Comets Clinch MASL Central

The Kansas City closed out the regular season clinching their third straight Central Division Title in the MASL as the Comets topped the Cedar Rapids Rampage 10-3 at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Comets jumped out to an early lead just under four minutes in as Ignacio Flores turned his defender at the top of the box before firing a ball into the corner of the net to put the comets up 1-0. The Comets doubled their lead near the midpoint of the period as Odaine Sinclair started the Comets counter, eventually getting the ball back near the corner. After his pass to Stefan Stokic was blocked the ball came right back to Sinclair who picked out Bryan Perez at the back post for the simple tap in to make it 2-0. Before the period ended the Comets extended their lead to 3-0 as Vahid Assadpour played a give and go pass with Perez, racing into the corner and firing it in to make it 3-0. The Rampage pulled one goal back early in the second period on the power play after the Comets got a blue card for having too many men on the field. The lead was down to just two goals for less than two minutes though as Assadpour received the ball in the corner, danced around the Rampage goalkeeper and scored to make it 4-1 to the Comets. The goal actually finished the scoring for the quarter as both teams had good chances to find the net, but neither side could as the teams went into the break with the Comets up by three goals.

The second half saw the Comets add onto their lead less than five minutes in as Assadpour finished off his hattrick on the break as the Comets struck on a three-v-two counter. Brian Harris picked out Assadpour who rolled the ball over to his left and placed the ball into the far corner. Thirty seconds later the Comets extended the lead to 6-1 as the Comets again countered, turning the ball over but high pressure by Stokic led to a turnover at the top of the box and Perez picked out Robert Palmer who had the simple tap in. Down five, the Rampage pushed the game trying to find their way back into the game, finding one goal with just over six minutes left in the period to cut the Comets lead back to four goals. The Comets though extended the lead back to five before the period was over on the power play after a blue card for striking. Assadpour picked out Lucas Rodriguez camping out at the back post on the power play as Rodriguez had the simple tap in.

Extra curriculars at the end of the third period led to four players receiving blue cards, with two handed out to each team. That mean that the two teams started the fourth quarter with three field players each. With fewer players on the field there was a lot of space for the players to work with. This allowed the Comets goalkeeper, Stephen Paterson to push forward with the ball and fired a shot from just inside the yellow line for his second goal of the season to extend the Comets lead. Before the four blue cards expired, the Comets extended their lead again as Guerrero Pino raced down the wing and fired a shot inside the far post to make it 9-2 to the Comets. Once again the Rampage were able to get one goal back, but couldn't cut the lead further. The Comets finished out the scoring late in the game on a shootout attempt after a foul on a break while the Comets were already on the power play. Assadpour danced around Rampage goalkeeper Brett Petricek for the third time on the night to score his fourth goal and end the regular season with a win.

Stats

Bryan Perez's two assists gave him 45 for his career in league play with the Comets, breaking his tie with Brian Harris for 6th on that list.

Alain Matingou made his 50th league appearance for the Comets, he's the 14th player to hit that mark.

Comets Streak Snapped in Milwaukee

One night after winning their ninth straight game, the Comets saw their winning streak snapped on the road in Milwaukee 7-5 against the Milwaukee Wave. The win for the Wave saw them secure a playoff berth, meaning for the seventh straight year the Comets and Wave will meant in the playoffs with the Comets going 4-2 in the prior six playoff match ups.

In Milwaukee on Saturday, the Comets jumped out in front in the first quarter about midway through the period as some great work by the Comets saw Lucas Rodriguez play the ball to Ramone Palmer who played it across the field to Nacho Flores who squared it to the back post for Rodriguez who continued his run for the easy tap in to finish the play and put the Comets up 1-0. The rest of the quarter went against the Comets though as the Wave scored a pair of goals in the final five minutes to end the quarter on top 2-1.

The Comets didn't take long in the second quarter to even things up as Stephen Paterson collected a Wave cross into the box and immediately threw the ball out to a racing Guerrero Pino who held off his defender and scored to tie the game at two. Just over six minutes into the quarter the Comets had their second lead of the game as KC got a nice goal from Flores as he received the ball near the yellow line, turned with space and fired a shot in off the far post to put the Comets up 3-2. Late in the quarter again though the Comets defense let them down as the Wave scored three times in the final four minutes, one with just four seconds left to take a 5-3 lead into half time.

The third quarter saw the Comets cut into the lead again early as a Brian Harris shot was deflected into the net by a Wave defender to cut the lead to 5-4. The Comets continued to push for the equalizer but couldn't find it and in the final minute of the period the Wave restored their two goal lead. The Comets continued the pressure in the fourth quarter, trying to create another fourth quarter comeback as they've done a few times during this winning streak, but the Comets couldn't create much in the way of good opportunities. In the final minute though the Comets cut the lead back to a single goal as Harris scored his second goal of the season blasting a shot so hard it went through the net into the stands leading to a moment of confusion before the goal was confirmed. Unfortunately the Comets couldn't find the tying goal, instead giving up one more goal via the sixth attacker as they pushed for an equalizer ending the game losing 7-5.

It won't be the final time these teams meet though as they'll meet again in the playoffs. The Comets can still win the division with a win over the Cedar Rapids Rampage next week or a loss by the Wave at home against Chicago. If the two teams end with equal records the Wave would win the division by virtue of the better head to head record between the two teams.

Comets Stats

Brian Harris' two goals and Lucas Rodriguez's one gives them both 78 goals in all competitions for the Comets, tying them for fourth all time on that list.

Harris made his 138th league appearance and 160th in all competitions for the Comets, giving him sole possession of second place all time on both those lists.

Robert Palmer made his 100th appearance in all competitions for the Comets, he's the 10th player to hit that mark.

Comets Clinch Playoff Berth

The Missouri Comets clinched their seventh straight playoff berth in a 12-4 win over the Harrisburg Heat on Friday night. The Comets came out and pushed the Heat from the opening whistle, pressuring the Heat in their own end which lead to a number of chances for the Comets. It took until the final five minutes of the quarter before either team found a goal. The Comets pressure allowed the Comets to find the opener as Bryan Perez intercepted a clearance with his head, the ball got rotated around to John Sosa who fired a shot to the back post where Perez had camped out to put the ball into the net. Less than a minute later the Comets doubled their lead, again with their high pressure, this time it was Robert Palmer who intercepted a pass, knocking it into the path of Ramone Palmer who knocked the ball into the net with the outside of his foot. The second quarter the Heat came out and were able to cut into the Comets lead, scoring just over a minute and a half in. Over the next six minutes though the Comets basically put the game away as they scored five goals to extend their lead to 7-1. Alain Matingou got the run started just under a minute after the Heat got on the board as more high pressure lead to a turn over and Robert Palmer picked out a streaking Matingou who fired the ball into the upper 90 to make it 3-1. Just over four minutes in more high pressure saw Ramone Palmer win the ball in the Heat's third of the field before the ball ended up at the feet of Lucas Rodriguez who scored to make it 4-1. Less than a minute later the Comets made it five as a long ball from goalkeeper Stephen Paterson bounced off the wall into the path of Guerrero Pino who scored. A minute later the Comets scored their fourth straight, this one coming off a restart as Sosa laid the ball off to Perez who scored to the near post. Before eight minutes had been played the Comets made it 7-1 as Nacho Flores pounced on the ball when a Heat player slipped. Flores raced in and fired a shot off the post that went right to Ramone Palmer whose attempt to square the ball to Vahid Assadpour, but Palmer's cross hit off Heat goalkeeper Hugo Silva and rolled into the net. The Heat ended the run in the final five minutes of the quarter off a restart to go into the half time break down 7-2.

The third quarter started with the Heat pushing to get back in the game, scoring just 27 seconds in to cut the Comets lead to 7-3. The Heat continued to pressure and create chances and cut further into the lead with just over nine minutes played as Paterson initially saved a shot but his save went right onto the heat of STephen Basso and went into the net to cut the Comets lead to just three goals. The goal would be the last that the Heat scored on the night though. In the final three minutes of the third quarter the Comets grabbed three goals. Vahid Assadpour got the scroing started off a restart as Sosa picked out Assadpour in the corner who fired a shot that basically went through Silva and in. With two and a half minutes left Sosa and Assadpour teamed up again, this time in the run on the power play as Assadpour received a pass from Sosa, fired a shot that went right back to Assadpour, given a second chance, Assadpour made no mistake scoring to make it 9-4. In the final minute, Matingou scored his second of the game volleying a shot past Silva and in to put the Comets up 10-4 through three quarters.

