Sheree Kram wasn?t going to forget her No. 5 Denison Cabral jersey.
The 50-year old Parkville resident was sure she didn?t make the two-hour flight from Baltimore to Milwaukee yesterday morning to cheer on the Blast in its Major Indoor Soccer League semifinal without her good luck charm.
“I didn?t wear it for their playoff game in New Jersey and [Blast forward Denison Cabral] didn?t get a shot,” she said. “So I had to wear it on Wednesday.”
Apparently, Cabral noticed, as the franchise?s all-time leading scorer recorded 11 points ? four goals and two assists ? to lead Baltimore to a 13-8 win over Milwaukee in Game One. Kram, and her husband, Paul, who wore a Cabral T-shirt jersey under his red Blast sweatshirt, have been season ticket holders for the past three seasons and traveled to many of the Blast?s away games this year. But on Sunday afternoon, they were trying to generate all the good luck they could muster.
And the Blast needed it.
Baltimore trailed 5-4 at the half before rallying in the third and fourth quarters to twice take a five-point lead. Cabral recorded no points and only one shot on goal on Sunday, but in the end, it didn?t matter. The Blast held on for a 14-13 win and advanced to Saturday?s championship against the La Raza of Monterrey, Mexico, which also will be played in the U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee.
The Krams purchased tickets for the final two weeks ago, planning to work the game into a vacation in which they were also going to catch a Milwaukee Brewers game and drive to Chicago to see the Orioles face the White Sox earlier in the week before cheering on the Blast.
“Our youngest [child] played soccer and we both enjoy it, so it?s something nice for us to do together,” Sheree said.
Jack Jones, 57, and Pam Herschfeld, 56, also took the early flight out of Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International airport on Sunday morning to cheer on their favorite soccer team. Just hours before on Saturday night, the graduates of Lansdowne High School in Baltimore County attended their 40th class reunion.
But that didn?t keep Jones, a die-hard Blast fan since the 1980s, from missing his team come one step closer to winning its fourth title in the past six years.
“It?s been great watching these young guys develop,” Jones said. “They are so unselfish and fun to watch.”
