The Blast and head coach Danny Kelly are shooting for their fourth Major Indoor Soccer League title in the past six years. The Blast advanced to the semifinals by sweeping two games against New Jersey in the first round, clinching the series with a 6-4 win Saturday in Newark, N.J. The Blast hosts the second-seed Milwaukee Wave on Wednesday at 1st Mariner Arena, and visits the Wave at 3 p.m. Sunday. The winner advances to the championship game April 26 at Milwaukee?s U.S. Cellular Arena.
After blowing out New Jersey, 22-10, in the first game of the series, how would you rate your team?s performance in its series-clinching victory Saturday?
I just told the guys, ?It?s tough to beat a team three times in a row in a span of 10 days.? We did it. It wasn?t pretty, but we held them scoreless for the better part of the game. … It wasn?t our best performance, but we found a way to win. … It wasn?t our best job defensively, but we only allowed two goals.
Can your team take the momentum of winning a close game into the semifinals against Milwaukee?
When you can not play that well and still win, it?s a good thing. We still need to play better going into the next round.
Milwaukee tied for the best record during the regular season, going 22-8. What concerns you about the second-seeded Wave, which enters Game One on Wednesday at 1st Mariner Arena on after getting a first-round bye?
They?ve got the leading scorer in the league in Greg Howes, but their supporting cast is good as well. They?re obviously a very good team. We?re going to … Continue to play good, solid team defense. … I?m confident if we play good defense, we can beat anybody.