The Comets were able to extend their lead further in the fourth quarter. Just under seven minutes in the Comets capitalized on the Heat's sixth attacker as Robert Palmer got played in behind the Heat defense and just dribbled teh ball into the goal to make it 11-4. A minute and a half later the Comets finished the scoring as Odaine Sinclair started a counter playing a give and go with Pino before calmly placing the ball into the net to make it 12-4. The Comets killed the rest of the clock turning their heads towards tomorrow's game in Milwaukee where the Comets can clinch the Central Division with a win.

Comets Win Ninth Straight

The Kansas City Comets extended their winning streak to nine games and have now won 10 of their last 11 games as they came from behind to defeat the Dallas Sidekicks 7-5 in Independence tonight. The Sidekicks came out and immediately put the Comets on the back foot as they almost took the lead inside the first minute but a cross to the back post was skied over the goal from two yards out to keep the game scoreless. The Sidekicks though didn't let up on the pressure and scored three times in the opening period to take a 3-0 lead through the first period, leaving the Comets to regroup in the second quarter.

The Comets upped the pressure in the second quarter, but weren't able to make a dent in the Sidekicks 3-0 lead until late in the quarter. With just under six minute left in the period, Vahid Assadpour raced from the midfield line towards the corner playing a cross into the middle towards Ramone Palmer, it appeared that Palmer may have gotten the slightest of touches and the ball rolled into the far corner putting the Comets on the board at 3-1. The Comets continued their pressure for the rest of the quarter but were unable to cut any further into the Sidekicks lead heading into the half time break.

The Comets came out and continued their pressure looking to cut into the Sidekicks lead. The pressure though allowed space behind them and after a foul the Sidekicks extended the lead to 4-1 early in the third quarter. The Comets responded shortly after on a restart of their own as John Sosa picked out Bryan Perez who fired a shot in to make it 4-2. Before the end of the third the Comets had cut the lead to just one as Assadpour rolled another shot through the box that Robert Palmer caused Juan Gamboa to hesitate coming for the ball waiting for a deflection and it rolled past him into the net to make it 4-3.

Early in the fourth quarter the Comets leveled the game less than four minutes in as some good passing by the Comets eventually saw Stefan Stokic slide a ball to the top of the penalty arc where Assadpour fired a low shot into the net to tie the game at 4-4. The Comets continued their pressure and took their first lead of the game with just over eight and a half minutes left, as Brian Harris blasted a shot from near the yellow line that went just inside the near post to put the Comets on top 5-4. The lead lasted just over a minute though as the Sidekicks came backed and tied the game at 5-5 off a wall pass. Late in the game, with just over three minutes left the Comets scored on the power play as Harris picked out Ramone Palmer in the middle of the box, the Jamaican held off his defender and was able to shoot a ball into the far corner to make it 6-5. The Sidekicks didn't immediately go to the sixth attacker and the Comets shortly after won it back and killed time off the clock playing keep away from the Sidekicks. Dallas got the sixth attacker on with just over a minute left. The high pressure by KC though caused a turnover shortly after the sixth attacker came on as the Comets forced a turnover and after Lucas Rodriguez found Robert Palmer in the middle he played it to Stokic at the far post and his shot hit off the far post and rolled in to make it 7-5 as the Comets held on to win 7-5. The win moves the Comets to 13-4 on the season, two games ahead of the third place Milwaukee Wave with three games to play. The win was the Comets 100th regular season win since the club's rebirth as they sit at 100-47.

Post Game Stats

The Comets earned their 100th league win since the club's re-birth. They reached that milestone in 147 games. 100-47.

Ramone Palmer made his 100th appearance for the Comets in all competitions.

Palmer's first goal was his 50th in all competitions for the Comets.

Palmer's two goals gave him 49 in league play with the Comets, tying him with Geison for 8th all time on that list.

Palmer's two goals gave him 51 in all competitions for the Comets, moving him past Geison and into a tie with Max Touloute for 8th on that list.

Stefan Stokic's goal was his 19th for the Comets, tying him with Andre Braithwaite for 15th all time on that list.

Stokic's goal was his 20th in all competitions for the Comets, tying him with Jamar Beasley for 14th all time on that list.

Stokic's assist was his 21st in all competitions for the Comets, tying him with Alain Matingou for 11th all time on that list.

Brian Harris' assist was his 43rd for the Comets in league play, tying him with Bryan Perez for 6th all time on that list.

Robert Palmer's assist gave him 25 in all competitions for the Comets, tying him with Geison for 9th all time on that list.


Alain Matingou made his 55th appearance in all competitions for the Comets, tying him with Ryan Junge for 14th all time on that list.

Comets Hold Onto First Place in the Central Division with Win

The KC Comets retained their top spot in the MASL Central Division and even expanded their lead after the Baltimore Blast knocked off the Milwaukee Wave as the Comets won 10-4 on the road in St. Louis to once again sweep the season series against the Ambush (the Comets are now 13-1 all time against the St. Louis Ambush since both teams' rebirth.

The Comets got the game started quickly with a goal just over two minutes into the first quarter off a restart as Lucas Rodriguez scored to make it 1-0 to the Comets. The Rodriguez goal was the only goal of the period for either team, but the Comets controlled the quarter creating the better of the chances but unable to extend their lead. In the second though the Comets got the game moving, scoring just 40 seconds into the second period as Ramone Palmer cut an Ambush defender inside out before firing a shot on goal that Guerrero Pino headed into the net to make it 2-0 to the Comets. It took a while for the Comets to extend the lead further, but near the midpoint of the quarter, new signing (and Swope Park Rangers signing according to tonight's broadcast) Ray Saari flicked a ball with a back heel into the path of Brian Harris who buried the shot to make it 3-0 to the Comets. Shortly after the goal the Comets extended the lead to 4-0 going from one end to the other. On the defensive end, John Sosa was in the right spot to block a pass towards an open goal and the Comets immediately went the opposite way with Ignacio Flores springing Pino who caught Ambush goalkeeper Casey Clark out and Pino finished into the open net. In the final minute of the quarter the Comets extended the lead to 5-0 before half time as Vahid Assadpour held off his defender as he raced to goal and put a shot past Clark heading into half time.

In the third quarter, the Comets continued to control the game and keep the shut out. Less than two minutes in on the power play the Comets extended the lead to six as Sosa fired a shot from distance inside the far post to make it 6-0 to the Comets. The Comets continued the pressure and less than seven minutes in the Comets made it 7-0 as Sosa picked out Assadpour on a restart to make it 7-0 to the Comets. Late in the quarter the Comets pushed the lead further making it 8-0 with just over a minute left as Flores jumped on a poor giveaway by the Ambush defense as the ball slowed on the turf, Flores easily buried the shot into the net. Before the quarter ended though the Ambush finally got on the board off a restart off the corner to make it 8-1 through three periods.

The fourth quarter saw the Ambush come out with the sixth attacker for the final period trying to get back into the game. The Comets took advantage of the sixth attacker early on as Alain Matingou found Odaine Sinclair in the Comets defensive end, Sinclair raced down the field and beat the Ambush sixth attacker to make it 9-1 to the Comets. The Ambush left the sixth attacker out and were able to cut into the lead as the quarter went on with Victor Fance scoring twice and Joao Pepe scoring once to cut the Comets lead to 9-4. The Comets meanwhile got a number of chances to extend the lead but couldn't take advantage of them as the lead got cut to just five. With less than three minutes left though the Comets took advantage of their high pressure on the Ambush sixth attacker leading to Rodriguez and Assadpour having a two on one, as Assadpour drew the defense he picked out Rodriguez at the back post who had a tap in to finish the scoring at 10-4 for the Comets. The win allows the Comets to keep their one game lead ahead of Cedar Rapids in the Central with only four games left. The Comets have three of those final four games at home, with their only road trip being to the Milwaukee Wave.

Ramone Palmer Leads Comets to Sixth Straight Win

On this birthday, Kansas City Comets forward Ramone Palmer threw himself a birthday party in Lakeland, Florida leading the Comets to a 7-6 win on the road, the Comets sixth straight win and eighth in their last nine scoring a goal and adding four assists for the Comets in the win over the Floirda Tropics. Palmer's outstanding performance was needed for the Comets who were without their leading scorer, Leo Gibson, who was suspended for card accumulation for the game leaving a hole in the Comets offense.

