playoff race with a 13–15 record, having lost the final postseason spot to the El Paso Patriots by virtue of a tiebreaker. Though the Blast struggled to a 9–15–4 record in 2000, they qualified for the playoffs and absorbed a 7–0 pounding at the hands of the Minnesota Thunder in the first round. The club never qualified for postseason play again. Original coach Jimmy McDonald stepped down after the 2000 season and was replaced by Bret Hall, who had coached the Chicago Stingers and Sockers to three consecutive championships. For health reasons, Hall was forced to relinquish his duties before ever coaching a game and he was replaced by assistant Ian Martin, the former head coach at Butler University in Indianapolis. Martin's only season at the helm resulted in an 8–18–0 record in 2001. Former French professional and Mauritanian international Eric Descombes took over as player-coach for the 2002 season, which saw the team go 6–18–4, including a stretch of 16 games over two months in which it won just one match. A highlight was a 2–2 draw against Rochester Raging Rhinos in a nationally-televised game on August 17 that drew a then-club-record 4,557 fans (a figure that would be topped on July 13, 2003 when 5,140 saw a 3–2 loss to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds). McDonald returned to the sidelines for the 2003 season, but it was the worst in the club's history, as they continued losing and controversy dogged the Blast from the season's start. McDonald resigned for the final time after a horrendous start and was replaced by assistant Mike Sanich. Before the 3–23–2 season was over, player Peter Baah had taken the reins. It would be the Blast's last season in the A-League. A move to the Premier Development League for the 2004 season infused the club with young talent, but the results weren't much better as the Blast finished 5–12–1 under coach John Dolinsky (who was first replaced by player Mark Allen and then by Baah before the season's end). The team's final match ever was a 3–2 loss to the Kalamazoo Kingdom at home on July 17, 2004. The final victory in club history came the night before, a 7–3 home decision over the Kansas City Brass. In its history, the Blast established quite a rivalry with the Cincinnati Riverhawks, as the teams met 25 times. Indiana won 12, Cincinnati 11 and there were 2