After the first of his three goals in a six-minute span Saturday, forward Denison Cabral sprinted down the field, arms spread, mimicking the flight of an airplane.
The celebration also resembles the Blast, who seem to be flying on cruise control during a five-game winning streak.
The Blast swept a pair of games against Chicago and Orlando this weekend at 1st Mariner Arena to improve to 11-7, just two games behind Milwaukee (14-6) atop the Major Indoor Soccer League.
“If the season ends today, we?re in the playoffs,” Blast Coach Danny Kelly said. “If we?re going to be a playoff team, we have to make sure we don?t have any defensive lapses. We saw what happens when you do that, during that five-game losing streak, and we don?t want to be there again.”
Cabral had a hat trick, which included career goal No. 400, and forward Machel Millwood added four goals as the Blast defeated Orlando, 25-13, on Saturday. The season-high outburst in which the Blast opened the game on a 20-0 run, came fewer than 24 hours after the Blast?s 18-8 win over Chicago.
But after scoring 43 points in two games ? just three fewer points than the team scored in the past four games combined ? the Blast?s players emphasized they were most impressed with their defense. And for good reason. The Blast has allowed just 159 points this season, which is at least 23 fewer than any other team and 58 below the league average of 217.
“We just wanted to focus more on defending,” said Millwood, whose four goals matched a career-best. “We knew scoring would come. We have enough guys on the team that can score. We shared the ball accordingly.”
The Blast has 12 games remaining, beginning on Saturday at expansion Orlando (3-17). The Blast is a league-best 9-2 at home, but it?s 2-5 on the road with four of the next five away from 1st Mariner Arena.
“Now it?s a challenge,” Cabral said. “We have to go on the road, and to win a championship, you have to step out of your house and look pretty.”