It didn't take long for Palmer to start to fill that hole as less than five minutes in he played a ball off the wall to the top of the box where Alain Matingou blasted the ball past familiar face, Marcel Feenstra who used to play for the Milwaukee Wave. The goal set off a frenzy of a first period that saw six goals scored between the two sides. The Tropics tied the game up before the mid-point of the period on a goal by Victor Rojas off a restart. The Comets came right back though retaking the lead less than a minute later as Bryan Perez picked out Odaine Sinclair completely unmarked on the back post on a restart and he just tapped the ball in. The Tropics tied the game again less than a minute after Sinclair put the Comets up and then with less than a minute left in the quarter took the lead 3-2 through Jowayne Laidley. The Comets though finished out the quarter level though thanks to a goal off a restart in the final 15 seconds as John Sosa picked out Lucas Rodriguez on the post and Rodriguez headed the ball in to end the quarter at 3-3.

The second quarter took a little longer to get going than the first but there was still a lot of scoring late as three goals in the final five minutes punctuated the second quarter. The Tropics scored a pair of goals by Marco Rodriguez and Victor Parreiras to put the Tropics 5-3. The Comets though pulled one back before the end of the half on the power play as a miss-hit shot by Ramone Palmer went right to Perez at the back post who knocked the ball home to make it 5-4 to the Tropics as the teams headed into half time.

The third quarter saw similar to the second taking a while for either team to get going offensively, but late on it was the Comets taking advantage as Palmer continued his good day, first with less than four minutes left beat a double team in the corner before laying a ball into the middle for Vahid Assadpour who scored to tie the game at 5-5. About a minute later the Comets were back in front as Palmer again beat his man in the corner and laid a pass off into the middle, this time it was Perez who was the recipient, who fired the shot high over Feenstra and in to make it 6-5 to the Comets heading into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter saw the Tropics push the game trying to get an equalizer but the Comets defense held up keeping Florida off the board. The Tropics were unable to take advantages of the chances they did get though, including one where Laidley stole the ball off Stephen Paterson's foot outside the box, but with an open goal, Laidley fired it over the bar. The Comets almost immediately came back down the field from that miss and Perez played a pass off the boards right to Palmer in the middle of the box who had an open goal after Feenstra committed to Perez. The birthday boy made no mistake making it 7-5 to the Comets. Things got tight with just over four minutes left as the Tropics scored with a sixth attacker as Anthony Arico scored to make it 7-6. The Comets defense held off the Tropics absorbing their high pressure and in the final few seconds had a break with only sixth attacker Parreiras back. Parreiras picked up a blue card for charging on the break giving the Comets a shootout attempt along with the power play. Assadpour had his shootout attempt saved by Feenstra, but was able to hold the ball in the Tropics defensive end for the final minutes to clinch the win.

Here are some stats from last night's game:

Bryan Perez had two goals and an assist (should be a second assist for Sinclair's goal) giving him 100 points (goals and assists) for his league career with the Comets.

His three point night allowed Perez to move past Brian Harris and into sixth place for total assists in all competitions with the Comets finishing the game with 46. It also tied him with Harris for assists in league play at 42.

Lucas Rodriguez's goal was his 74th in all competitions for the Comets, tying him with Brian Harris for fourth all time on that list.

Comets Win it Late Again

The Kansas City Comets once again pulled out a late victory, this time scoring with just 14 seconds left to defeat the Chicago Mustangs, 7-6 on the road. The win pushes the Comets win streak to five and sees them keep pace with the Cedar Rapids Rampage for first place in the MASL's Central Division.

KC fell behind less than three minutes in but a goal by Leo Gibson and a pair of goals by Vahid Assadpour put the Comets in front 3-1 in the second quarter. The Mustangs cut into the lead before half time, scoring on the power play to send the game into half time with the Comets up 3-2.

Early in the third quarter, Bryan Perez restored the Comets two goal lead. From there though the Mustangs took the game over, specifically Taylor Bond, who scored a natural hattrick in less than seven minutes of the third quarter to put the Mustangs on top 5-4. The Comets though pulled back level before the quarter was done, with Brian Harris scoring to level the score at 5-5 heading into the final quarter.

The Comets restored their lead near the midpoint of the period as Odaine Sinclair scored to make it 6-5 to the Comets. Bond though wasn't done, scoring a fourth goal as the Comets got caught in a line change and Bond scored just inside Stephen Paterson's far post. In the final minute though the Comets found the winner as Gibson fired a shot in after Assadpour had brought down a long pass.

This was the third straight game where the Comets have scored a late goal to get a win during their five game winning streak, but it's also the third straight time they've put themselves in the position of needing a late goal to get the win. In two of the past three games, the Comets have blown second half leads (San Diego and Chicago) allowing the opposing team to take the lead, requiring the late heroics. While it makes for an exciting finish, it's not something that the Comets can make a habit of as it's not going to be easy to put yourselves in the position of having to fight back each and every week.

Comets Top Silver Knights Late

The Kansas City Comets continued their good run of form on Friday night with a come from behind win over the visiting Syracuse Silver Knights. The Comets, winners of three straight were trying to continue the run at home where they lost their last encounter to the Florida Tropics.

Alain Matingou picked up right where he left off last week when he scored a hattrick in San Diego as he set up the Comets first goal just over two minutes into the game, deflecting a clearance by the Knights keeper and pulling it back into the path of Leo Gibson who fired the shot off the post and in to put the Comets up 1-0. That was the only goal either team scored in the first period as the Knights kept the Comets at bay the rest of the quarter. This continued into the second as neither team found another goal until there were less than five minutes left as Stefanos Stamoulacatos fired in a shot after Bo Jelovac fired a pass off the wall right into his path. The tie game only lasted two minutes as Matingou received a ball outside the yellow line, raced in and fired a shot inside the far post to make it 2-1 Comets. Before half time though the Knights restored parity as Jelovac chipped a cross into the middle over Stephen Paterson and into the net.

The Knights came out as the stronger side in the second half and were rewarded for it five minutes in as Jake Schindler pounced on a loose ball that Paterson didn't hold after it came off the wall. Just over a minute later, the Knights doubled their lead as a long ball over the top found Jerjer Gibson who poked the ball past an on coming Paterson and into the net to make it 4-2. The Knights carried the lead into the fourth quarter where they added another goal to their lead just over half way through the period as Patrick Thompson beat Paterson from a tight angle as the Comets looked all out of sorts defensively without the suspended Robert Palmer. Down three goals with just over seven minutes left, the Comets went with the sixth attacker to try to get the offense back going. The move paid off immediately as the Comets were able to spread the field and after a Gibson shot was blocked, the rebound fell to Vahid Assadpour who blasted a shot from distance that went into the corner. Shortly after the goal the Knights got called for having too many men on the field, giving the Comets a power play and another chance to cut into the lead. On the power play the Comets had a number of efforts blocked by the Knights but shortly before the power play expired, Assadpour picked out Gibson at the top of the box. He touched the ball around an on rushing defender and fired it into the net to get the Comets within a goal. The Comets again went to the sixth attacker with less than four minutes left trying to find a way to tie the game up. With just over two minutes left the Comets were able to find the equalizer as a cross went all the way through the box to Bryan Perez on the back post. Perez had time to take a touch, look up and blast a shot over Andrew Coughlin and into the net to tie the game at 5-5. With the game tied, the Comets were able to bring out their high pressure more against the Knights, pressuring them in their own half of the field when they had the ball causing some turnovers. Off one of those giveaways the Comets scored what proved to be the game winner. John Sosa played a long ball into the corner where Gibson was able to bring the ball down, turn and square the ball across to Brian Harris who came running in, took a touch and fired it into the top corner to make it 6-5 to the Comets. The win has the Comets keep pace with the Cedar Rapids Rampage, who they're tied with for first place in the Central Division.

Comets Complete West Coast Sweep

The Kansas City Comets finished their West Coast road trip in dramatic fashion with a late goal to give them a 7-6 win over the San Diego Sockers. KC raced out to a 5-1 lead before allowing the Sockers to score five unanswered to take the lead, but in the final three minutes, KC scored twice, the last by Alain Matingou with 21 seconds left for his hattrick to give the Comets the win.

