With the crowd chanting his first name, Denison Cabral gave the 6,840 fans at 1st Mariner Arena something to cheer about.
His penalty shoot-out goal — a nifty, lofted flick over the helpless Monterrey keeper, Jose Bontti — gave the Blast a five-point lead in an eventual 8-5 win at 1st Mariner Arena Saturday night.
Cabral scored twice — a shoot-out and a penalty kick — and added an assist to keep the Blast (6-1) atop the National Indoor Soccer League standings with the win against the second-place La Raza (6-4).
The first-time rematch from the 2008 Major Indoor Soccer League Championship was physical, as the two teams combined for 18 fouls and 17 combined penalty minutes.
“Whenever we play Monterrey it’s a battle,” Blast coach Danny Kelly said. “They always give us a tough time. There were spurts in the game where we played well and there were spurts where, defensively, we weren’t where we needed to be.”
Both teams missed open opportunities throughout the game, with the two teams taking a combined 45 shots, and scoring just six goals.
Cabral gave the Blast a 2-0 lead on a penalty kick, burying the free kick into the right corner of the net with 4:52 elapsed in the second quarter
The Blast went on the power play midway through the second quarter when Monterrey was caught with too many men on the field on a line change. After a handful of near misses, Carlos Garcia drove home a rebound for a 4-0 lead with 8:12 remaining.
Monterrey scored a soft, three-point goal exactly 10 minutes into the quarter, when a deflection off a Blast defender sent Marco Vega’s three-point attempt floating over an already-committed Sagu. The ball floated into the back of the net as the Blast keeper was sprawled out helplessly.
Carlos Garcia threaded a beautiful touch pass late in the third quarter, finding Scott Buete in stride for a two-point goal and a 6-3 lead.
Monterrey scored again early in the fourth quarter, when Genoni Martinez converted a point-blank shot on a feed from Ivan Medina.
The Blast ran out the clock against Monterrey’s sixth attacker for the final minute-plus, and Sagu held onto a long-range shot as the clock expired.
BLAST 8, MONTERREY 5
1 2 3 4 F
Monterrey 0 3 0 2 5
BLAST 0 4 4 0 8
SCORING SUMMARY
1st QUARTER
None
2nd QUARTER
BAL: Denison Cabral (Unassised), 4:52, two-point, penalty kick goal
MON: Marco Vega (Unassisted), 10:00, three-point goal
BAL: Carlos Garcia (Denison Cabral), 8:12, two-point, power-play goal
3rd QUARTER
BAL: Scott Buete (Carlos Garcia), 9:02, two-point goal
BAL: Denison Cabral (unassisted), 11:37, two-point, shoot-out goal
4th QUARTER
MON: Genoni Martinez (Ivan Medina), 6:22, two-point goal
GOALKEEPERS
Monterrey W/L Shots Saves GA PA
Jose Bontti L 14 10 4 8
BLAST
Sagu W 18 16 2 5
STATS Shots Fouls Pen. Min.
Monterrey 21 11 13
BLAST 24 7 4
Attendance: 6,840
