On Friday, Baltimore Blast goakeeper Sagu donned a long-sleeve, light blue jersey to begin the game. After allowing nine first-period points, including a three-point goal just 14 seconds into the game, he switched jerseys at halftime.
“It doesn?t give me luck. I don?t like that one,” Sagu said of his light blue jersey. “I?m superstitious.”
He came back out in his regular home black jersey and allowed just three more points in the second half as the team hung on for a 19-12 win.
While the Blast (9-9) has allowed 12 points or more in eight of their 18 games this season, Sagu felt in particular that he was off Friday.
“I just didn?t have a good night tonight,” Sagu said after Friday?s win, one of two over Philadelphia last weekend. “Every goalkeeper has a bad day, and today was my bad day.”
He bounced back Saturday with nine saves on 13 shots and didn?t allow a three-point goal. He has allowed 11 three-point goals on the season, many of them coming in traffic and through screens by his own defenders.
“We can?tafford to allow good teams easy goals,” Blast coach Danny Kelly said. “I felt a couple of their goals [Friday] were easy goals.”
Kelly has preached team defense all season, and despite playing without top defender and team captain P.J. Wakefield, the Blast has allowed 192 goals, the second-lowest total in the league.
“Coach has been trying to get back and play better defense,” forward Machel Millwood said. “There are games we?re going to lose, but at the same time, if we get back defensively, we can get some wins.”
The Blast will also need to get out to better starts. Sagu said in Friday?s win that he came in prepared, but it took awhile to rebound from the three-point goal in the game?s opening minute of play.
The team now has until Feb. 17 ? a two-week break in play ? before they face Milwaukee at 1st Mariner Arena.
With 35 points in the past two games, the offense is back. But the defense must hold strong for the Blast to stay in the playoff hunt.
GOALKEEPER NOTES
» The Blast has allowed 60 first-period points, second-most in the league. But the 33 points the team has allowed in the third period and the 48 in the fourth period are both the lowest in the six-team league.
» Sagu has recorded eight of the team?s nine wins and allows an average of 10.55 goals per game.
» Backup keeper Brian Rowland is 1-2 in three starts with a 9.85 goals-against average.
