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Second-half surge helps Soul batter Steel, 59-38

Smothering defense during the second half helped the Soul secure their 10th victory of the season, 59-38, over the Portland Steel at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore. Monday night.

With the win, the Soul not only clinched the fifth 10-win season in franchise history, but also locked up a top four seed in the Arena Football League postseason, which guarantees them at least one home playoff game.

The Soul (10-3) defense struggled to stop the Steel (1-11) in the first half, letting up 31 points and recording only one stop on six possessions.

The Portland defense managed to stop the Soul on two occasions, which led to a 31-28 halftime-lead for the Steel.

The Soul defenders quickly bounced back from their mediocre first half by opening up the second half with five consecutive stops, four of which came by way of interceptions.

Defensive back Tracy Belton led the way with a pair of picks and a team-leading nine tackles. Fellow defensive back James Romain also grabbed an interception and broke up two passes.

Defensive end Sean Daniels was responsible for the biggest defensive play, as he picked off Portland quarterback Shane Austin and took it nine yards into the end zone to give the Soul a 42-31 lead late in the third quarter.

Overall, the Soul outscored the Steel 31-7 in the second half.

"We started off slow and made some mistakes in the first half," said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel after the game. "Once we came back out for the second half, the team played strong on both sides of the ball. Big plays on defense and turnovers help set our offense up for success and that is what we did tonight."

Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh completed 19 of his 33 pass attempts for 217 yards and five touchdowns. Two of his touchdown passes went to wide receiver Shaun Kauleinamoku, which gave him a total of 20 this season and 100 for his career.

Kauleinamoku finished the game with 125 yards on nine receptions. Ryan McDaniel caught a pair of touchdowns of his own.

Fullback Jeramie Richardson posted a stellar game running the football by Arena Football standards, as he gained 54 yards on nine carries and scored a touchdown. He now has 17 rushing touchdowns this season, which is good enough for second in the league behind Arizona's Mykel Benson (18).

After playing for 13 consecutive weeks, the Soul will finally receive their first bye of the season. They will return to the field on Saturday, July 9 when they host the rival Cleveland Gladiators at the PPL Center in Allentown at 6 p.m.