MILWAUKEE -- The Spirit didn't have to look very hard for motivation last night.
Baltimore wanted to get off to a good start on a tough three-day stretch and spoil the night for the red-hot host Milwaukee Wave, which was looking to win a club-record ninth consecutive game.
The Spirit accomplished both goals in a 16-6 win over the Wave before 4,117 at the Bradley Center.
Joe Mallia, starting in place of Cris Vaccaro, was sensational in goal, stopping 19 shots to win his 10th game. Barry Stitz had three goals and one assist to lead Baltimore.
The Spirit improved to 17-9 and pulled within two games of the idle Cleveland Crunch for first place of the American Division. The Wave, third in the National Division, fell to 14-11.
Baltimore will return home to play the remaining two games of the three-game string. It will play Harrisburg at 7:30 tonight and Kansas City at 7 tomorrow night.
The Spirit was able to pull away in the second quarter, getting a goal from Tim Wittman, who stuck with the play after Milwaukee goalkeeper Victor Nogueira made a save on his first shot. Wittman's effort paid off when the ball rebounded off a sliding Nogueira and back to Wittman, who put the ball in the net 2:03 into the quarter for an 8-4 Spirit lead.
The Spirit had a 10-4 lead at halftime thanks to Stitz's second goal of the game. Stitz took a pass from Wittman that got behind three of the Wave's defenders and, sliding, put the ball past Nogueira at 7:52.
And just 18 seconds into the third quarter, Wittman scored his second goal of the game off an assist from Jon Parry, giving Baltimore a 12-4 lead.
Mallia made a crucial save at the 12:08 mark of the third quarter. Kevin Sloan was called for holding a Wave player in the box, giving Milwaukee a penalty kick and a chance to get back into the game.
But Mallia stopped Michael King's shot and the Spirit held its eight-point lead after three quarters.
"King's going to make that shot 99.9 percent of the time. But we came up against a very good goalkeeper tonight," said Milwaukee coach Keith Tozer.
"You've got to play with guts, heart and brains. The brains were missing in the first half," the coach added.
Said Spirit coach Dave MacWilliams of Mallia's save: "We thought that was the point where it really drove the nail in the coffin.
"Indoors is a game of momentum and if they get that goal, they get the momentum, too. Joe made a good save on it and then we killed the power play afterward. That was the key part of the game."
Mallia, MacWilliams added, "had a super game. It was his best game of the year, I thought."
Baltimore had a 6-4 lead after the first quarter thanks in good part to forward Franklin McIntosh, who assisted on all three first-quarter goals, two by Sloan and the other by Stitz.
Spirit ..... 6 .. 4 .. 2 .. 4 .. -- .. 16
Milwaukee .. 4 .. 0 .. 0 .. 2 .. -- .. 6
SPIRIT TONIGHT
Opponent: Harrisburg Heat
Site: Baltimore Arena
Time: 7:35
Radio: WWLG (1360 AM),
WAMD (970 AM)
Tickets: Many available
Outlook: This is the second of three games in three nights for the Spirit. Harrisburg, which is 2-2 against the Spirit, has won a team-record six straight. Heat scoring leader David Bascome is No. 15 in the NPSL with 82 points, followed by Mark Pulisic and Danny Kelly, each with 74. Ex-Heat Franklin McIntosh has 10 assists and two goals in the Spirit's two victories over Harrisburg since he joined the club. The Spirit had lost the previous seven to the Heat. Kevin Sloan is the fifth Spirit player to exceed 100 points, joining Goran Hunjak (twice), Paul Wright, Rusty Troy and Joe Koziol.
BAYS TONIGHT
Opponent: Connecticut Wolves
Site: Du Burns Arena
Time: 8:05
Outlook: The Bays (11-2), who defeated the Wolves, 15-6, earlier this season, have won nine straight, including two tough road games last weekend in Oklahoma. Eric Riedlbauer was named the USISL's Offensive Player of the Week after scoring five goals, including the game-winner, in a 10-9 overtime win over Tulsa on Saturday. Dave Tenney and Brian Hartlove split time in goal last weekend and recorded 32 and 10 saves, respectively. The Wolves are led by Leszek Wrona, Elvis Thomas and Eric Barbieri.