Former Tribe Standout Wins MISL Championship

Carlos Garcia helped the Baltimore Blast to the Major Indoor Soccer League Championship with a pair of goals in the title game.

04/29/08 6:00PM

Williamsburg - For the third time in his Major Indoor Soccer League career, former Tribe men’s soccer standout Carlos Garcia helped the Baltimore Blast to the MISL Championship. The Blast claimed its fourth title in the last six seasons with a 14-11 win over Monterrey La Raza in the championship game at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, Wis. on April 26.

Baltimore won all five games of the 2008 postseason on its way to lifting the hardware. Garcia did his part in the title game, scoring a pair of two-point goals in the victory. He appeared in all five games of the championship playoffs and also recorded an assist. The Blast, who were the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, defeated the No. 6-seeded New Jersey Ironmen, 22-10 and 6-4, in the opening round, before disposing of the No. 2-seeded Milwaukee Wave, 13-8 and 14-13, in the semifinals.

La Raza led 6-2 after the opening period of play in the championship game, before Garcia scored the Blast’s second goal of the second period to pull Baltimore even at six in the 11th minute of play. The Blast took the lead for good in the third period with a pair of goals 12 seconds apart. Garcia’s second goal of the game gave Baltimore a 10-8 advantage, before championship game MVP Denison Cabral completed his hat trick at the 7:22 mark to put the match out of reach, 12-8.

Garcia is in his fifth season with the Blast and also helped the organization to MISL Championships in 2004 and 2006. The Blast went 19-11 during the regular season prior to its perfect run through the playoffs. Garcia finished the year with 33 points on 10 goals and 12 assists. One of his 10 tallies on the year was a three-point score, while he also recorded a game-winner in Baltimore’s 12-6 win over Philadelphia on Jan. 19.

At W&M, Garcia, who played from 1999-2002 for the Green and Gold, was a three-time All-CAA selection, leading the Tribe to the NCAA Tournament on a trio of occasions. The College won CAA Championship in both 1999 and 2000. Garcia was also a two-time First-Team NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region selection in 2001 and 2002. He graduated from the College as one of the program’s all-time leading scorers. Garcia still ranks second in career points (121) as well as third in career goals (45), assists (31) and game-winning goals (12) at W&M. During his senior campaign in 2002, the College advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 15-8-1 overall record.