The first quarter saw both teams create some chances, but little in the way of scoring, the only goal of the period came with under five minutes left and was scored by the Comets when John Sosa played the ball into the corner for Brian Harris who one timed an effort through the legs of former Comets' goalkeeper, Boris Pardo and into the net. The second quarter saw the Sockers try to work their way back into the game, controlling the flow and possession of the game for long periods of the quarter. Stephen Paterson was up to the task in the net though keeping the Sockers out. Late in the quarter the Comets went on a run, scoring three goals in the final five minutes to extend their lead going into the half time break. The first of those goals came on a shot from distance as the Comets worked the ball around the box before Guerrero Pino laid the ball off to Matingou who fired his shot past Pardo. Just over a minute later, Leo Gibson extended the lead to 3-0 on the break before Matingou scored his second of the game to make it 4-0 heading into the break.

The Sockers came out in the second half and got themselves on the board just over two minutes into the period to cut the lead to 5-1. Less than six minutes into the quarter, the Comets extended the lead back to four goals as Bryan Perez picked out Vahid Assadpour racing to the top of the box where he one timed a shot past Pardo. From there though the Comets defense came apart and the Sockers comeback began. With 11 minutes gone in the quarter the Sockers struck twice in less than a minute with Kraig Chiles scoring twice to cut the lead to 5-3. Then with just over a minute left, former Comet, Max Touloute raced from the midfield line and fired a shot that deflected off Sosa and into the net to cut the Comets lead to one goal. With under a minute left in the quarter things got even more heated between the two sides. After a skirmish between a couple players in front of the benches, Robert Palmer came running in and knocked Eduardo Velez down, earning himself a red card in the process.

The fourth quarter didn't take long to tie the game up, shortly after the power player for Palmer's red card the Sockers tied the game at 5-5. Three minutes into the fourth the Sockers had their first lead as Touloute got his second of the game to make it 6-5 (respect to Touloute as well on both of his goals against his former club he kept his celebrations muted). The Comets looked on the point of a major melt down on the road, blowing a four goal lead. The Comets pushed forward again trying to find an equalizer. It took most of the quarter, but the equalizer finally came with just three minutes left as Ramone Palmer raced forward on a counter before picking out Pino who'd set himself up unmarked on the back post where he just touched the ball home to tie the game at 6-6. The winner, like the equalizer came on the counter as the Sockers had pushed forward trying to find a winner of their own, Ramone Palmer poked the ball away from a Sockers attacker in the Comets half before Ignacio Flores played the ball up field to Matingou who held off his defender and fired a shot through Pardo's legs to put the Comets up 7-6. The Comets held off the Sockers over the final few seconds to get the win and push themselves into a tie for first place in the Central Division with the Cedar Rapids Rampage.

Comets Win First Game of West Coast Road Swing

The Kansas City Comets made a good start to their two game West Coast road trip with a 5-2 win over the Ontario Fury last night in California. The Comets got goals from five different players in route to the win over the Fury who fell to 4-6 on the season. The Comets moved to 7-4 on the season, half a game behind first place Cedar Rapids, who lost in a shootout to Tacoma last night.

The Fury came out with a game plan of sitting deeper, allowing the Comets to push forward and trying to hit on the counter. Juan Carlos Gonzalez took advantage of the high line the Fury's defense allowed the Comets and struck on the counter to put the Fury up 1-0 midway through the first period. The Comets through leveled the game before the period was over with Bryan Perez finding space in front of goal and scoring off an assist from Alain Matingou. Midway through the second quarter, the Comets grabbed their first lead as Vahid Assadpour scored on a one touch shot after Leo Gibson had held up the play near the box.

The Comets continued to control the tempo of the game and the ball keeping the Fury pinned in their own end. The third quarter saw the Comets extend their lead to 3-1 as a John Sosa chip was dummied by Guerrero Pino and went into the net. The Comets extended the lead to 4-1 less than a minute into the fourth quarter as Gibson got himself on the board with a goal. The Fury eventually went to the sixth attacker as they tried to cut into the Comets 4-1 lead. Pino though was able to extend the lead to 5-1 before the Fury scored with the extra man with less than a minute left to get to the 5-2 final score. The Comets will now travel down the coast to San Diego to take on the Sockers tonight.

2016 Moments of the Year

One last look back at 2016, here are my end of year awards for moment of the year in 2016.

Game of the year - Comets vs Mustangs 12/3/16 - Shutouts don't happen often in indoor soccer, since the Kansas City Comets rebirth back in 2010, the Comets had never had one. That changed in December of this year when the Comets defeated the previously unbeaten Chicago Mustangs 6-0 at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Comets jumped out to a two goal lead in the first quarter thanks to goals by Ignacio Flores and Lucas Rodriguez. After a scoreless second quarter, Rodriguez scored his second goal of the game off a set piece with a second assist to John Sosa and the Comets were up 3-0.

The Comets extended their lead early in the fourth quarter as Odaine Sinclair scored two minutes in to make it 4-0. Vahid Assadpour added a goal before Ramone Palmer scored with less than a minute left against the sixth attacker to make it 6-0. For his part in goal for the Comets, Stephen Paterson faced 19 shots, saving all of them in route to the shutout.



Goal of the Year - Brad Davis vs Galaxy - When Sporting KC brought in Brad Davis, Sporting was expecting to get another player to help set up goals while scoring a few himself. The assists never really came for Davis in Kansas City, but he did score some important goals for KC early on against LA and Toronto. The one that wins goal of the year is his finish against the LA Galaxy that seemed to even impress him. In the 30th minute of a scoreless game, Graham Zusi headed a long ball into the path of an on-rushing Davis. Davis chased the ball into the box and took a single touch, cutting the ball back that allowed him to beat both Emmanuel Boateng and Jelle Van Damme. With his second touch he curled a beautiful shot with his left foot that curled around goalkeeper Brian Rowe as he dove for the ball, and inside the far post to put Sporting up 1-0 on the Galaxy. Davis didn't have a ton of highlights in his final season of professional soccer, but this was certainly one of them.



Assist of the Year - Benny Feilhaber vs Orlando - I'm cheating just a little bit because it's the secondary assist, but I'm a sucker for Feilhaber's scoop passes. Down 1-0 in the 74th minute, Feilhaber received a ball just outside the top of the box, took a touch and scooped the ball into the box for substitute, Jacob Peterson, who headed the ball back into the middle for Dom Dwyer, who headed the ball in to tie the game at 1-1 in a game KC would eventually win 2-1.



Single Game Performance of the Year - Nicole Barnhart vs Western New York - It wasn't the greatest season for FC Kansas City as they missed out on the playoffs for the first time in their history, but there were some bright spots. From the emergence of Shea Groom, to the return of Desiree Scott, to the defensive performance, FCKC had plenty of highlights. One of those was Nicole Barnart against the Wester New York Flash in July of this year. Playing against the highest scoring team in the league, KC sat a little deeper and absorbed a lot of pressure in the game. That led to a number of opportunities for the Flash. Barnhart though was up to the task, making 14 saves against the Flash in route to a 1-0 win. The performance was enough to earn Barnhart player of the week honors.



Low Point of the Year - Sporting KC vs DC United 5/27 - Heading into the game, at Children's Mercy Park, Sporting KC had won just one game in their last nine after starting the season 3-1. KC had gone 1-6-2 in the nine games priorgoing 1-2-1 at home in that stretch. KC had scored more than one goal just once in that nine game stretch (their only win) and had been shutout three times, scoring just seven goals while allowing 14. Welcoming a DC United team that was 0-2-3 on the road heading into the game. KC completely controlled the game (as KC tends to do in a lot of home games) with 58% of the possession, out shooting DC 18-5, and creating the better of the opportunities. But KC paid for putting just three of their 18 shots on goal as DC United struck late to steal all three points as Alhaji Kamara beat Tim Melia to a ball near the penalty spot, knocking the ball down and then burying his shot into the net as Melia was on the ground after coming for the ball and missing. The 1-0 loss mean that KC had won just one of their last 10, a streak that would turn into 11 games the following week after a 0-0 draw in LA before KC got back to winning against FC Dallas on June 19th.


