Blast coach Danny Kelly was brutally honest when asked if his team that has won each of its four Major Indoor Soccer League playoff games has discovered the secret to a perfect postseason.
“Hell no,” he said. “We haven?t played great every game, but the one thing we?ve done is we?ve found a way to win. Every game we know we can do a better job than we?ve done. We know it?s just one game and anything can happen, and we have to do everything we can to ensure we win that game.”
So far, the Blast (23-11) has ? outscoring New Jersey and Milwaukee ? by a combined score of 55-35 to advance to Saturday?s final against Mexico?s Monterrey La Raza (20-16) at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee.
Fourth-seeded Monterrey, an expansion team, won both of its series on golden goals after splitting the first two games against fifth-seeded Chicago and top-seeded Detroit to advance to the final about 1,400 miles from home.
“Once you get in the playoffs, anyone has a shot. It wasn?t that big of a shocker,” Blast captain P.J. Wakefield said of La Raza?s upset of Detroit. “They?re a good team. I think sometimes they?re underlooked.”
The Blast won?t be overlooked, not with three championships in a five-year span, and with three players earning All-MISL honors on Wednesday. Wakefield and forward Denison Cabral were named to the second team, with goalkeeper Sagu was named to the first team.
But the Blast?s success hasn?t come solely from its superstars. It comes from a team-first mentality, which has enabled nine different players to score in the postseason.
“The guys are all focused,” Wakefield said. “We have a balanced team: guys who can score and guys who can defend. The midfield is good, and we?ve got Sagu in the net. We?re a well-balanced team, and we?re connecting together.”
It?s easy to connect when the goal for everyone is the same. The goal for the Blast, as it is every season, is dictated before the team ever takes the field.
“The most important thing is to focus on what we set as a goal at the beginning of the season, and that?s a championship,” Cabral said. “Once you set your goal that high, in the playoffs there is no time to make mistakes. Now, we?re in a position to do that.”
