Baltimore Blast

Savva Biller made his Major Soccer League debut a memorable one Saturday night. In 60 minutes, he was transformed from unknown quantity into a legitimate backup for ironman Sockers goalie Victor Nogueira. Biller, a former professional goalkeeper in the Greece and in the English Third Division, was signed as a developmental player six weeks ago. He frustrated the Baltimore Blast with 18 saves as the Sockers ended the Blast's five-game home winning streak with a 7-5 victory in front of 9,417.

In a sport predicated on the use of feet, it was somewhat unusual the Sockers won their semifinal series against the Baltimore Blast because Bill Taylor lent them a pair of hands. Taylor was responsible for getting the feet of defenders Kevin Crow, David Banks, Jimmy McGeough and Alex Golovnia ready to take a pounding Saturday. All four players reported to Taylor, the team trainer, Friday morning with ankles injured in the previous night's victory.

Mike Sweeney scored one goal and assisted on another Tuesday night to lead the Baltimore Blast to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Lazers in a Major Indoor Soccer League game. Blast goalkeeper Scott Manning made nine saves and gained his league-leading 14th victory as the first-place Blast (25-13) ended a two-game losing streak. Domenic Mobilio's third-period goal was the game-winner, giving Mobilio five game-winning goals this season.

Jean Harbor, a Baltimore Blast rookie, made an impression on two Sockers with his physical power Tuesday night, but a third took advantage of Harbor's "rookie" mistake to give the Sockers a 5-4 victory in overtime. Kevin Crow scored five minutes into overtime to give the Sockers a 2-1 lead in the Major Soccer League semifinal series. Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday (4:05 p.m., PDT) here.

The Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League signed six-year veteran Paul Child, who played last season with the Baltimore Blast.

Cleveland Crunch goalkeeper P.J. Johns has been suspended for two days by the Major Indoor Soccer League and fined $1,000 for decking Baltimore Blast midfielder Bill Ronson in their game in Baltimore on Sunday. League Commissioner Earl Foreman said he is sending a message to the league that he won't tolerate what he called "physical gross misconduct." Cleveland coach Kai Haaskivi said neither Johns nor the team would appeal.

The Baltimore Blast rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lazers, 4-3, Friday night, ending the Lazers' three-game winning streak. The Blast, which scored all of its goals in the fourth period, improved to 13-8 in the Major Indoor Soccer League. The Lazers fell to 8-13.

The Lazers, trying to salvage what's left of the Major Indoor Soccer League season, will play host to the Baltimore Blast tonight at 7:30 at the Forum. With the best record in the MISL (26-13), the Blast will be trying to lengthen its one-game lead over the Cleveland Force. The Lazers (9-29) have lost three of four games to the Blast this season.

The Lazers, who were dealt their worst defeat in two months Tuesday night by the Kansas City Comets, will try to rebound against the Baltimore Blast tonight at 7:30 at the Forum. The Comets took advantage of the Lazers' defensive collapse and rolled up a 10-4 victory to hold on to second place in the MISL's Western Division. The fourth-place Lazers (20-21) are 1-2 against the Blast (20-25).

Having spent more than a week off after losing their fourth straight game, the Lazers will try to rebound tonight against the Baltimore Blast at 7:30 at the Forum. During their latest Major Indoor Soccer League tumble, the Lazers (16-19) have fallen eight games behind the first-place Blast. Baltimore (24-11), coming off a 4-3 overtime victory over the Tacoma Stars last Sunday, is 5 1/2 games ahead of its nearest challenger.

It might be appropriate that the Baltimore Blast fell back in a defensive shell in Game 1 of their MSL semifinal series against the Sockers, because some Blast players--and even the coach--are saying they are only a shell of a team next to the Sockers. "We have to try something," forward Rod Castro said. "The last couple times we came here, they completely blew us out." The Sockers have enjoyed success at home against the Blast all season, sweeping three games here, 6-2, 6-3 and 8-1.

Sockers' midfielder Tim Wittman can tell you about lousy first impressions, and he can talk about lousy last impressions. He's made both within the past year. Wittman showed up to his 11th training camp--the first with a team other than his hometown Baltimore Blast--this past October as Coach Ron Newman's savior. He would be the antidote to a midfield hemorrhaging with the losses of Waad Hirmez (43 goals) and Rod Castro (24).

It looks as though the Major Soccer League won't ask its players to accept another salary cap reduction. The Baltimore Blast announced Wednesday that it projects a break-even season thanks to a 15% increase in attendance (to 8,000 per game), sponsorship revenue of more than $1 million and the fourth salary cap reduction in the past five years, which was instituted before the current season. "For years critics have been saying that soccer in the U.S.

Waad Hirmez was talking what he saw Saturday afternoon on televison. "I turn on CNN now," Hirmez said. "And I see all joy and happiness. People are cheering because the troops are coming back home." At the Sports Arena on Saturday night, a crowd of 7,494 cheered Hirmez, who scored two second-half goals and had the game-winning assist in the Sockers' 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Blast. For Hirmez, a native of Baghdad, Iraq, the joy and happiness of the troops' return probably spelled relief.

Savva Biller made his Major Soccer League debut a memorable one Saturday night. In 60 minutes, he was transformed from unknown quantity into a legitimate backup for ironman Sockers goalie Victor Nogueira. Biller, a former professional goalkeeper in the Greece and in the English Third Division, was signed as a developmental player six weeks ago. He frustrated the Baltimore Blast with 18 saves as the Sockers ended the Blast's five-game home winning streak with a 7-5 victory in front of 9,417.

The scenario seemed all too familiar: The Sockers charge out to a big, early lead then watch helplessly as a Baltimore Blast rally falls short in the fourth quarter. It's the script that the teams have written time and again. It usually happens in the postseason, where the Sockers three times have vanquished the Blast in the MSL Championship Series. Saturday night, in front of 8,184 at the Baltimore Arena, the Sockers added a regular-season wrinkle to the old routine.

Defender Frantz Mathieu scored two goals and assisted on another Saturday night as the Baltimore Blast scored an 8-6 Major Indoor Soccer League victory over the Los Angeles Lazers. Blast Coach Kenny Cooper, his team struggling to stay at the .500 mark, benched perennial starters Paul Kitson and Mike Stankovic and was rewarded with a win that improved the Blast's record to 8-8. The Lazers dropped to 5-11.

Domenic Mobilio scored 2 goals to lead the Baltimore Blast to a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Lazers Saturday night in a Major Indoor Soccer League game. Blast goalkeeper Scott Manning made 11 saves and had a shutout going until early in the fourth period as the Blast (9-2) remained atop the MISL standings. Billy Ronson sparked a first-period outburst that gave Baltimore a 3-0 lead. Ronson scored a goal and assisted on scores by Mobilio and Carl Valentine.

To shore up their defense, the Sockers on Tuesday signed Glenn Carbonara, a two-year veteran of the Major Soccer League. To make room for Carbonara, Saeed Bakhtiari was released. Carbonara and seven-year player Kevin Crow are the only true defenders on the team with MSL experience. A New Jersey native, Carbonara, 24, was originally drafted from Rutgers by the Minnesota Strikers in June 1988. Later that summer, the Strikers folded and the Baltimore Blast picked up his rights.

This wasn't exactly an instant replay, but the result was the same. For the second year in a row, the Sockers proved to be allergic to a full house and an opportunity to win a MISL championship at home. A sellout crowd of 12,884 in the San Diego Sports Arena did a lot of yelling Wednesday night. And the Sockers did a lot of shooting, taking 34 shots to Baltimore's 17. But it was the Baltimore Blast that found ways to get the ball into the net more times.