With less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter Saturday, Baltimore Blast forward Adauto Neto came onto the field for his first shift. His first role: Forming a wall with teammate Denison Cabral on a Detroit free kick.
An unlikely start for the Major Indoor Soccer League?s defending MVP, but for Neto, he was just happy to be back out on the field.
“I felt good,” Neto said. “First game was tough a little bit.”
The Brazilian missed the first half of the Blast?s season, sitting out 15 games after offseason surgery on a broken bone in his lower leg. While he didn?t score or record an assist in Saturday?s 10-6 loss to Detroit, he was in on a number of key plays and offensive opportunities.
“Neto played a fair amount,” Blast coach Danny Kelly said. “He actually played more than I anticipated playing him. He just needs time to get back. He?s been out all season. You can?t put the team on his shoulders even though he?d like to.”
Neto said he was supposed to go a few shifts ? mainly on power-play opportunities where the team would be looking to create some offense ? but he “felt good and kept playing.”
On Friday, the Blast (7-9) welcomed back its leading scorer from last year?s championship squad. Baltimore native Giuliano Celenza (UMBC) had missed nine games with a groin injury.
With both Celenza and Neto out, the Blast went 3-6, scoring an average of 10.8 points per game in that span but failing to reach double-digits five times.
“We can?t rely on them [to carry the load],” Cabral said. “But we can?t use it now as an excuse.”
Even if the pair doesn?t light up the stat sheet in the second half, their mere presence will make a difference. But the prospect of their offensive punch ? Neto scored 36 goals with 22 assists, and Celenza tallied 38 goals with eight assists in 2005-06 ? is enough to help make a second-half playoff push.
“It will definitely make a difference,” Cabral said. “It?s a critical time in the season to get two guys back.”
A BLAST OF OFFENSE
» Giuliano Celenza led the league in goals last season with 38, while Adauto Neto?s 58 points led the Blast.
» Celenza entered the season third on the franchise?s goals leaderboard, trailing teammates Denison Cabral and Tarik Walker.
» Neto scored 43 goals in two seasons for Cleveland before joining the Blast last year. He scored three goals with two assists in his Blast debut on Nov. 11, 2005.
