Baltimore Blast set to launch women’s outdoor soccer team

The Baltimore Blast announced their venture into women’s outdoor soccer on Tuesday afternoon with the introduction of the Baltimore Blast Women’s Football Club, which will compete in the United Women’s Soccer League 2 starting in May.

As a developmental pathway for players in the under-20-23 age group, it serves as the official league for the UWSL reserve teams.

Blast seven-year defender Jereme Raley, who played at Maryland, will serve as head coach. The team, which will conduct invitational tryouts later this month, will play in the Mid-Atlantic Conference and have up to eight regular-season games from mid-May through July 10.

In addition to helping young players advance their playing careers, Blast owner Ed Hale said they’ll also have opportunities to work the franchise’s youth summer camps throughout the Baltimore area. Camps specifically for girls will be introduced this summer.

“This has been a long time coming for the Baltimore area,” Hale said. “With the amount of recreation and club teams, both boys and girls, this is an exciting step for the organization to take. The Blast has been a staple for over 40 years and we are happy to unveil our new women’s team.”

Blast WFC becomes the second area team to play in the league’s nine-team Mid-Atlantic Conference, joining Baltimore club Coppermine United. Six are based in Pennsylvania with one in Delaware.

Raley, who has experience as an assistant with the St. Mary’s College men, is excited for the opportunity and believes the wealth of quality soccer players in the area should produce a competitive team. He plans to instill many of the same values that has brought success to the Blast, starting with hard work and an emphasis on defense.

“Representing the Blast logo on the women’s side, I’m looking forward to it,” Raley said. “There’s no reason why with the talent in Baltimore that we shouldn’t be able to put a team together that’s going to be competitive right away.”

The Blast is preparing for the Major Arena Soccer League playoffs after finishing with a 13-8-3 regular-season mark, good for second place in the Eastern Conference.

They open play against the third-seeded Florida Tropics in the conference semifinals. The two-game series opens in Florida at 7:05 p.m. Friday before the Blast host Game 2 at 6:05 p.m. Saturday at Towson University’s SECU Arena.

If the teams split the first two games, a 15-minute minigame after the second contest will decide the winner. Sudden victory will decide who plays in the final if there’s a tie after the minigame.