The Blast, readying for its home opener against Harrisburg ZTC Oct. 24, will engage the Heat in a preseason game at the Du Burns Arena at 11 a.m. tomorrow. The public is invited.

After a week of practice, the team roster lists eight players off last season's Baltimore Spirit squad, 10 new players under contract and nine non-contract tryouts.

The preseason roster:

Forwards (7) -- Shane Dougherty, Dan Kelly, Bill Ronson, Brad Smith, Tarik Walker, Pato, Troy Snyder.

Midfield (4) -- Barry Stitz, Doug Neely, Danny Santoro, Denison Cabral.

Defense (5) -- Ron Simmons, Derrick Marcano, Lance Johnson, Todd Hicks, Jason Dieter.

Goalkeepers (2) -- Khalil Azmi, Dave Tenney.

Non-contract players (9) -- Pat Crawford, Eric Washington, Kevin Redpath, C.J. Norton, Chris Brown, Mark Southern, Eric West, Justin Abbey, J.J. Kremer.

Pub Date: 10/07/98