Baltimore Blast Defeat Kansas City Comets 9-2
March 4, 2023 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Baltimore Blast News Release
TOWSON, Md. - The Baltimore Blast (9-6-3) picked up an important win against the Kansas City Comets (8-6-4) to move them closer to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Division, winning 9-2.
Tony Donatelli, who recorded six assists before Friday's game, recorded four assists on the night. Goalkeeper William Vanzela saved a career-high 31 shots, and scored a goal on a sixth-attacker situation toward the end of the game.
It took almost nine minutes before the Blast opened the scoring in the game. Baltimore was on a power play when Jonatas Melo sent the ball into the box and Donatelli put it in to give Baltimore a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later, Donatelli assisted on a goal to Patrick Thompson after passing it along the boards. The Blast took a two-goal lead with 3:09 remaining in the opening quarter. The Blast took its 2-0 lead through the end of the first quarter.
Around halfway through the second quarter, Kansas City got on the board by the way of a free kick. John Sosa dished the ball to Ignacio Flores who put the game at 2-1.
With less than five minutes remaining in the half, Donatelli picked up his third point of the night when he passed it towards the baseline and found Moises Gonzalez for the goal. A couple minutes later, Jamie Thomas scored, and Donatelli picked up another assist, his third of the night.
Jereme Raley scored an unassisted goal with less than three minutes remaining to give the Blast a 5-1 lead.
Donatelli led the Blast throughout the first half, scoring or assisting on four of the team's five goals. On defense, Vanzela recorded eight saves on nine shots.
Lucas Roque assisted on the first goal of the second half which was tapped in by Melo, his second point of the night. Donatelli's generosity continued on the team's next goal, as he assisted on a power play goal to Melo. The Blast took a 7-1 lead as Melo recorded his second goal and Donatelli picked up his fourth assist.
A miscommunication on defense cut the game to a 7-2 lead as Rian Marques got the pass in front of an open net off the assist from Ramone Palmer.
Thomas picked up his second goal of the night as Roque recorded his second to give the Blast an 8-2 lead. Vanzela picked up a goal on the stat sheet when he saved the ball and threw it down the field. The ball found its way into the net because Kansas City had a sixth attacker on the field, and the Blast took a 9-2 lead.
Baltimore defeated Kansas City 9-2. The team's next game will be on Saturday, March 11 at Kansas City.
MASL Match Report 3/3/23
Kansas City Comets @ Baltimore Blast: SECU Arena
Kickoff: 7:35 p.m. ET
Scoring Summary:
Quarter 1 2 3 4 F
Kansas City 0 1 1 0 9
Baltimore 2 3 2 2 2
BLAST STAT LEADERS:
NAME STATS
William Vanzela 31 saves, one goal
Tony Donatelli One goal, four assists
Jonatas Melo Two goals, one assist
COMETS STAT LEADERS:
NAME STATS
Ignacio Flores One goal
Rian Marques One goal
Attendance: 2,218
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