Blast coach Danny Kelly had two words for ailing veteran Giuliano Celenza the morning of the team?s game against Chicago: be ready.
Celenza proved he was by scoring twice in a 16-8 victory over the Storm in front of a crowd of 7,436 at 1st Mariner Arena on Saturday.
The Blast (18-10) secured the third spot in the Major Indoor Soccer League playoffs, guaranteeing home-field advantage in the first round against the sixth seed, which will be either Philadelphia (12-16) or New Jersey (14-15) in a home-and-home series.
Milwaukee (21-7) and Detroit (20-8) have secured the top two seeds in the playoffs. The Blast finishes the regular season at New Jersey on Friday before hosting Detroit on Saturday.
Celenza?s boost, which was highlighted by an unassisted two-point goal with about four minutes left to play, was crucial in the win.
“I just made one cut, touched it once, and hit it with the left foot,” Celenza, who missed the past three games with an injured right ankle, said. “That put it away. It was pretty much the icing on the cake.”
In 22 games, Celenza has nine goals and five assists for 23 points, making him one of 10 Blast players who have at least 20 points.
Celenza didn?t practice regularly last week, and was a game-time decision against Chicago (15-14) after the Blast lost, 15-13, in Monterrey, Mexico on Thursday.
“It was a relief,” Celenza said. “If they needed me to go to Mexico, I probably could have gone there. But with the playoffs coming, Danny didn?t really want to force me back.”
Celenza has 175 career goals, having scored at least 30 goals four times from 2001-2006. Last season, he played in just nine games, scoring nine goals.
“He?s one of the best finishers in the league,” Kelly said. “Having him getting close to being healthy and back in the lineup is only going to be good for us. Him in the lineup, with Denison [Cabral], [Adauto] Neto and [Machel Millwood]. If we defend as a team, we?ll get our chances [offensively] and these guys will put the ball in the back of the net, hopefully win us some playoff games and a championship.”
