As tough as it was for the Blast to finish scoring chances in Friday night's first half against visiting Monterrey La RaZa, it proved an easy chore in the opening minutes of the pivotal third quarter.
Determined and goal-hungry, the Blast put seven points on the scoreboard in the first five minutes to turn a tight game into an 11-4 win against overmatched La RaZa before an announced 4,208 at 1st Mariner Arena.
Leading 4-2 at the break, the Blast got goals 17 seconds apart from Max Ferdinand and Giuliano Celenza two minutes into the third quarter, and Denison Cabral added a 3-pointer on the power play minutes later for an 11-2 lead. Sagu's 14 saves led a sturdy defense.
The Blast, which got a three-goal, two-assist effort from Celenza and went 3-for-4 on the power play, regained first place in the Major Indoor Soccer League with a 5-2 mark.
"We gave up the goal late [in the first half] and came into the locker room and said: 'We can't come out soft. We got to come out hard.' And that's what we did. And from there, we knew we couldn't let down," said Celenza, who now has 201 goals in his 10-year career.
Scoreless through the first 21 minutes, Blast forward Machel Millwood left no doubt on the game's first goal with a strong left-footed finish from 8 yards on a restart chance for a 2-0 lead. The home team, which dominated throughout the half, appeared to have built a cushion going into the halftime break when Celenza made it 4-0 with 32 seconds left on a power-play goal, but La RaZa was able to get its first goal when Mark Ughy beat the buzzer on a tough-angle shot on the left side to cut the Blast lead to 4-2.
Up next: : The Milwaukee Wave (4-2) returns to 1st Mariner Arena tonight for the first time since 2008 to renew one of the best rivalries in recent years. First place will be on the line, and the Blast will be looking to avenge a 10-8 overtime loss to the Wave in Milwaukee on New Year's Eve. The Wave is led offensively by Marco Terminesi, who is second in the MISL with 21 points.
For the box score, see Scoreboard, PG 2.
WAVE @BLAST
Tonight, 7:30
Video: B2TV.com