Non-Kansas City-KC Player Moment of the Year - Matt Besler Scores First International goal - 2016 probably isn't going to go down as the best year in Matt Besler's professional soccer career. He started 2016 as Sporting KC's captain, but then lost it to Roger Espinoza, lost his starting spot with Sporting KC for a time and played the fewest games for his club since his second season as a pro in 2010. It'll still be a memorable year for Besler though as he welcomed his first child.

In early September, Besler had been called up for US national team qualifiers against St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. Besler traveled to the game in St. Vincent and while there heard that his wife was having their first child. Due to travel, Besler was unable to leave to get home in time for the birth of his daughter so instead took the field for the US, starting in central defense for Klinsmann's side. Already up 1-0 in the 32nd minute, Graham Zusi chipped a free kick into the box where a St. Vincent defender cleared the ball right into the path of Besler who chested the ball down and blasted it into the net for his first international goal. He followed it immediately with a celebration with his teammates in honor of his just becoming a father. The US went on to win the game 6-0 and Besler left to be with his family instead of flying to Jacksonville for the second game.



KC Soccer Player of the Year - Amer Didic - No player on the KC soccer scene probably had a better year than Amer Didic did for the Swope Park Rangers and Sporting KC. The Baker product started the season as a bench player for the Rangers, getting garbage minutes at the end of the game to preserve the lead and kill some time off the clock. After a string of three straight losses and a red card to Oumar Ballo, Didic got a start in Swope's 2-1 win over Tulsa and never looked back. He started 21 of the final 24 games in the regular season for SPR and started all four of their playoff games. He formed a strong partnership with Ballo that helped carry the SPR defense to the USL final, going 13-1-2 when paired together, the only loss in the USL final. Didic's play with SPR earned him a call up to Sporting KC where he started three of KC's four CONCACAF Champions League games, the only game he didn't was the final meaningless one, just days before the USL final. Didic has already signed on to return to SPR in 2017 and continued solid performances should see him up with Sporting KC either on a temporary contract or full time soon enough.

Sporting KC Player of the Year - Dom Dwyer - Dwyer had his second most successful season in terms of goal scoring in his career this past season. Take out Dwyer's penalty kicks in 2014 and Dwyer actually scored more goals from the run of play in 2016 than he did in 2014 (16 to 15). This despite not having a secondary threat to really take the pressure off and being on Dwyer Island for long periods of time in the season.

FCKC Player of the Year - Shea Groom - The second year forward had the unevnyable task of having to try to replace the scoring of Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux, who both missed the season. Groom didn't miss a beat though, scoring eight goals for the Blues in 2016, good for fifth in the league. Groom's eight goals were good for 44% of the Blues' offense in the 2016 season. Add in Rodriguez and Leroux in 2017 and the Blues look to have a strong offense.

Comets Player of the Year - Vahid Assadpour - The Comets captain and assistant coach is one of the few remaining players who have been with the Comets since their rebirth in 2010. He finished last season third in the league in points with 23 goals and 27 assists and was a first team all league selection. So far in the 2016-2017 season he has added five goals and four assists, which is fifth on the team in goals and fourth in assists.

Newcomer of the Year - Didic - Didic does the double winning the player of the year award, and winning that it's easy to see why he's also newcomer to professional soccer in Kansas City in 2016. Didic is probably one of the leading candidates to be the next player to make the jump from the Rangers to Sporting KC permanently.

2017 Wants and Wishes

A new year means that it's time to reset and look towards the future. With that said, here are my wants and wishes for 2017.

1. Silverware - Always the number one priority, winning trophies, painting the wall. Kansas City has made a habit of winning trophies over the last few years, hopefully KC's teams can return to that in 2017.

2. Secure a home playoff game - Children's Mercy Park hasn't hosted a home playoff game for Sporting Kansas City since the 2013 MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake. In the three seasons since, Sporting KC has qualified for the playoffs each year, but as the fifth or sixth seed an been required to play the first round on the road. KC has lost all three of those games to New York, Portland, and Seattle. CMP hasn't been a complete fortress for Sporting KC like people would like it to be, but playing a playoff game at home is a distinct advantage for Sporting. That means the club's regular season for has to improve in 2017.

3. Find a secondary goal scorer - Dom Dwyer had his second best goal scoring season of his career, scoring 16 goals for KC in 2016, none of them from the penalty spot. KC's second leading scorers last year were Jacob Peterson and Benny Feilhaber, both scoring six goals, one of those players is gone, and the other had five of his six goals come from the penalty spot. Teams were able to key in specifically on Dwyer most of the time, and while he rose to the occasion, varying KC's attack is going to be better overall for the team. Only three teams scored fewer goals than the 42 that Sporting KC scored in 2016, Sporting is going to have to find a secondary goal threat to not only take some pressure off of Dwyer, but to create a duel threat that will keep other teams more honest, and probably open up more chances for Dwyer. It could be one of the two guys that KC is reportedly set to sign, Gerso Fernandes or Latif Blessing, although I have worries about both being able to do it, or it could be someone new that KC brings in. Either way, KC can't rely on 16 goals from Dwyer and the next highest scorer having 10 fewer and hope to do much next season.

4. A consistent center back pairing - Sporting KC's defense was strong last season, allowing just 41 goals, good for sixth in the league, but as I mentioned in my review of my 2016 wishes, the club had a lot of rotation at the center back position, with seven different pairings being used throughout the season due to injuries, form and national team call ups. Of all the pairings, the Matt Besler/Nuno Coelho was the most used, and that was only used about 11 times all of last season. KC managed with the shuffling of players last season, but really need to have a consistent center back pairing going forward. If you look at the better teams in the league, they all have a consistent pairing that starts the majority of the games, with a third and maybe fourth option available should they be needed. KC used this strategy to great success in 2012 through 2014 with the pairing of Besler and Aurelien Collin. Right now the first team pairing would appear to be Besler and Ike Opara, although Kevin Ellis being preferred to Opara late last season could be seen as a sign for the season. There are also still the questions about Opara's ability to stay healthy over the course of an entire season, as 2016 was the first time Opara has played more than 1,500 minutes in a single season in his seven year MLS career.

The other possibility is a returning Erik Palmer-Brown, who played consistently for Porto's reserve team while on loan. If he returns though, Palmer-Brown looks set to miss a good portion of preseason and a chunk of the regular season with the US U20 national team for World Cup qualifying and the World Cup this summer, which would obviously limit his time and ability to play for Sporting.

5. Quick decision on EPB - Before people can begin to dream about Palmer-Brown having a big impact on Sporting KC this season, his future with the team needs to be decided. With Palmer-Brown's loan to Porto now being up, it's down to negotiations between the two sides on whether Palmer-Brown will return to Kansas City or whether he'll be making a permanent move to the Portuguese power house. Palmer-Brown is reportedly in the last year of his contract, which Porto will use as an argument to get a lower price on the defender as he'd be available on a free next winter, but they also run the risk of Palmer-Brown having a breakout performance with the U20 team and being outbid by other clubs if they go that route. Either way, KC needs to resolve it quickly as selling Palmer-Brown leaves KC again a little thin along the back line in terms of depth.

6. Swope Park Rangers continues to play the "kids" and develop the likes of Amer Didic and Kevin Oliveira - Marc Dos Santos is off to San Francisco and the Rangers have a new coach this year. Taking over for him is Nikola Popovic, an assistant with the Rangers' last year, he came to SPR from Benfica B, where he was an assistant coach. Popovic having that experience with the Portuguese reserve side should bode well for the continued youth mindset the Rangers had last season. That should mean players like Amer Didic, Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Nansel Selbol, and Kevin Oliveira (when he returns), all under the age of 23 should continue to get time to prove themselves and use SPR as a stepping stone to reach Sporting KC. Hopefully SPR also continue to bring in young players to develop them, along with a few players that are maybe a step away from the jump up to help Sporting. Also hopefully the Rangers' players that are signed to academy contracts get more time in 2017.

7. US qualify for Russia 2018 - Well, I (and many other anti-Klinsmann fans) got their wish, Jurgen Klinsmann was fired as head coach of the US national team after the US started the "Hex" 0-2 losing at home to Mexico and in Costa Rica. With qualification for the World Cup important, the US went with the "safe" pick for a new head coach in Bruce Arena. He's not a head turning signing, but the expectation is to get things straightened out and get the US to the World Cup. The route back to the World Cup will start in March when the US will host Honduras in San Jose before traveling to Panama in a pair of games that the US really need to get six points out of to get qualification back on track.

