Baltimore, MD -- Even though last year the Baltimore Blast made it to the Major Indoor Soccer League's (MISL) final, the Syracuse Silver Knights continued their undefeated reign this season, beating the Blast, 18-7. In front of 8,078 fans at 1st Mariner Arena, Alexander Megson scored a hat-trick to lead the Silver Knights to victory. Coming off their 23-7 win against the Norfolk SharX last night, the Silver Knights played like a team possessed; on a mission to prove that they aren't just a scrappy expansion team anymore.
The teams got off to a slow, competitive start with the Knights only up 4-0 at the half. The Blast outshot the Silver Knights 16-6 in the first half but were unable to get past the Syracuse defense and goalkeeper Eric Reed. Blocking shot after shot, Reed is proving to be one the league's most gifted goalkeepers.
After back to back goals by the formidable Andre Berenzon, forward Alex Megson, with two goals on the night thus far, drove in a fiery three-pointer at 4:37 to extend Syracuse's lead to 7-0 and then scored his second goal on a Silver Knights power play to make it 9-0. Slavisa Ubiparipovic added a goal late in the quarter to make it 11-0.
Jeff Hughes scored at the 1:21 mark of the fourth quarter and Blast forward Max Ferdinand answered with a three-point goal 55 seconds later to end Baltimore's almost 47-minute scoring drought. Defender Mike Lookingland added a goal two minutes later to cut Syracuse's lead to 13-5 and Carlos Garcia cut the deficit to 13-7 at the 9:44 mark. A Blast rally came to an end with less than 1:30 to play when Danny Hall knocked in a ball from the midfield to end all Blast hopes.
But the story of the night was Alex Megson, who with two goals already, crushed in a third with less than a minute left in the game. Aware of the hat-trick, Megson laid down a stylish break-dancer pose before the horn sounded and the result was posted, 18-7 Silver Knights' win.
The Syracuse Silver Knights, in their first season in the MISL, remain undefeated. The Blast are 13-7 in season openers since the 1992-93 season and last lost an opener to start the 2009-10 season (10-8 Rockford in overtime).
Courtesy: Syracuse Silver Knights Soccer
