Blast, Comets Advance to MISL Championship Series
Published on March 10, 2013 under Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) News Release
TAMPA, Fla. - The Baltimore Blast and Missouri Comets will contest the 2013 MISL Championship Series after both teams advanced through the semifinals this weekend. Game 1 is set for Thursday night at 8:35 p.m. ET at the Independence Events Center in Missouri, while Game 2 will be hosted by the Blast on Saturday night at the 1st Mariner Arena at 7:35 p.m. ET.
Baltimore advanced to its third consecutive championship series by taking a 2-0 series victory against the Chicago Soul. The Blast pulled away from the Soul in the second half of Game 1 at Chicago's Odeum, with Lucas Roque and Adauto Neto each scoring a hat trick to lead their side to a 22-13 victory.
Baltimore used a big third-quarter burst to claim a 10-7 win in Saturday's Game 2 at 1st Mariner Arena. Chicago had held the Blast scoreless in the opening half, building a 5-0 lead, but Baltimore then scored four goals in two minutes, 24 seconds to take the lead for good. Ptah Myers, Roque, Neto and J.T. Noone scored for the Blast in the flurry, and after Machel Millwood added a fifth, Baltimore was able to hold on to advance.
The Comets fell in Game 1 of their series against Milwaukee as the Wave came away with a dramatic 12-10 overtime victory that saw them score the final six goals at the Independence Events Center. Missouri had taken an 8-0 halftime lead, Jeff Hughes scoring a goal and adding two assists, but led by a hat trick by Hewerton, including the game-tying goal with 20.6 seconds the play, the Wave were able to force overtime. Giuliano Oliviero then scored the decisive goal to give the Wave the upper hand.
Missouri battled back to take victory in Sunday's Game 2 at U.S. Cellular Arena, Leo Gibson's goal with 34 seconds to play earning a 9-8 victory to send the series to a deciding mini-game. The Comets then left it even later in the series deciding Game 3 mini-game as Byron Alvarez scored with five seconds to play to send his side to its first MISL Championship Series since the return of the franchise in 2010 with a 5-4 victory.
Both games of the 2013 MISL Championship Series can be seen on MISLNation.com, with in-game updates available on Twitter (@MISLSoccer) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/MajorIndoorSoccerLeague).
MISL PLAYOFFS RESULTS
No. 1 Baltimore Blast def. No. 4 Chicago Soul
Game 1: Baltimore 22, Chicago 13
Game 2: Baltimore 10, Chicago 7
No. 2 Milwaukee Wave vs. No. 3 Missouri Comets
Game 1: Milwaukee 12, Missouri 10, OT
Game 2: Missouri 9, Milwaukee 8
Game 3: Missouri 5, Milwaukee 4
MISL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
No. 1 Baltimore Blast vs. No. 3 Missouri Comets
Game 1: Baltimore at Missouri, Thursday, March 14, 8:35 p.m. ET
Game 2: Missouri at Baltimore, Saturday, March 16, 7:35 p.m. ET
Major Indoor Soccer League Stories from March 10, 2013
- Wave's Magical Season Comes Ashore - Milwaukee Wave
- Blast, Comets Advance to MISL Championship Series - MISL
- Comets Advance to MISL Finals - Kansas City Comets
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