8. Comets start run in second half of season - The Kansas City Comets have been one of the dominate forces in the MASL since it was founded, losing just three times in the regular season in their first two seasons in the league. Through 10 games this season they've already surpassed that loss total, having lost four times, and currently sit in third place in the five team Central division behind both Cedar Rapids and Chicago, the later of which still has two games in hand. The swagger that the team had the last two seasons doesn't seem to be there, they've lost talented players like Max Touloute and Coady Andrews, and the players that they've replaced them with haven't hit the same stride. At the same time, teams like Cedar Rapids and Chicago have really stepped up their game and brought in good talent to compete with the Comets in the Central division. Both of those teams have done so well that it appears like one of the Comets or the Milwaukee Wave are likely going to miss out on the playoffs for the first time in a long time this season. Something that most indoor fans would have thought next to impossible a couple years ago.

9. FCKC return to playoffs in 2017 - The Blues missed the playoffs for the first time in their history last season after losing five expected starters before the season to retirement or pregnancy and then lost a sixth early in the 2016 season. FCKC's defense stepped up big time last season to be one of the best in the league, but the offense struggled greatly. In 2017 the offense looks set to get a big boost as both forwards Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux will be returning to the team after both giving birth in 2016. The pair will join with last season's leading scorer, Shea Groom to give the Blues some more offense. In fact, as long as the Blues can stay healthy, they should be in great shape in 2017, with the three previously mentioned players up top and a defense that includes Becky Sauerbrunn and Desiree Scott along with goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. The Blues should be able to get themselves back into the playoffs in 2017.

A Look Back on my 2016 Wants and Wishes

On New Year's Eve, before we ring in the New Year, here's a look back at my 2016 wants and wishes and how each one turned out.

1. Silverware - I'm not counting the Swope Park Rangers' Western Conference championship unfortunately (more on that later), so this wasn't a wish that was met this year by any of KC's four teams. Three of the four made the playoffs, but none of them were able to come home with a championship in 2016.

2. Sorting KC address center back issues - This is an area that overall was probably addressed, but at the same time probably wasn't. Sporting KC was in the top half of the table in terms of fewest goals allowed, finishing sixth in that category allowing 41 goals. So on that stat alone it would seem that KC addressed their center back issues. But the issue for the center back situation was the inability to have a consistent starting pairing at center back whether it be form, injuries, or national team call ups, KC started five different players at center back in seven different combinations over the 34 game season. Nuno Coelho and Matt Besler started the season as the number one center back pairing and looked to be pretty good for KC in that situation, raising hopes for the season. Then Coelho got hurt in mid-May and made just one 90 minute appearance the entire rest of the season for KC, with his high salary Sporting passed on retaining the Portuguese center back. For a stretch in the middle of the season, Peter Vermes favorite pairing was Ike Opara and the returning Lawrence Olum as Besler was with the national team and struggling with his club form. Besler eventually won his spot back with Opara for a stretch before injuries brought down Opara again this season, although not long term like prior years). This allowed Kevin Ellis to step up and take the job next to Besler, which he didn't relinquish the rest of the season. The Besler/Ellis pairing KC through the end of the season and into the playoffs in 2016. Hopefully a more consistent pairing can work in 2017.

3. Keep Krisztian Nemeth in Sporting blue - This one went out the window in late January as Sporting KC sold Nemeth to Al Gharafa SC in Qatar. Much has been made about how the move came about, whether Nemeth forced it, or whether KC did. KC reportedly went to Nemeth in good faith to offer him a new contract because of his performance in the 2015 season, but a deal couldn't be worked out. Nemeth (or his agent) posted a Facebook message saying that he wanted to stay but that the contract he was offered still wouldn't have made him one of the club's highest paid players. At the same times there were comments that Nemeth wanted to be released early to join the Hungarian team for camp ahead of the Euros. We never got the full story and likely never will, what we know for sure is that Nemeth left and his departure left a big hole in KC's right wing that the club never successfully filled in 2016.

4. Sporting advance from their CCL group - Another one that didn't come true, Sporting got off to a poor start with their two road games, drawing 2-2 in Trinidad and then were taken apart 3-0 in Vancouver to put themselves firmly behind the eight ball. Needing a result at home against Vancouver to keep their faint hopes of advancing alive. Falling behind, clawing back to equalize, Sporting gave up a very late winner to Alphonso Davies to put the Whitecaps through. KC won their final group game, a meaningless encounter between Sporting and Central FC 3-1, playing a number of Swope Park Rangers.

5. Jon Kempin and Erik Palmer-Brown both play 15 plus games - Almost, but not quite on this one, and certainly not in the way I expected with Palmer-Brown going on loan to Porto in 2016. Kempin started the season as the Rangers' starting goalkeeper, lost the job, won it back, then lost it again and never gained it back after an injury to Tim Melia forced him to be recalled from his loan. Combined between the Rangers and a couple of appearances for Sporting KC in the CCL, Kempin made 14 appearances in 2016, going 5-6-3 (5-4-3 for SPR, 0-2 for Sporting) and allowing 18 goals in those 14 games.

Palmer-Brown made 17 league appearances across two seasons for Porto's reserve team in the Portuguese second division, becoming a regular at center back for the club in their run to the Portuguese second division championship in the 2015-2016 season. After recovering from an injury early in the 2016-2017 season, Palmer-Brown again took his place in the center of defense and even earned a call up to the first team.

6. Swope Park Rangers have successful first season - I'd say a trip to the USL championship was a successful season, even if it didn't end in a trophy there was a lot of good that came out of the first season. For me, SPR's success had more to do with the players than the results on the field. SPR made a priority of getting a younger roster and really did, with only a handful of players over the age of 25 on the team. It also was able to shine the light on a number of players who could produce for Sporting KC in the years to come. From the likes of Tyler Pasher and Adrian Zendejas, who have both already signed with the first team to the likes of Amer Didic, Ualefi, and Nansel Selbol who all made appearances for the first team in the Champions League. Arguably the player I'm most excited about didn't even play for the first team though, Kevin Oliveira, tore his ACL near the midpoint of the season and missed out on the second half of the season. If he'd been healthy I have no doubts he'd have also appeared for Sporting KC this past season. Hopefully a swift return from his ACL tear will see him getting time with Sporting in 2017.

7. US national team has a respectable performance in the Copa America Centenario - I'd classify a fourth place finish as respectable, at least from looking at it from the outside it certainly was. Advancing to the semifinals before losing to world power Argentina is certainly a good run. Arguments can be made about the USA's performance in that 4-0 loss to Argentina as well as the two losses to Colombia (2-0 in group play and 1-0 in third place game), and how they were some of the final moments of Jurgen Klinsmann's time in charge of the US team, but in the end even someone anti-Klinsmann like myself, has to admit fourth was respectable, especially given the draw.

8. Missouri Comets get past Baltimore Blast - Unfortunately another Comets season ended with a loss to the Baltimore Blast. The Missouri (now Kansas City) Comets won the Central Division last year with a 17-3 record, four games ahead of second and third place Chicago and Milwaukee. After the Milwaukee Wave topped the Chicago Mustangs in a three game series, the Comets swept the Wave aside 2-0 winning 10-5 on the road and 8-2 at home to set up a match up with the Baltimore Blast for the fourth straight season. Unfortunately just like two of the previous three, the Blast topped the Comets, this time with a pair of overtime victories both by a 4-3 score line for the Blast.

9. FCKC recover from losing four regulars - Unfortunately the Blues couldn't overcome the loss of so many important pieces. FC Kansas City even lost a fifth likely regular as the club acquired Sydney Leroux in January last year, from the Western New York Flash, to replace Amy Rodriguez, but later in January she too announced that she would miss the 2016 season as she was pregnant. They also lost midfielder, Jen Buczkowski, who retired five games into the season to return to school. The Blues finished outside the playoffs for the first time in their history, finishing in sixth place with 26 points, six points behind fourth place Western New York. In the absence of both Rodriguez and Leroux, Shea Groom stepped up, scoring eight of FCKC's 18 goals on the season to lead the Blues in scoring. The return of Desiree Scott helped to ease some of the defensive losses in the offseason, as the Blues' defense allowed the second fewest goals in the league in 2016. Unfortunately the loss of Rodriguez, Leroux, and Lauren Holiday couldn't be overcome on the offensive end.

