Baltimore Blast bouncing back in a new arena
The season began oddly for the Baltimore Blast, with just three wins their first eight games.
The franchise is not accustomed to taking many losses. Injuries played a big role, so far. Now, much healthier, they're playing their best soccer of the season. They won a pair of games against Harrisburg over the weekend by a combined score of 21-6.
Tony Donatelli, midfielder for the Blast, said the team is looking to build some momentum.
"We know we're halfway through the season now and these games get more and more important," he said. "So, it was a good weekend we just had with 2 good results at home and we're trying to build off of that."
SECU Arena provides a strong atmosphere for fans. It's intimate, and it is loud. But the field itself is much smaller than what they used to play on in downtown Baltimore at the newly named CFG Bank Arena. So now the team practices at the Northeast Regional Recreation Center in Parkville on a much smaller field.
David Bascome, second-year head coach of the Blast, feels they're finally understanding how to take advantage of the smaller pitch.
"It's like you're baking a cake for the first time and the cake don't taste good. You're like, 'hold up' and keep going at it until you get it," Bascome explained. "And it's slowly coming."
"What we've learned is there's going to be a lot of mistakes in this game. Especially on a field like ours, in such a small area," said Donatelli. "We (have to) stay positive and encourage each other. We have to learn from those mistakes and hold each other accountable but in the right way and I think that's something that we've changed and will hopefully help us moving forward."
A test of home field advantage comes this weekend, with the first place Milwaukee Wave coming to town.
"And this is a rivalry. Milwaukee and Baltimore, this is old school," said Bascome.
The Blast take on the Wave this Saturday at SECU Arena.