By about 4 p.m. Sunday, the Baltimore Blast will know whether or not they are the 2006 Major Indoor Soccer League champions.
The Blast will play the second and last game of the championship series at 1 p.m. Sunday in St. Louis against the Steamers. That game will be televised live on ESPN2.
Game One was held Friday night at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore.
If the two teams split the games, a sudden-death period will be held Sunday in St. Louis. The first team to score a “golden goal” will claim the 2006 title.
Baltimore advanced to the championship round by defeating Milwaukee in the semifinals.
A Blast title would make a great story for Danny Kelly, who was named the interim coach for the remainder of the season in March. He took over for Tim Wittman, who was suspended because of a confrontation with an official after a game in Stockton, Cal.
At the time Wittman was suspended from any Blast or MISL events for the rest of the 2005-06 season. This past Monday, commissioner Steve Ryan announced the MISL Disciplinary Committee had issued an additional two-year suspension and imposed an undisclosed fine against Wittman for the March 18 incident.
“Under the circumstances, I believe that Danny Kelly is the team?s best chance to progress through the remainder of the season, succeed in the playoffs and ultimately, win the championship,” Blast owner Ed Hale said when Kelly took over.
By Sunday evening, those comments may be prophetic.
AIMING FOR A TITLE
What: MISL Championship series
Final game: Sunday
Where: St. Louis
When: 1 p.m.
Did you know? Blast striker David Bascome, 36, scored his 1,000th career point Nov. 19 in a 12-5 win over St. Louis. … The Blast drew an average of 7,005 fans during regular-season play.
