spirit took a 9-2, halftime lead, with Jon Parry scoring five points and Tim Wittman raking in a right-footed shot from a seemingly impossible angle deep in the right corner. The Spirit jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes on a put-pack shot by Barry Stitz on the rebound of a shot by Frank McIntosh.
Parry rifled a three-point shot through the heart of the defense from outside the yellow line for a 5-0 Baltimore lead.
The margin grew to 7-0 when Parry scored on a counterattack off a pass from McIntosh.