Giuliano Celenza & PJ Wakefield to be Inducted into Baltimore Blast Hall of Fame
January 28, 2019 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Baltimore Blast News Release
Baltimore Blast Forward Giuliano Celenza
(Baltimore Blast)
(Baltimore, MD) - The Baltimore Blast announced today that former players Giuliano Celenza and PJ Wakefield will be inducted into the Baltimore Blast Hall of Fame. Both players were integral to the Blast's success in the mid-late 2000's which included five MISL championships in seven seasons. To date, Kenny Cooper, Stan Stamenkovic, Mike Stankovic, Bruce Savage, Tim Wittman, Joey Fink, Dave MacWilliams, Heinz Wirtz, Keith Van Eron, Dominic Mobilio, Billy Ronson, Richard Chinapoo, Pat Ercoli, Cris Vaccaro, Doug Neely, Danny Counce, Rusty Troy, Earl Foreman, Tarik Walker, Denison Cabral, Lance Johnson, Danny Kelly, and Sagu have been inducted into the Blast Hall of Fame. Celenza and Wakefield will be honored in a ceremony during halftime of the Saturday, February 24th game vs. Utica City FC.
Giuliano Celenza - Forward (2001-2011)
A five time champion with the Blast, Giuliano Celenza was selected with a territorial pick in the 2001 MISL Draft. Celenza became a star for the Blast within a few years of being drafted. He was named the 2004 MISL All-Star Game MVP and collected a 2005-2006 First Team All-League Selection as well as a 2004-2005 Second Team All-League Selection. Celenza ranks 11th all-time in games played for the Blast as well as 3rd all-time in goals scored, 5th all-time in goals plus assists. In 206 regular season games played for the Blast, Giuliano accumulated 309 goals plus assists and 426 points.
"'Guiles' came from Pete Caringi at UMBC. He was recruited to play professionally elsewhere, but chose to play for the Baltimore Blast, where he was a member of many championship teams" Blast owner Ed Hale stated. "It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by the Blast organization while representing my hometown of Baltimore. To have my name up on the banner next to some of my favorite players growing up is really special" Celenza said.
Blast Regular Season Statistics
GP 3P 2P 1P G A PTS Goals + Assists
260 2 113 103 218 91 426 309
Blast Postseason Statistics
GP 3P 2P 1P G A PTS Goals + Assists
28 1 8 5 14 14 38 28
PJ Wakefield - Defender/Midfielder (2002-2009)
Wakefield was selected by the Blast in the first round of the 2002 MISL Draft. A former team captain and a five-time champion with the Blast, Wakefield became an immediate impact for the Blast. Wakefield collected the MISL Rookie of the Year honor in the 2002-03 season, as well as Second Team All-League selections in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Wakefield ranks 17th all-time in regular season games played as well as 10th all-time in blocked shots (198). PJ also ranks 6th all-time for the Blast in blocked shots in the postseason with 27. "I'd like to thank Ed Hale and the entire Blast organization for being considered to join all of the other past inductees into the Hall of Fame" Wakefield stated. Blast owner Ed Hale said "PJ was one of the first college players we recruited from UMBC and their coach Pete Caringi. On his first shift, he scored a goal. He became the captain of our team where he won several championships. The Wakefield family is a credit to Baltimore".
Blast Regular Season Statistics
GP 3P 2P 1P G A PTS Goals + Assists
205 10 45 47 102 80 247 182
Blast Postseason Statistics
GP 3P 2P 1P G A PTS Goals + Assists
21 2 7 2 11 7 29 18
Images from this story
 Baltimore Blast Defender/Midfielder PJ Wakefield |
 Baltimore Blast Forward Giuliano Celenza |
• Discuss this story on the Major Arena Soccer League message board...
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from January 28, 2019
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
