Baltimore Blast
Full nameBaltimore Blast
Nickname(s)Blast
Founded1992 (as Baltimore Spirit)
StadiumSECU Arena[1]
Capacity3,580
ChairmanEdwin F. Hale, Sr.[2]
CoachDavid Bascome
LeagueMajor Arena Soccer League
2022–232nd, Eastern Division
Playoffs: Ron Newman Cup Runner-up
WebsiteClub website

The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League.[3]

Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 championships since its founding in 1980. Beginning with the 2017-2018 season, home games have been played at Towson University's SECU Arena. The Blast previously played at Royal Farms Arena in downtown Baltimore. Team colors are red and gold. Their current head coach is David Bascome, who took over from Danny Kelly who held the position for 15 years.[4]

History

NPSL, MISL II and MISL III years

The team was founded by North Carolina-based software executive Bill Stealey as the Baltimore Spirit at the end of July 1992 and joined the National Professional Soccer League. The team replaced the earlier Baltimore Blast, who folded along with the original Major Indoor Soccer League.[5] When the team was purchased by Ed Hale, a former owner of the original team, the Spirit were renamed the Blast on July 10, 1998[6] (Hale had the rights to the Blast name, hence the reason why the team decided to change its name) and joined the new MISL II in 2001. After the MISL II folded in 2008, the team announced it would be joining the new National Indoor Soccer League, which would later acquire the rights to, and became, the third version of the MISL.

Shift to MASL

One day after the 2013–2014 MISL Championship final, USL President Tim Holt announced a number of teams would not be returning to the MISL the following year.[7] The franchise announced on April 2, 2014, that it would not return to the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) after its contract with the United Soccer Leagues (USL), owners of the circuit, expired following the 2013–14 season.[8] It was officially announced the Blast would be one of six teams joining the Professional Arena Soccer League (later renamed the Major Arena Soccer League) in the 2014–2015 season.[9][10]

In their first two seasons as a member of MASL, the Blast would win 33 out of 39 games. They placed first in the Eastern Division in both the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 seasons, played in the 2015 and 2016 championship series and won the 2016 series over Soles de Sonora two games to none. The Blast repeated as Newman Cup Champions in 2017, again winning the final series over Soles de Sonora two games to one. In 2018, the Blast won their third straight championship, defeating the Monterrey Flash 4-3 in the final.

Attempted launch of the IPL

On February 18, 2016, Blast owner Ed Hale announced his intentions to leave the Major Arena Soccer League and form a new league.[11]

On May 3, 2016, the expansion franchise Florida Tropics SC held a press conference stating they would be joining the IPL. At the press conference, Ed Hale was announced as the chairman of the league, and Sam Fantauzzo, former owner of the Rochester Lancers, was announced as the first commissioner of the league. It was announced that the St. Louis Ambush, Baltimore Blast, and Harrisburg Heat had "resigned" from the MASL.[12][13]

On August 29, 2016, the Blast, Heat, Ambush re-entered the MASL with the expansion Tropics joining.[14] The move effectively folded the IPL as no teams remained in the league.

After rejoining the MASL, the Blast would go on to win their second Eastern Division championship and MASL championship over Soles de Sonora for the second year in a row.

Move to SECU Arena

The Blast announced in August 2017 that they would move from the Royal Farms Arena to the SECU Arena on the campus of Towson University, beginning in the 2017-2018 MASL season.[1] The move was the first time the Blast franchise played home games in an arena other than the Royal Farms Arena. In June 2021 the Blast announced an affiliation partnership with Baltimore Kings, who will be playing their first arena soccer season in MASL 3 in January 2022.[15] In March 2023, the Blast announced that the Rochester Lancers would be their affiliate in MASL 2[16]

Players

2021–22 roster

Active players

  • As of 6 July 2020 [17]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Puerto Rico PUR Armando Tello
0 GK Italy ITA William Vanzela
8 FW Brazil BRA Lucas Roque
9 DF United States USA Richard Schmermund
11 MF United States USA Tony Donatelli
12 DF Brazil BRA Adriano Dos Santos
13 DF United States USA Jereme Raley
14 DF United States USA Ibrahima Keita
15 FW Brazil BRA Victor France
17 FW United States USA Jamie Thomas
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Ivory Coast CIV Mohamed Ndiaye
19 DF Brazil BRA Marco Nascimento
20 DF United States USA Mike Deasel
22 FW Brazil BRA Juan Pereira
23 MF Brazil BRA Jonatas Melo
24 GK United States USA Mike Zierhoffer
26 DF United States USA Quenton Swift
27 FW United States USA Mike Da Silva
90 FW Colombia COL Juan Galvis