Overall, it wasn't a great year for my wants and wishes with only one, the Swope Park Rangers having a successful first season being my one real win out of all of them.

Comets Close Out 2016 with Win

The Kansas City Comets ended 2016 on a high note, one night after a disappointing loss at home to the Florida Tropics, the Comets went on the road and defeated the St. Louis Ambush in an afternoon affair 8-5.

The Comets jumped all over the Ambush in the first quarter, similar to what they did against the Tropics, shutting out the Ambush while finding the back of the net multiple times. Ignacio Flores scored less than three minutes in on a shot that pinged in off the wood work, and the Comets were off. Before the halfway point, Leo Gibson doubled the lead with a shot from distance. Before the quarter was over the Comets made it 3-0 with just over a minute left as Vahid Assadpour fired one in. KC continued the pressure in the second quarter, scoring two more goals in the first four minutes as Ramone Palmer and Brian Harris both scored to push the Comets lead to 5-0 and the Comets appeared to be cruising. Two minutes after Harris made it 5-0 though the Ambush finally got on the board to cut the lead to four goals. Before half time the Ambush pulled another goal back to cut the half time lead to 5-2.

The Comets restored their four goal lead just 11 seconds into the third quarter as Gibson scored his second goal of the game to extend the lead to 6-2. The third quarter from there though spiraled out of control a bit for the Comets as the Ambush pulled a goal back less than three minutes in to make it 6-. The Comets also had discipline issues as they picked up five cards over the rest of the quarter, three yellows and two blue cards. One of the blue cards led to a penalty kick for the Ambush that Richard Schmermund buried to cut the lead to 6-4. The Comets defense held strong though with the limited roster during the penalties and kept the Ambush from closing the gap to one.

The fourth quarter saw the Comets extend their lead further as Lucas Rodriguez got on the board with a goal just over six minutes in. After that the Ambush went to their sixth attacker to try to cut into the three goal lead. The Comets though pushed the sixth attacker Guerrero Pino scored to extend the Comets lead to 8-4. The Ambush pulled one more goal back to make it 8-5 with their sixth attacker on the field but it wasn't enough to complete a comeback against the Comets.

Defensive Mistake Cost Comets in Loss to Tropics

The Kansas City Comets' defense has been extremely stout as of late at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, allowing just one goal in their last two games on their home field. Unfortunately that all changed as the Comets welcomed the expansion Florida Tropics to Kansas City tonight, the Comets defense fell to pieces with a number of poor giveaways leading to goals, including two short handed goals for the Tropics as the Comets fell 8-7 to the Tropics to fall to 5-4 on the season.

The Comets jumped out to an early lead with two goals in the first quarter thanks to Ramone Palmer just two minutes in as he fired home a shot after Guerrero Pino beat goalkeeper Piotr Sliwa to the ball knocking it off the wall into Palmer's path. Near the midpoint of the half the Comets doubled the lead as Lucas Rodriguez fired home a shot from a tight angle after a John Sosa restart. While the Comets had the lead, it was the Tropics that controlled the quarter, pressuring the Comets in their own end, and forcing the Comets defense to be busy.

The second quarter saw the Comets begin to pressure the Tropics more but couldn't add to their lead. Eventually the Comets got caught up as Ricardo Diegues beat Stephen Patterson to put the Tropics on the board just under nine minutes in. The Comets answered just over a minute later though as Ramone Palmer scored his second goal of the game, toe-poking a shot past Sliwa and into the net to make it 3-1. Before half time though the Tropics struck back again as Victor Parreiras found the back of the net with less than a minute left to put the Tropics within one heading into half time.

The third quarter things got out of hand for the Comets as Diegues tied the game just over three minutes in off a restart. The Tropics then took the lead close to the mid point of the period as Diegues finished off his hattrick as he jumped on a poor pass by Alain Matingou and scored to make it 4-3. The Comets tied the game about two minutes later on the power play as the Comets spread the field and eventually Rodriguez found Leo Gibson in the middle who one timed a shot into the corner to tie the game at 4-4. KC pushed to try to retake the lead and got caught on the counter as Freddy Moojen finished off the counter with his first goal of the game to put the Tropics up 5-4 after three quarters.

Early in the fourth quarter the Comets found themselves on the power play after a tripping penalty, but got caught up field and another counter by the Tropics allowed Raphael Nascimento to easily beat Patterson to make it 6-4 after Sliwa quickly fed Parreiras, who fed Nascimento. Seconds later the Tropics looked liked they'd do it again short handed but called for too many men on the field. The Comets had just over 30 seconds with a two man advantage but couldn't find the net. As the first penalty expired, Anthony Arico raced out of the box and pressured Patterson in his own defensive third. Patterson lost the ball and Arico scored to make it 7-4 to the Tropics. With just over six minutes left the Comets got one goal back as Rodriguez scored on another power play for the Comets to cut the lead to 7-5. The Comets almost immediately went to the sixth attacker, inserting Sosa as the sixth attacker. But the Tropics again quickly countered off a Sliwa save as the Comets didn't get back, Arico fed Nascimento, who scored his second goal of the game to make it 8-5. The Comets got another opportunity on the power play after a boarding penalty and took advantage as Robert Palmer headed in a ball on the goal line with just over two minutes left to cut the lead to two goals at 8-6. The Comets continued to pressure and with 12 seconds left found a goal to cut the lead to one as Sosa scored from the top of the box to make it 8-7. With only 12 seconds left the Comets immediately went on the offensive off the kick off and had two efforts by Palmer and Brian Harris cleared off the line before the final horn blew.

The Comets won't get to dwell on the loss long though as they are off to St. Louis tomorrow for an afternoon game against the St. Louis Ambush to try to keep themselves ahead of the Milwaukee Wave in the Central division playoff race.

Comets Get First Road Win

The Kansas City Comets earned their first road win of the season on the third time of asking last night in Florida where the Comets took down the expansion Florida Tropics.

The Comets started the game with a very high press, keeping the Tropics pinned in their own end for much of the early going. KC was rewarded for the pressure with a goal off a set piece less than four minutes in as John Sosa laid the ball off the Leo Gibson who fired home from the corner of the box. The Comets continued the pressure but were unable to add to their lead until late in the quarter off another set piece. Off a corner Sosa played a ball through the middle of the box where Bryan Perez had made a run and just had to tap the ball into the net to put the Comets on top 2-0 as the quarter came to an end. The second quarter saw the Comets extend their lead to three goals six minutes in as Brian Harris raced down the wing to receive a pass, Harris' shot was saved but Ramone Palmer had continued his run to the top of the box where he fired the loose ball into the net to make it 3-0 to the Comets. Florida finally got themselves on the board in the final minute of the quarter on a counter attack as the Comets were searching to extend their lead. In a two on one situation Ricardo De Queiroz Diegues and Marco Rodriguez played a give and go to get Stephan Paterson to commit before Diegues finished to send the teams into the break with the Comets up 3-1.

Early in the third quarter the Tropics again cut into the lead, making it a single goal as Victor Rojas capitalized on a turnover by the Comets in their own end to make it 3-2. The Tropics continued to pressure trying to find an equalizer throughout the quarter. Late in the quarter though the Comets capitalized on a mistake by the Tropics defense to push their lead back to two goals as Perez jumped a pass by the Tropics goalkeeper. Racing in on goal, Perez fired a shot off the glass that went right to Stefan Stokic, who just had to tap the ball into the empty net to make it 4-2 heading into the final quarter.

The Comets were able to extend their lead to three goals less than four minutes into the fourth quarter as Gibson picked up a ball at midfield before playing it wide to Perez, who in turn fired the ball off the wall to Gibson at the top of the box. Gibson fired his shot on goal but it was blocked, Gibson reacted first to the rebound and slotted it home to put the Comets up 5-2. The three goal lead lasted less than two minutes before Diegues scored his second of the game off a beautiful back heel on a long ball into the box to make it 5-3. The Tropics pressed for another goal and after inserting the sixth attacker scored a fourth with just over three minutes left on a blast from long range by sixth attacker Victor Parreiras that hit off the underside of the cross bar and into the net. The Tropics continued pushing with the sixth attacker looking for an equalizer that they thought they had with just over a minute left after a shot and scramble in front of goal, but Paterson came away with it and the referees ruled it wasn't a goal. The Comets immediately countered and Stokic was brought down in the corner by Anthony Arico on a tackle born out of frustration for not getting the goal at the other end. A blue card was handed out and the Comets looked to see the game out. With the man advantage the Comets played keep away and eventually pulled the Tropics four defenders up field enough that Perez was sprung in behind the defense. He fed the ball into the middle for Gibson who got the Tropics goalkeeper to commit to him before sliding a pass back across goal for Perez who had set up at the far post to tap home to make it 6-4 to the Comets.

