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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After a disappointing result at home in their opener against Cedar Rapids last week, the Comets took care of business on Friday night against the Milwaukee Wave. A very different Wave side from the team that the Comets have seen the last few years hung with the Comet s early on, but in the end the Comets veteran players stepped up to push the Comets to an 11-4 win.
Things kicked off quickly with the Wave getting a blue card in the first nine seconds of the game after Andre Hayne came in “studs up” on Stephen Paterson as he tried to clear a ball away. The Comets couldn’t capitalize on the power play, hitting the post once, but controlled the first quarter. It wasn’t until late in the quarter though that the Comets finally took advantage of the possession and scored two goals in a 21 second span. The first an own goal created to Milan Ivanovic as Hans Denissen headed a ball into his own net. Seconds later the Comets pinned the Wave in their own end and Nacho Flores picked out Brian Harris who put the ball into the empty net as Rafael Dias had come off his line.
The second quarter saw the Comets extend their lead scoring here more times, while the Wave was able to get onto the board. Just under six minutes in Ramone Palmer started the scoring after bouncing on a loose ball after a heavy touch. The ball got wide to Guerrero Pino who played the ball back across field to a streaking Palmer who scored. Just over a minute later John Sosa got on the board after being played into the middle by Leo Gibson he flicked the ball up over Dias and smashed it into the empty net to make it 4-0. Shortly after the teams traded power play goals with the Wave scoring through Hayne and Gibson getting his first goal of the night pouncing on a rebound spilled by Dias.
The Comets quickly extended their four goal lead to five, just 50 seconds in; Gibson played a cross to Palmer that the Jamaican put home to make 6-1. From there the Wave and Comets traded goals with Denissen making up for his early own goal taking advantage of the Comets failure to clear the ball out of their own box. Shortly after that though Gibson scored his second goal of the night working a nice give and go with Vahid Assadpour before firing a ball into the net to put the Comets back up by five at 7-2. Late in the quarter though the Wave cut the lead back to four on a counter attack as Paterson came up with a good save on the first effort but on the rebound Andrew Wiedabach’s shot was directed in by Ian Bennett to make it 7-3 after three quarters.
Two minutes into the fourth quarter the Wave were able to cut the lead to just three when Drew Ruggles blasted a ball past Paterson. From there though the Comets ran away from the Wave, scoring the final four goals to put the Wave away for an 11-4 win. Assadpour got the scoring started just over six minutes into the quarter working a long give and go with Harris before calmly shooting the ball under Dias. A minute later, Gibson became provider, racing down the side and playing the ball into the middle for Bryan Perez who put the ball into the far corner. The pressure continued as Gibson got his hattrick on the power play toe poking a shot from the top of the arc into the corner. Two minutes later the Comets finished the game off with another goal by Gibson as he held off a challenge from Ruggles to fire a shot past Dias to make it 11-4.
The Missouri Comets needed a pair of wins in Baltimore tonight to send themselves to the MASL final. Unfortunately for the Comets their defense let them down for the second straight game leading to another loss and the end of their season in overtime 4-3 to the Baltimore Blast.
After a tight, scoreless first quarter, the Comets were able to take the lead with just over five minutes left in the first half as Leo Gibson finished off an effort from Robert Palmer. With less than a minute left the Comets were able to double their lead as Vahid Assadpour scored off an assist from Max Touloute to make it 2-0 as the Comets headed into half time.
The second half saw the Comets extend their lead to three goals as Max Touloute took advantage of a mistake by William Vanzela to extend the lead. The Comets defense continued to hold on and keep the shut out as Boris Pardo made a number of key saves. In the final three minutes though the Blast were finally able to get on the board as Adriano Dos Santos scored off an assist from Vanzela to cut the lead to two goals. The Blast continued the pressure into the fourth quarter but it looked like the Comets may hang on. But like the game on Thursday when the Comets allowed two goals in the final four minutes to let the Blast take it to overtime, the Comets again gave up a pair of goals. First Onua Obasi pounced on a poor pass between John Sosa and Pardo to score and make it a one goal game. Then with the extra attacker on and just over a minute left, Lucas Roque scored to tie the game at 3-3 and send the game to overtime.
The two teams went to overtime, and played a scoreless first overtime with neither side able to find a goal. Early in the second overtime though the Comets were forced to be on the penalty kill after a tripping foul for Robert Palmer. Unfortunately that was the opening that the Blast needed as Tony Donatelli found Roque with the man advantage and he beat Pardo to give the Blast the win and the series 2-0 over the Comets. For the second year in a row now the Comets will be watching the Blast in the finals. After going 3-0 against the Blast in three meetings in the regular season the Comets couldn't get it done in the playoffs and bow out. Missouri did play the second half and overtime without last year's league MVP, Gibson, who sat out with concussion symptoms and his absence is certainly one that would
The Missouri Comets got a five goal game from reigning MASL MVP Leo Gibson on their way to a 10-5 win over the Milwaukee Wave in game one of the MASL Central Division finals. The Wave took the lead just over four minutes into the quarter through Sean Totsch. Near the midpoint of the first quarter the Comets got on the board with Gibson scoring his first goal of the game. Missouri scored three more times over the final six minutes of the first quarter Gibson added his second sandwiched between goals by Ramone Palmer and Max Touloute.
Gibson finished off his hattrick just under six minutes into the second quarter to extend the Comets lead to 5-1. Before the quarter was done though the Wave had reduced the lead to two as Ian Bennett scored twice to make it 5-3 in the Comets favor at half time.
