Border Battle Begins Friday
April 28, 2003 - A-League (A-League)
Indiana Blast News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, IN- Over the past six seasons the Blast have faced off against the Cincinnati Riverhawks a total of nineteen times. In '97 and '98 while still competing at the D3 level, the Blast played the Cincinnati Riverhawks just one time each season, splitting the results 1-1. The Riverhawks competed in the PDL, Premier Development League in '97 and stepped up to the A-League in '98, just one season ahead of the Blast.
Since the Blast move to the A-League in '99, the two teams have shared the field no less than 4 times each season and the Blast have racked up an impressive 11 - 6 - 2 record. And the battle rages on.
On Friday, May 2ndat 8:00PM (ET) the Blast will kick off against the Riverhawks at Town and Country Sports Complex in Cincinnati. - A game that marks the first in a series of six times that these two teams will meet during the 2003 regular season. A series that has been coined the Border Battle Cup.
While en route to a spot in the A-League play-offs, the Blast are making plans to bring home the coveted Border Battle Cup when the series ends on home turf on July 2nd.
LAST WEEK-The Blast opened their season last Friday night on a rainy evening in Richmond, VA as they took on the Kickers. The 2002 Eastern Conference Champions proved too much for Indiana as they downed the Blast 3-0. The Blast continued on to Virginia Beach, VA Saturday night to take on the Mariners. Although the Blast outshot the Mariners 17-15 and had the advantage in corner kicks, the Blast couldn't put the ball in the back of the net as they fell to the home team 2-0.
THIS WEEK-After taking Monday off, the Blast are back at practice the rest of the week. Training sessions are open to both the public and the media. The Blast hold their practice sessions at Lawrence Soccer Park in Lawrence, IN. Contact the MorSports, Inc. office to confirm training sites and times.
NEXT HOME GAME-The Blast will host their 2003 home-opener on Friday May 9th at 7:35pm. The El Paso Patriots are coming to town for the first of two Open Cup qualifying matches. It's "FREEBIE FRIDAY!!" That's right, the Blast are opening their gates for FREE so bring your friends and family and experience the exciting Blast atmosphere!!
PLAYER SIGNINGS-The Blast have signed a club record of five players from the 2003 Combine that was held in mid-March. In early April the Blast added Justin Lucas, Michael Martinez and Mike Ngonyani to their 2003 roster. Early last week the Blast signed two more players that impressed coach McDonald at the combine. Matt Stonehouse joined the Blast from Midwestern State University where he was a college teammate of fellow Blast player Jeffrey Samples. Also joining the 2003 squad is Ari Dolegowski, a former standout at Hastings College.
SPONSOR UPDATES-Welcome back Blue Bunny! The Indiana Blast will partner once again with Blue Bunny in '03, including the 4th annual Red-White-Blue Bunny game night event and FREE Blue Bunny Bomb Pops to all Indiana Blast Soccer Camp participants. If you're looking for great tasting treats but want few calories or less sugar, Blue Bunny has what you're looking for. Visit www.bluebunny.com for the latest scoop on Blue Bunny products sweetened with Splenda® - the only no calorie sweetener made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar.
A-League Stories from April 28, 2003
- Border Battle Begins Friday - Indiana Blast
- Wave United Signs Goalkeeper Jim Larkin - Milwaukee Wave United
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