HARRISBURG, Pa. — New season for the defending Major Arena Soccer League champion Blast, same positive result against the Harrisburg Heat.

The Blast shrugged off a first-half push from the Heat and poured it on, scoring eight straight goals on their way to an 11-6 win over the Heat at Harrisburg Farm Show Arena on Saturday night.

Forward Vini Dantas, playing in his first game since a toe injury ended his 2015-16 season in late January, picked up where he left with four goals and one assist, and the three-year veteran had plenty of help. Forward Tony Donatelli (one goal, four assists), Mount Saint Joseph and UMBC alumnus Geaton Caltabiano (two goals, one assist) and Andrew Hoxie (two goals) had big nights.

“I just told them we weren't great but we did enough to get the win and I was proud of the effort. We have a lot of new guys; we're trying to integrate them into what we're doing. I thought our veterans played well. … Overall, for the first game of the year, I thought it was a good performance and we're happy to get the win,” Blast coach Danny Kelly said.

The Blast will play their home opener Friday against the Milwaukee Wave, set for 7:35 p.m.

After winning just one game and a combined three in the past two MASL seasons, the Heat had a near-complete makeover for their 2016-17 season that started with new ownership. They named former Blast star Denison Cabral their new coach and revamped the roster with only five players returning from last year's team.

Harrisburg dubbed Saturday night's opener “The Battle of 83,” but, like last season, when the Blast outscored them 37-10 in winning all five meetings, the home team simply didn't have the firepower to keep up.

Three goals in the final 2:08 of the first half and the first five in the third quarter turned a one-goal deficit into an 9-2 advantage that sent the Blast on their way to another comfortable victory over the Heat.

“We knew it was going to be a very emotional night for them. Even though it's the Harrisburg Heat, it's with a new team — new coach, new players. And Coach [Kelly] says it all the time, ‘We're always going to get everybody's best shot being the team to beat'?” Dantas said.

It didn't start out so easy.

Dantas gave the Blast a 1-0 lead when his free kick from the top of the arc got through the Heat wall and past goalie Nick Noble. The Blast kept up the attack, but Noble was up to the challenge, stopping six quality shots in the first quarter to keep the Heat close.

In the final three minutes of first quarter, the Heat got goals from Tom Mellor and Dominic Francis to take a 2-1 lead going into the second.

With both teams' offenses quiet for the majority of the second quarter, the Blast scored three goals in the final two minutes for a 4-2 halftime lead.

As in years past, the Blast poured it on in the second half as the Heat wore down. Jeremy Raley scored a goal early in the third quarter, taking a feed from Juan Pereira with 11:42 left for a 5-2 advantage. “Halfway through the second quarter, we stopped our unforced errors, we started possessing the ball and playing the way we talked about playing. Obviously it showed from there. We created opportunities, finished off chances and did the little things well,” Kelly said.

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