PHILADELPHIA - This season, it has been one poor quarter here or there that has often led to a Blast downfall.
Last night, it didn't take that long.
Take away a four-minute stretch in the latter part of the third quarter and the Blast stayed on even terms with the defending Major Indoor Soccer League champion Philadelphia KiXX.
As for the four minutes that proved the difference? The Blast allowed seven unanswered points to send the KiXX on its way to a 15-10 win before 4,852 at the First Union Spectrum.
The Blast remained in last place in the MISL's Eastern Conference at 4-9, dropping further behind the first-place KiXX (11-3).
"The thing is, we're letting up too many soft goals, myself included," said Blast player/coach Sean Bowers. "The 15 points [the KiXX] scored, 10 of them probably came from our mistakes, myself included. The 10 points we scored, we pretty much had to earn them all."
An ideal road game was in the works for the Blast, which kept it close early with sound defense and then found an early second-half spark with goals from Lee Tschantret and Denison Cabral to build a 10-6 lead.
The goal from Cabral, his third of the game, came with 9:21 left in the third quarter. The Blast didn't score again.
Instead, veteran Goran Vasic and the KiXX took charge. Vasic answered with a three-point bomb to cut the lead to 10-9 with 7:33 left in the third. Pat Morris scored the game-winner a little more than a minute later, and Vasic scored again for a 13-10 lead.
"It was deflating," said Blast goalkeeper Brett Phillips, who turned back 13 shots in his second straight start. "We're all fired up and excited about getting the two goals and a lead, and then just like that we're down."
The Blast, which is now 0-6 when trailing after three quarters, stayed down, with KiXX midfielder Gary DePalma scoring the only goal in a quiet fourth quarter that the home team largely controlled with possession of the ball.
Back home against the Harrsiburg Heat on Friday before heading to Dallas to take on the Sidekicks on Saturday, the Blast hopes to take a turn for the better. Bowers said the team can't afford anything else.
"We just keep digging ourselves a bigger and bigger hole and the longer we go the tougher it gets," he said. "We have a good stretch with Harrisburg at home and then going to Dallas, so if we can win both of those games we can get to 6-9 and go from there."
With both teams playing responsible defense in a tight-marking first half, the goals were well-earned, with Cabral scoring his second goal in the final minute of the second quarter to get the Blast even at 6-6 going into the halftime break.
NOTES: Midfielder J.J. Kremer, a Calvert Hall graduate and UMBC standout, was suspended Friday after leaving the team earlier in the week for personal reasons. The five-year veteran began the season with a stress fracture in his foot and didn't dress for any games after recovering. Last season, Kremer was slowed by a knee injury, appearing in only 19 games and finishing with seven points. ... Former Blast All-Star midfielder Paul Wright was picked up on waivers by San Diego and is likely to be in a Sockers uniform when the Blast travels to California on Dec. 21. ... Veteran midfielder Danny Kelly continues to be bothered by a nagging hamstring injury, missing his fifth straight game last night.
Blast 4 2 4 0 - 10
Philadelphia 4 2 7 2 - 15
First quarter - 1. Blast, Cabral, 2 pt., (Dieter), 1:19; 2. Philadelphia, Vasic, 2 pt., (Boney), 5:02; 3. Blast, Santoro, 2 pt., (Wakefield), 10:07; 4. Philadelphia, Boney, 2 pt., (Morris), 14: 17. Penalties - none.
Second quarter - 5. Philadelphia, Shanker, 2 pt., 3:30; 6. Blast, Cabral, 2 pt., (Nelson), 14:04. Penalties: none.
Third quarter - 7. Blast, Tschantret, 2 pt., (Bader), 2:10; 8. Blast, Cabral, 2 pt., 5:39; 9. Philadelphia, Vasic, 3 pt., 7:27; 10. Philadelphia, Morris, 2 pt., (Boney), 8:34; 11. Philadelphia, Vasic, 2 pt., 10:48. Penalties - none.
Fourth quarter - 12. Philadelphia, DePalma, 2 pt., (Sloan), 2:52. Penalties - none.
Shots on goal - Blast 7-2-5-3 - 17; Philadelphia 7-7-9-4 - 27. Power-play opportunities - Blast 0-for-0; Philadelphia 0-for-0. Shootout opportunities - Blast 0-for-0; Philadelphia 0-for-0. Goalkeepers - Blast, Phillips 20 shots, 13 saves; Philadelphia, Pappas, 14 shots, 9 saves. A - 4,852.