ST. CHARLES, MO. — ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Blast had the edge in healthy goalies as it rolled past the St. Louis Steamers, 11-6, last night at Family Arena.
Starting Steamers goalie Brett Phillips was injured in the third quarter and backup Nando Hernandez was hurt in the fourth period.
"This had to be one of the strangest games I've ever played," said Steamers player-coach Daryl Doran. "And I almost didn't dress Nando."
Lee Tschantret, Giuliano Celenza, Tarik Walker and Allen Eller had two goals apiece for the Blast, which improved to 14-5. The Steamers fell to 5-12.
St. Louis lost Hernandez when he injured his right arm trying to stop a shot by Tschantret, who scored on the play to give the Blast a 9-4 lead. Midfielder Sterling Wescott replaced Hernandez, who suffered a hyperextened elbow.
"I really feel for Nando," Tschantret said. "You hate to see anything like that happen."
The third quarter went downhill for the Steamers when Phillips was knocked out by a ball to the head on a shot by David Bascome. After regaining consciousness, the goalie left the game with 11:50 left in the quarter. He was replaced by Hernandez.
Phillips was with the Blast last season, helping the team win the Major Indoor Soccer League title.
"I was very worried about Brett," Tschantret said. "He wasn't moving and that was scary."
The Blast dominated most of the contest and put it out of reach in the third quarter. Walker scored off a head ball 17 seconds into the period. Eller greeted Hernandez with a shot from the top of the box at 3:21 to give the visitors a 7-4 lead.
"We knew they were going to come out running and we didn't panic," said Blast coach Tim Wittman. "We kept our composure. We had a lot of time left and the next goal was important. We scored right away. If we don't, then it's a different game."
Blast 3 2 2 4 - 11
St. Louis 2 2 0 2 - 6
First quarter-1. St. Louis, Bleyenberg (DiMaria) 0:18. 2. St. Louis, Santoro (Butcher) 1:32. 3. Baltimore, Bascome (Celenza) 4:14. 4. Baltimore, Cabral (Bascome) 6:59. 5. Baltimore, Tschantret (Farias) 8:25. Penalties-none. Second quarter-6. Baltimore, Celenza (Farias) 6:12, ppg. 7. St. Louis, Butcher (unassisted) 8:17, penalty kick. 8. St. Louis, DiMaria (unassisted) 12:53. 9. Baltimore, Eller (Bascome) 13:31. Penalties-Kirchhoff, St. Louis (striking) 5:50; Regis, Baltimore, (boarding) 8:17. Third quarter-10. Baltimore, Walker (Tschantret) 0:17. 11. Baltimore, Eller (Celenza) 3:21. Penalty-Thomas, St. Louis (pushing) 7:58. Fourth quarter-12. Baltimore, Kelly (unassisted) 3:42. 13. Baltimore, Tschantret (Celenza) 5:05. 14. Baltimore, Celenza (Farias) 8:18. 15. Baltimore, Walker (time n/a). 16. St. Louis, Sibiya (11:59). 17. St. Louis, Sibiya (time n/a). Penalties- Doran, St. Louis (boarding) 0:26. Hernandez, St. Louis, tripping, 3:42. Wescott, St. Louis (holding), 13:10. Shots on goal-Baltimore 8-5-8-7-28, St. Louis, 4-6-6-4-20. Power plays-Blast 2-5, St. Louis 1-3. Shootout opportunities-Baltimore 2-2, St. Louis 1-1. Goalkeepers-Baltimore, Hileman 9 saves, Rowland, 1 save. St. Louis, Phillips 12 saves, Hernandez 2 saves, Wescott 9 saves. A-3,856.