Inactive players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
9 FW United States USA Sylla Salifou
No. Pos. Nation Player
30 FW Brazil BRA Daniel Oliveira

Staff

Retired numbers

Player Number
Stan Stamenkovic #10

Hall of Fame

Position Person Inducted
Coach England Kenny Cooper 2004
FW Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Stan Stamenkovic 2004
DF Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mike Stankovic 2004
DF United States Bruce Savage 2005
N/A United States Earl Foreman 2005
FW United States Tim Wittman 2005
FW United States Joey Fink 2006
FW United States Dave MacWilliams 2006
FW Germany Heinz Wirtz 2007
FW Canada Domenic Mobilio 2008
GK United States Keith Van Eron 2008
FW England Billy Ronson 2009
DF Trinidad and Tobago Richard Chinapoo 2009
FW Canada Pat Ercoli 2010
GK Puerto Rico Cris Vaccaro 2010
DF United States Doug Neely 2011
FW United States Dan Counce 2012
DF United States Rusty Troy 2012
FW United States Tarik Walker 2013
MF Brazil Denison Cabral 2014
DF United States Lance Johnson 2015
MF/Coach United States Danny Kelly 2017
GK Brazil Sagu 2018
DF United States PJ Wakefield 2019
FW United States Giuliano Celenza 2019
MF United States Lee Tschantret 2020
FW/Coach Bermuda David Bascome 2020
Trainer United States Marty McGinty 2020

Notable former players

Year-by-year

Year League W L Win% GF GA GF/G GA/G Finish Playoffs W L Avg. attendance
1992–93 NPSL II 27 13 .675 309 256 7.73 6.40 1st American Quarterfinal 0 2 5,444
1993–94 NPSL II 26 14 .650 322 293 8.05 7.33 1st American First Round 0 2 6,471
1994–95 NPSL II 23 17 .575 317 307 7.93 7.68 3rd American First Round 1 2 5,733
1995–96 NPSL II 25 15 .625 306 258 7.65 6.45 2nd American Division Semifinal 3 3 5,037
1996–97 NPSL II 20 20 .500 260 258 6.50 6.45 2nd East Conference Semifinal 3 2 4,760
1997–98 NPSL II 12 28 .300 250 300 6.25 7.50 3rd East DNQ — — 5,001
1998–99 NPSL II 19 21 .475 271 290 6.78 7.25 3rd East DNQ — — 4,795
1999–2000 NPSL II 26 18 .591 339 275 7.70 6.25 1st East Conference Final 2 2 5,445
2000–01 NPSL II 22 18 .550 300 260 7.50 6.50 3rd American Conference Final 3 2 5,376
2001–02 MISL II 18 26 .409 265 274 6.02 6.23 4th MISL Semifinal 0 1 4,998
2002–03 MISL II 18 18 .500 189 182 5.25 5.06 3rd Eastern Champions 4 1 5,559
2003–04 MISL II 25 11 .694 241 192 6.69 5.33 1st Eastern Champions 4 0 6,330
2004–05 MISL II 15 24 .385 205 238 5.26 6.10 7th MISL DNQ — — 5,752
2005–06 MISL II 17 13 .567 184 168 6.13 5.60 2nd MISL Champions 4 2 7,005
2006–07 MISL II 15 15 .500 154 150 5.13 5.00 5th MISL DNQ — — 7,449
2007–08 MISL II 19 11 .633 186 135 6.20 4.50 3rd MISL Champions 5 0 7,230
2008–09 NISL 14 4 .778 132 66 7.33 3.67 1st NISL Champions 1 0 7,534
2009–10 MISL III 11 9 .550 105 97 5.25 4.85 2nd MISL Semifinal 0 2 6,259
2010–11 MISL III 15 5 .750 131 93 6.55 4.65 1st MISL Runner-up 0 1 6,933
2011–12 MISL III 18 6 .750 165 108 6.88 4.50 1st Eastern Runner-up 2 2 5,961
2012–13 MISL III 21 5 .808 181 108 6.96 4.15 1st MISL Champions 4 0 5,544
2013–14 MISL III 17 3 .850 147 46 7.35 2.30 1st MISL Runner-up 3 3 6,123
2014–15 MASL 18 2 .900 167 69 8.35 3.45 1st Eastern Runner-up 4 2 6,201
2015–16 MASL 15 4 .789 129 57 6.79 3.00 1st Eastern Champions 6 0 6,102
2016–17 MASL 14 6 .700 113 69 5.65 3.45 1st Eastern Champions 6 3 6,299
2017–18 MASL 17 5 .773 143 108 6.50 4.91 1st Eastern Champions 4 0 3,491
2018–19 MASL 17 7 .708 144 103 6.00 4.29 2nd Eastern Semifinal 2 2 3,317
2019–20 MASL 15 8 .652 175 104 7.61 4.52 4th Eastern Play-off cancelled — — 2,641
2021 MASL did not participate
2021–22 MASL 12 9 .571 142 111 6.76 5.29 2nd Eastern Quarterfinal 1 2 2,183
2022–23 MASL 13 11 .542 141 101 5.88 4.21 2nd Eastern Runner-up 4 3 2,778*
Total 544 366 .598 6,113 5,076 6.72 5.58 Win% = .629 66 39 –
*Attendance average excludes one 15 minute mini match played directly after their quarter-final matchup.