With the win KC move to 5-3 on the season and will host the same Tropics team on December 30th in their next game.

Comets Top Blast

One night after their comeback attempt in Cedar Rapids fell just short, the Kansas City Comets returned home to face the defending MASL champion Baltimore Blast. In their first home game since the shutout against the Chicago Mustangs last weekend, the Comets kept up the defensive performance at home allowing just a single goal to the Blast in a 5-1 win on Sunday evening.

The first quarter was an extremely tight affair between the two, which has become a standard practice for games between the two. Both sides had their chances, with both goalkeepers coming up with good saves as the first quarter ended scoreless.

The second quarter is where the Comets did most of their damage against the defending champs, as Odaine Sinclair scored two and a half minutes into the quarter off an assist from Leo Gibson, one timing a rolling shot into the far corner to make it 1-0. A thirty second span at the midpoint of the quarter provided as much offense as the rest of the game combined. At the midpoint of the quarter Gibson fired a shot from distance off the bottom of the post and past William Vanzela into the net to make it 2-0 Comets. KC made it 3-0 22 seconds later as Stefan Stokic was the first to react to his own rebound after a save by Vanzela. Stokic rolled his second shot under the Baltimore goalkeeper to add to the Comets lead. Eight seconds later the Blast got on the board though as Jonatas Melo beat Stephen Patterson for the first time in about a game and a half to put the Blast within two goals. Before the quarter was over though the Comets had put their lead back to three goals as Guerrero Pino scored off a Ramone Palmer assist to have the Comets go into the break up 4-1.

The second half became another clinic in defensive play from both teams as neither side was able to find the back of the net in the third quarter. In fact in the second half there was only a single goal scored by either side and it came with less than a minute remaining by the Comets against the Blast's sixth attacker as they looked to get back into the game. Gibson picked out Stokic who scored his second goal of the game against the sixth attacker and sealed the win for the Comets 5-1. Kansas City will travel down to Florida next weekend for a game against the expansion Florida Tropics.

Comets' Comeback Falls Short

The Kansas City Comets tried to atone for their opening night loss to the Cedar Rapids Rampage in Iowa tonight, but found themselves down five goals two different times in the night. A valiant comeback for the Comets fell short though as they fell 8-7 to the Rampage to drop to 3-3 on the season.

The Comets didn't come out strong to start the game and were made to pay in the first quarter as the Rampage scored just 12 seconds into the game before doubling the lead less than three minutes in. The Rampage added a third goal before the end of the quarter and the Comets had a mountain to climb after the first quarter. The second quarter didn't change things for the Comets as they allowed the Rampage to score two more goals to extend the lead to 5-0 with just over eight minutes played in the second. Thirty-six seconds later the Comets were able to get themselves on the board though as Leo Gibson found the back of the night to cut the lead back to four. Gui Gomes made it a three goal game, getting his first goal of the season with just under five minutes to play in the quarter. In the dying seconds though the Rampage extended the lead back to four with just four seconds left.

In the third period the Comets came out stronger and pressed the game against the Rampage trying to find a way back into the game. Almost seven minutes into the quarter the Comets cut the lead back to three goals as John Sosa scored to make it 6-3. Less than two minutes later though the Rampage would extend the lead back to five after a pair of goals in 15 seconds made it 8-3. From there the Comets started their comeback. Gibson and Vahid Assadpour got the scoring started, scoring two goals within 26 seconds of each other to bring the Comets back within three before the third period was over.

Into the fourth the Comets continued their comeback, striking early on a goal by Alain Matingou just over a minute into the quarter to cut the lead to two. Before the media timeout, the Comets had cut the lead to one on a goal by Lucas Rodriguez to make it 8-7. Unfortunately the Comets couldn't find an equalizing goal in the final nine and a half minutes to send the game to overtime. The Comets will now return home for a date with the Baltimore Blast tomorrow at the SEC Arena at 5:05. The Blast will come in after a 7-0 shutout win on the road against Florida.

Comets Defense Leads the Way to Victory Over Chicago

Ever since the Kansas City Comets have returned in 2010 they've relied on a high powered offense to lead them to victory. From Byron Alvarez to Geison Moura, to Leo Gibson, to Vahid Assadpour, the Comets have always found ways to score goals since their rebirth. And while they've had good defensive teams at the same time, the Comets had not recorded a shutout since they started playing again. That changed tonight at the Silverstien Eye Centers Arena, where the Comets pitched the shutout against the previously unbeaten Chicago Mustangs 6-0. Goalkeeper, Stephen Paterson came up with 19 saves in the game to lead the Comets to victory.

The Comets scored the only two goals of the first half in the first quarter as Nacho Flores scored less than four minutes in to give the Comets an early lead. Less than nine minutes in the Comets doubled their lead off a restart as John Sosa found Lucas Rodriguez whose shot found the back of the net to make it 2-0. Both teams had chances in the remainder of the first quarter and in the second, but neither side were able to find a goal as Paterson and Jesus Flores both stood tall in goal to keep the score at 2-0 heading into the half time break.

The Comets were able to extend their lead early in the third quarter as Sosa again found Rodriguez to make it 3-0 just over six minutes into the quarter to make it 3-0. The Comets continued the pressure in the third quarter but were unable to extend their lead, but at the same time in their defensive third, Paterson and the Comets defense was able to keep the Mustangs off the board through three periods.

In the past the Comets have had games where they've held a shutout heading into the fourth quarter but have ended up giving up a garbage goal as the team let down a little bit with a big lead. That didn't happen tonight at the SEC as the Comets defense continued to step up big in the fourth quarter to keep the Mustangs off the board. On the offensive end, the Comets were able to extend their lead as just over two minutes in Odaine Sinclair found the back of the net to put the Comets on top 4-0. Near the midpoint of the half the Comets were able to add to their lead on the power play as Vahid Assadpour beat Flores off an assist from Leo Gibson to put the Comets up 5-0. KC finished out the scoring for the night in the final minute when Ramoe Palmer scored against the Mustangs' sixth attacker to make it 6-0 on the night.

The Comets will now have a double game week next weekend, traveling to Cedar Rapids to take on the Rampage on Saturday before hosting the Baltimore Blast on Sunday.

Comets Comeback Falls Short

A late comeback by the Kansas City Comets was not enough as they fell in their first road test of the season, 6-5 to the Milwaukee Wave. The hosts got a hattrick by Ian Bennett to push them to a victory while the Comets came from two goals down in the fourth quarter to make it a one goal game but couldn't find an equalizer.

The first two quarters saw the Comets and Wave trade goals as Bennett scored his first goal of the game very early to put the Wave on top. The Comets equalized shortly after though as John Sosa found the back of the net off an assist by Leo Gibson to make it 1-1. The pair of early goals was all there was in the first quarter, but early in the second the Comets took their only lead of the game as Bryan Perez scored on the power play to put the Comets up 2-1 early. The Wave responded quickly after with Daniel Mattos scored to level the game at 2-2 with less than three minutes played in the second. The Comets and Wave traded goals late in the second period as well with Bennett scoring his second of the game before Stefan Stokic scored with a minute and a half left to send the teams into the half time break tied at 3-3.

The third quarter saw Bennett complete his hattrick on the power play after a blue card on Stephen Paterson gave the Wave the power play. The goal was the only one in a tight third period that also saw Gibson miss a shootout attempt for the Comets on a power play chance of their own.

The fourth quarter saw the Wave look to pull away as they scored off an own goal credited to Robert Renaud before Mattos scored his second goal of the game to make it 6-3 to the Wave. In the final five minutes though the Comets put of a tremendous fight trying to get their way back into the game. With just over three minutes left, Ramone Palmer cut the lead to two goals with an assist to Sosa. The Comets went to the sixth attacker late on trying to find another two goals and got one more back with a long range shot by Lucas Rodriguez to make it 6-5. Unfortunately that was as close as the Comets would get as they fall to 2-2 on the season. The Comets are now off until December 3rd when they'll host the Chicago Mustangs at the SEC Arena.