The Milwaukee Wave capped a wild fourth-quarter comeback with two goals by Kyt Selaidopoulos and stunned the Blast for the second time this season, 11-9, before an announced 5,844 at 1st Mariner Arena on Saturday night.
The victory pushed the Wave (5-2) into first place in the Major Indoor Soccer League ahead of the Blast (5-3) in a matchup of two teams that have won nine of the past 12 pro indoor titles.
A spurt by the Blast at the onset of the fourth quarter broke open a tight game after the teams battled to a 4-4 standoff through three periods.
Lucio Gonzaga broke the tie after taking an outlet pass from goalie Sagu and dribbling around two defenders before scoring from beyond the 3-point arc. Barely a minute later, Jonathan Greenfield cashed in on a fast break to score easily from in close after taking Denison Cabral's pass.
The Wave wasn't quite finished, closing within 9-7 on a 3-point shot by Marco Terminesi after a feed from Marcelo Fontana in the corner. It was the second score of the game by Terminesi, who recorded a third-quarter goal on the power play after a penalty against Giuliano Celenza.
The score was tied for the third time when Selaidopoulos connected on an assist from Oliviero with a little more than four minutes to play in regulation.
"Obviously, it's a very disappointing loss," Blast coach Danny Kelly said. "We had a bad penalty, gave up too many free kicks and a ball goes off the crossbar. We didn't play poorly, but we allowed them too many opportunities to get back in it. We need to do the little things better."
Added Blast captain Robbie Aristodemo: "This is two games in a row with them we should have won. We did well for having back-to-back games, but we made a lot of silly mistakes that cost us this game."
The first half was a defensive struggle with neither team able to crack the other's alignments.
A goal off a free kick pushed the Blast into a 2-0 lead with Gonzaga scoring off a feed from Aristodemo, but Milwaukee tied it less than four minutes later.
Selaidopoulos took a hard shot from the right side that Sagu deflected. The goal bounced off the Blast keeper to the other side of the net, and an unattended Giuliano Oliviero knocked in the rebound.
The Blast was playing its second game in two nights and was trying to get even with the Wave, which scored a 12-10 overtime win in their first meeting New Year's Eve.
Mil. 2 0 2 7 - 11Blast 2 02 5 - 9
FIRST QUARTER
Goals:1. Blast, Gonzaga (Aristodemo), 8:28; 2. Milwaukee, Oliviero (Selaidopoulos), 12:01. Penalties: B, (too many men), 5:54.
THIRD QUARTER
Goals: 3. Blast, Garcia (Lookingland), 3:44; 4. Milwaukee, Terminesi (Rife), 5:59. Penalties: B, Celenza (tripping), 5:45.
FOURTH QUARTER
Goals: 5. Blast, Gonzaga (3-pt. goal, Sagu), 1:42; 6. Blast, Greenfield (Cabral), 2:44; 7. Milwaukee, Terminesi (3-pt. goal, Fontana); 8. Milwaukee, Selaidopoulos, (Oliviero), 10:51; 9. Milwaukee, Selaidopoulos (Hammes), 12:41. Penalties: None.
Attendance: 5,844.