Records

Statistics below show the all-time regular-season club leaders and include player statistics from the original Baltimore Blast which competed in the Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992).[19][20] Bold indicates active Blast players.

CategoryRecord holderTotal
GamesUnited States Tim Wittman441
GoalsBrazil Denison Cabral445
AssistsSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Srboljub Stamenković199
Game-winning goalsBrazil Denison Cabral32
BlocksUnited States Lance Johnson694
ShutoutsBrazil William Vanzela11
WinsBrazil William Vanzela105

Head coaches

Arenas

References

  1. 1 2 "Blast find new home at Towson University's SECU Arena".
  2. ↑ Wells, Carrie (November 8, 2014). "'Hale Storm' reveals prominent former banker's CIA ties, two failed marriages". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, MD: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ "MAJOR ARENA SOCCER LEAGUE EXPANDS TO THE SUNSHINE STATE | Major Arena Soccer League". Archived from the original on 2016-09-02. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
  4. ↑ "Blast replace head coach Danny Kelly with assistant David Bascome. Kelly departs after 15 years, six championships". Baltimore Sun.
  5. ↑ Ey, Craig S. (August 11, 1997). "Can soccer succeed in Baltimore?". Baltimore Business Journal. Baltimore, MD: Advance Publications. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Sidekicks Opponents: Baltimore Blast (New-MISL)".
  7. ↑ "Video: MISL Statement ~ Frequency". Archived from the original on 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  8. ↑ Graham, Glenn (April 3, 2014). "Seeking to become 'more relevant,' Blast breaks away from MISL". The Baltimore Sun.
  9. ↑ Graham, Glenn (November 7, 2014). "A look at the Blast's new league, the MASL". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, MD: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Ed Hale moves Baltimore Blast to Professional Arena Soccer League - Baltimore Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2014-04-17.
  11. ↑ Graham, Glenn (February 18, 2016). "Baltimore Blast owner Ed Hale plans to remove team from MASL, form new league". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, MD: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Press Conference | By Florida Tropics SC | Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  13. ↑ "Blast owner ed Hale launches Indoor Professional League; eight to 10 teams to start play in November".
  14. ↑ "MAJOR ARENA SOCCER LEAGUE EXPANDS TO THE SUNSHINE STATE". Major Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on 2016-09-02. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  15. ↑ Graham, Glenn. "Blast welcome the Baltimore Kings, who will serve as farm team in Major Arena Soccer League's third division". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  16. ↑ Lewis, Michael (March 17, 2023). "THEY'LL BE HAVING A BLAST: Lancers announce affiliation with Baltimore". Front Row Soccer.
  17. ↑ "Stats - Major Arena Soccer League".
  18. 1 2 https://www.baltimoreblast.com/news/baltimore-blast-announce-new-coach
  19. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2017-02-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ↑ "All-Time Roster". Baltimore Blast. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
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