TOWSON, Md. — After a couple years away, Vini Dantas is home.
"It feels normal. It just feels normal," he said.
The Blast forward was on the field for practice Wednesday for the first time since being acquired from Tacoma last week in exchange for future considerations. He returns to the team for which he starred for from 2014-2020. He is a former leading scorer, all-star and playoff most valuable player. He is all smiles back in Baltimore.
"It’s nice to be back and running around with the guys, see a lot of the faces that I’m so familiar with. It feels really good."
Dantas said since being traded to Tacoma in July 2020 he has remained close with a lot of his old/new Blast teammates. He won three MASL championships with them between 2016 and 2018. That definitely helps in his return.
"It’s kind of like it just never happened, that I left," he said.
In 14 games for Tacoma this season Dantas has 16 goals and 7 assists. Head Coach David Bascome is more than happy to have Vini’s skill back on the field and his leadership back off of it.
"He is a champion," said Bascome. "He knows what winning looks like, feels like. He hears it around him and he shares it."
And when he makes his Blast 2022 debut Friday night, at home against Utica, he’ll hear the fans shout his name once again.
"It’s going to be really awesome. I feel like it will be the home opener of every single season I played here," said Dantas.
The Blast hosts Utica on Friday night and San Diego on Saturday night. Both games are inside Secu Arena.
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