MILWAUKEE WAVE LOSE NARROWLY TO THE BLAST; ALL OR NOTHING HOME MATCH DAY ON MONDAY.

By Henry Amini. 

MILWAUKEE, WI - The 7-Time Champion Milwaukee Wave lose the first semifinal game at home to the blast; regrouping for the definitive Monday night matchday at home. 

“I thought we started the game really well. For the first seven minutes, 
I don't think [Baltimore] had a shot, and we had opportunities. Tons of them,” Head Coach Marcio Leite said. 

The Milwaukee Wave were the first to score in the heated fixture, it was Mario Alvarez who made the incisive pass to the Golden Boot winner Alex “Saucy” Sanchez. Within two minutes of Sanchez’s goal, Chad Poarch found the back of the net and sparked a streak of six unanswered goals for the Blast spanning between the first and third quarter. 

The goals the Milwaukee Wave conceded were forced mainly by losing the ball and trailing on the breakaway. It was Juan Pereira, certainly the most dangerous member of the Baltimore Blast in their first playoff game, who scored a goal on the restart which highlighted a gap in the Wave’s defense at that point. 

“Bringing Jerry in wasn't because Willie was playing poorly, it was because we needed help with our buildup. 
We needed to have an extra player,” Leite said. The Milwaukee Wave were at a 1-4 deficit at the end of the first half before bringing in Perez and making a shift to their gameplan in possession. 

The Baltimore Blast scored two more goals goals early in the third quarter.

The tide shifted in the final two quarters in favor of the Milwaukee Wave, giving MASL fans a game reminiscent of the team’s historic rivalry. When Shawn Azcueta sent a long ball to the Wave’s target forward, Oscar Flores took a magnificent first touch over the head of Jake Schindler who was lost chasing the eminent goal scored by the Venezuelan. 

“In the 3rd quarter, I thought we did a much better job at getting the ball deep, breaking the initial pressure with Jerry, not as truly a sixth attacker But as an extra player in our buildup,” Leite said. The home team outshot the Blast by a margin of 9-3 in the period. 

Fans of the Milwaukee Wave would argue that Flores is, without question, the best newcomer the MASL has to offer. Less than a full minute into the final quarter, Max Ferdinand found Flores with an ocean of space to shoot before nutmegging his supposed marker, Oumar Sylla, from just inside of the yellow line on the way to his goal. The MASL co-Pass Master’s sole contribution to the game was an assist to Pereira on a restart in the second quarter. 

With the home team on the brink of a comeback, tensions flared inside of UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Jairo Guevara dropped his shoulder on a challenge against Perez, leaving the ball behind and booking a ticket to the penalty box. The resulting power play saw Mario Alvarez strike an unassisted goal from distance. The MASL Defender of The Year candidate has contributed five points to the Wave in the playoffs, tied with Ferdinand for the most goal contributions. A testament to the array of talent Leite’s team carries, Perez beat Julian Rodriguez at the boards finding two time MVP winner Ian Bennett for his first goal of the series. 

With nearly nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Milwaukee Wave’s fans found a new life. The Blast escaped a barrage of chances, two of which struck the post, and defended their way to a standstill until the game’s final breath, when Pereira scored the icing goal and Baltimore took a 5-7 win after a thrilling first game. 

With Monday’s definitive matchday on the horizon, the Baltimore Blast will spend the weekend in Milwaukee. The two teams will rest and recover before the Wave host game two with a third knockout minigame immediately after, depending on the result of game two. 

“There's nothing to be saved…” Leite said, “...We still had players, big time players, that can play much better. They were average today.” The championship standard of the Milwaukee Wave commands high expectations from its players and the highest trophy indoor soccer has to offer is at stake. 

Recent memory will recall the Milwaukee Wave defeating the Empire Strykers at home in the quarter finals, after dropping the first game. This past Monday’s night of action was thrilling, an ode to the illustrious sport of arena soccer. 

If you missed the definitive quarterfinals home game against the Strykers, you will most certainly not want to miss the upcoming Monday night matchup between two of the best teams in the MASL.

The Milwaukee Wave will host the Blast at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Monday, April 13 at 6:35pm CST for a knockout gameday. 

Tickets for their home game can be purchased through Ticketmaster via the Milwaukee Wave Website or at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena box-office on game day. ###