Indoor soccer: Florida Tropics set for the playoffs
It’s finally here for the Florida Tropics.
The area’s Major Arena Soccer League team will start the playoffs 7 p.m., Friday night at the RP Funding Center against the Baltimore Blast, which will be a home-and-home series that will conclude Saturday night in Maryland. The start time on Saturday will be 6:05 p.m.
Both games will be broadcasted live on MASL TV on Twitch.
Just a year ago, the Tropics made a run to the MASL Finals where the San Diego Sockers prevailed, earning their second straight Ron Newman Cup after 6-3 and 4-3 finals wins.
Last year, however, Florida was the No. 1 seed. This year the Tropics placed third in its division this season, which means there will be no home field advantage for the two-game series.
In the event both teams win a game, the conclusion of the third game will be a 15-minute knockout contest in Baltimore.
Historically, the two teams have played 17 times over the past seven years, and Baltimore holds a 10-7 advantage in the regular season over Florida. But the Tropics are 6-2 since the start of the 2019-20 season against the Blast, including winning four straight games at the SECU Arena.
Florida won two straight games heading into this playoff game, defeating the St. Louis Ambush in a doubleheader in Lakeland last weekend. The Tropics took two of three against Baltimore this year.
“Our games against them were so long ago; it’s really two different teams playing against each other,” Florida Head Coach Clay Roberts said. “I’m not sure either of us had any rhythm or identity back then. We’ve gone through some ups and downs; they’ve gone through some ups and downs, but we like where we’re at. We played well for the most part this past weekend, so we just have to maintain our discipline, do the things well we do, defend and take advantage of our chances. If we do those things, I’m confident we’ll get the result we want.”
Roberts is confident because Florida is pretty healthy. The only major injury is Defender of the Year candidate Rafa Alves’ MCL. Alves led the entire MASL in blocked shots with 59. Still, Chad Vandegriffe is tied for second in the league in blocks with 54. Drew Ruggles, who was sixth in the league in blocks (40), will also continue to anchor the back line.
Additionally, the team has been anchored by the return of the two-time MASL all-star Hugo Silva.
Silva suited up the final three games for the Tropics, posting 3.80 goals against average and spectacular saves percentage of .830.
Ironically, former Blast standout Vini Dantas leads Florida in goals with 19 even while not dressing for five games. Ricardo Carvalho is the overall leader in points with 34 thanks to 17 goals and 17 assists.
Lucas Roque is the high scorer on Baltimore thanks to 30 goals and 17 assists.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Indoor soccer: Florida Tropics set for the playoffs
