Tacoma Stars

TACOMA, Wash. -- Baltimore Blast coach Kenny Cooper called last night's game against the Tacoma Stars the most important in franchise history, a declaration his battered club seemed to take to heart in the second half.Baltimore fell behind, 3-0, by halftime at the Tacoma Dome, but with five players out with injuries, salvaged a 5-4 overtime victory on a goal by Dale Mitchell to complete a hat trick at 1 minute, 43 seconds.The victory stretched the Blast's lead over the Wichita Stars to three games in their battle for the Major Soccer League Eastern Division's final playoff berth.

VS. TACOMA STARS* WHERE: Tacoma Dome.* WHEN: Tonight, 10:35.* RADIO: WCAO-AM 600.* OUTLOOK: The Blast takes three unwanted streaks into Tacoma: It has lost five in a row, nine straight on the road and six straight in the Tacoma Dome.Tacoma (21-21) comes into the game off back-to-back losses. But the Stars have a 13-7 home record and when push comes to shove against the Blast, Tacoma knows how to win at the Dome. The Stars have won all three games here against Baltimore in overtime. In fact, five of the six wins have been in OT.The Blast (19-23)

Baltimore Blast defender Mike Stankovic has been fined $1,000 and given a one-game suspension by Major Soccer League commissioner Earl Foreman for hitting Tacoma Stars midfielder Steve Kinsey in the face during a Feb. 24 game at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Wash."

Trade talks have cooled around the Baltimore Blast these days and coach Kenny Cooper is prepared to play with the hand he dealt himself before the season."

TACOMA, Wash. -- Baltimore Blast coach Kenny Cooper was trying to digest it all yesterday.If he was reaching for the Alka-Seltzer, it was because:* His team had blown a chance to move into a tie for the lead in the Major Soccer League East with a 5-4 overtime loss to the Tacoma Stars Saturday night.* The Blast had just lost its fifth game in a row at the Tacoma Dome, a streak that dates to March 12, 1989.* Baltimore had just been beaten for the third time in three games by the Stars (12-6)

TACOMA, Wash. -- The Baltimore Blast, with a chance to grab a share of the Major Soccer League East lead, dropped a 5-4 overtime match to the Tacoma Stars last night.Tacoma, 12-6 and leading the West, has beaten Baltimore five times in a row here, dating to March 12, 1989 and all three times they've played this season.Tacoma won the see-saw game despite a hat trick by the Blast's Dale Mitchell, when, after a scoreless fourth quarter, Kia kicked in a rebound from point-blank range after Blast goalkeeper Scott Manning nicely saved a hard drive by Tacoma's Billy Crook at 2 minutes, 52 seconds of overtime.