The Baltimore Blast is locked in a battle with its former goalkeeper — not on the field, but in the courtroom.

William Vanzela, 40, of Reisterstown, alleges in a lawsuit filed in 2024 that the professional indoor soccer team falsely accused him in multiple public statements of being involved in nefarious and criminal activity. The organization made those comments to purposefully damage his reputation, he asserts, and wrongly withheld his salary.

He’s suing on counts of defamation, false light and breach of contract.

“William Vanzela was an extraordinary member of the Baltimore Blast both on and off the field, inspiring thousands,” said one of his attorneys, Bobby Zirkin. “For the Blast and specifically their owner to defame William in order to avoid paying him a guaranteed salary is sickening and pathetic.”

The owner of the Baltimore Blast, Ed Hale Sr., “knew and had been specifically told that what they were saying about William was patently false and widely published it anyway,” Zirkin said.

“When this case is over, I am confident that Mr. Hale will very much regret having so blatantly and brazenly defamed Mr. Vanzela,” Zirkin said.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Blast recently filed its own lawsuit against Vanzela, which claims that the former general manager of the team provided him at least $15,000 in unauthorized payments.

The team is suing on counts of conversion, civil conspiracy to commit conversion and unjust enrichment.

Vanzela and Hale referred questions about the lawsuits to their attorneys.

For almost a decade, Vanzela was the starting goalie for the Baltimore Blast and won four championships. He now serves as associate head men’s soccer coach at Johns Hopkins University.

During his time with the team, Vanzela reported in his lawsuit in Baltimore Circuit Court, he was a “fixture in the community, visiting sick children in hospitals, mentoring kids, growing Baltimore’s youth soccer, and being present in local schools.”

But Vanzela alleges that the team wanted to get younger and avoid paying him, so it canceled his contact. That’s even though it was guaranteed.

When the team received backlash from the fans, the lawsuit asserts, the franchise on Nov. 30, 2023, put out a statement that it knew was false.

The statement was titled, “Statement from The Baltimore Blast on William Vanzela.”

“Currently, the former Blast GM is under criminal indictment for embezzlement/theft,” the statement read. “Certain players that interacted with that GM directly are under investigation for violation of their contract and have been suspended.”

The statement added that the organization believed it was “only fair to give the younger players that have filled such a vital role during certain periods to be given a chance with the Blast.”

The former general manager of the Baltimore Blast, Gianni Tumminello, pleaded guilty in 2024 in Baltimore Circuit Court to theft between $25,000 and $100,000 for embezzling from the team. He received a suspended sentence and three years’ probation.

Vanzela was not charged with a crime.

“The players were never under suspicion,” said Adam Lippe, chief of the Economic Crime Unit in the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, who added that there was “no evidence that they were involved in anything illegal.”

Circuit Judge Paul J. Cucuzzella has ordered Vanzela’s lawsuit to proceed to arbitration. The judge has asked for an update by Oct. 20 if the case has not been resolved.

The Baltimore Blast alleges in its lawsuit in Baltimore County Circuit Court that Vanzela signed a three-year contract in 2022 for $5,000 per month during the season.

The team asserts that Tumminello agreed to give Vanzela an additional $3,000 per month. Vanzela, the lawsuit claims, knew those payments were not legitimate.

The franchise plays its home games at SECU Arena at Towson University and is the winner of 10 league championships.