The third quarter saw three different runs by the two teams as the Comets ended up extending their lead. Touloute scored his second goal of the game less than two minutes in after he stole the ball from a Wave attacker at midfield and raced in on goal. John Sosa then extended the lead back to four goals less than seven minutes in. From there the Wave came back and scored two goals in less than 20 seconds with Bennett finishing his hattrick before Stefan St. Louis set up Hans Denissen to cut the lead back to two. That'd be as close as the Wave would get though as the Comets extended the lead back to four in the final four minutes as Gibson scored his fourth goal of the game before he set up Bryan Perez in the final minute and a half to make it 9-5 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter saw the Comets add a 10th goal and Gibson's fifth just over three minutes into the quarter to finish out the scoring. The Comets held off the Wave, even when they switched to the sixth attacker. Missouri will now head home for game two on Sunday in Independence with two chances to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
Over the last year the Missouri Comets and Baltimore Blast have had their share of drama on and off the field, from the Blast sweeping the previously unbeaten Comets out of the 2014-2015 MASL playoffs, to the post game head butt by former Comet Andre Braithwaite, to the post game ranting of Blast own Ed Hale. Then this year it was the half time interview Hale gave during the two team's first meeting where he said that the Blast would be leaving the MASL and basically called out the Missouri owner. To his subsequent interviews where he has basically said the Comets weren't worth of the new league he was creating, it's been a year full of plenty of things not focused on soccer. And that's a bad thing, because the three games this season between the Comets and the Blast have been some of the best in the MASL. All three games were decided by two or fewer goals, one of which being in overtime. The last of those three games was tonight at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena where the Comets took a 2-0 lead, only to lose it before scoring two goals in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter to win 5-4. The win sees the Comets clinch the Eastern Conference, giving them home field advantage all the way to the MASL finals should they make it.
The Comets were able to jump out to a 2-0 lead over the Blast with Max Touloute scoring just over four minutes into the game to give the Comets the lead and Leo Gibson scoring with just over six and a half minutes left in the first quarter to double the lead. The Comets had numerous chances to extend the lead as they pushed the attack but good goalkeeping by William Vanzela kept them off the board, and when he was caught out of position, his defense was there to back him up to keep the Blast in the game. The second quarter saw the Comets continue to push for to extend their lead, but the Blast had their opportunities too as Boris Pardo was called on a number of times. Finally with under five minutes to play in the second quarter the Blast got on the board through Jonatas Melo.
The third quarter saw the Blast continue to pressure looking for an equalizer, but the Comets defense held strong for the first half of the quarter. Just before the half way mark though the Blast were level. A poor pass back to Pardo by Touloute put Pardo in a tough position. Uzi Tayou took advantage, getting the ball off Pardo's foot and knocking it into the net to tie the game at 2-2. The Comets though fought back and retook the lead as Alain Matingou redirected a cross from Vahid Assadpour into the net to make it 3-2. In the final 10 seconds of the quarter though the Blast again levels the score as Jinho Kim picked out Jereme Raley with a wall pass and he beat Pardo to level the game at 3-3 heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter got really tight for both teams, because of the way the game had gone it felt like one goal would be enough to win it. With five and a half minutes player the Blast were able to grab their first lead of the game as Adriano Dos Santos fired a shot from the penalty arc that deflected on it's way through, leaving Pardo wrong footed as it went in to make it 4-3. The Blast continued to create chances, but Pardo continued to keep the Comets within one. At the other end of the field, a Vanzela mistake with just under six minutes to play allowed the Comets to equalize. On a back pass, Vanzela's touch got away from him a bit, allowing Vahid Assadpour to jump on the loose ball, it got behind Vanzela and Assadpour quickly poked it into the net to tie the game at 4-4. Both teams had their chances to take the lead again, but it was Ramone Palmer with three and a half minutes left who was able to take advantage. Receiving a pass in the middle of the penalty arc from Gibson, Palmer took one touch then touched it around Vanzela before knocking it into the net to make it 5-4. The Comets were then able to kill the rest of the game while the Blast used the sixth attacker to claim the win.
For the second straight season the Missouri Comets finished the regular season unbeaten on the road with a 8-4 win over the Syracuse Silver Knights to push their record on the season to 16-3. They needed another comeback to do it though being down by two with five minutes left in the second quarter and a goal at half time. But five unanswered goals in the second half saw the Comets run away with things.
Bryan Perez got the Comets on the board first today though knocking home a pass from Leo Gibson to put the Comets on top with less than seven minutes played. The Silver Knights though took over the quarter from there Kenardo Forbes scored just over a minute later to tie the game. Then with under four minutes to play the Knights scored twice in the span of 17 seconds to take the lead 3-1 on goals by Darren Toby and Jerjer Gibson. Perez was able to get one back for the Comets in the final two and a half minutes off a John Sosa restart to cut the lead back to one after one quarter.
The second quarter saw the back and forth game continue, but less than seven minutes in, Doug Miller turned in a shot from Joey Tavernese that hit off the glass and bounced right into his path. The goal made it 4-2 and restored the Knights' two goal lead. The Comets once again fought back and were able to close the gap to one on a nice turn and finish by Gibson off an assist from Sosa to allow the Comets to head into the half down just one goal.
The Comets came out and were able to find an equalizer in the third quarter on the power play after a blue card was issued to Slavisa Ubiparipovic for tripping. Vahid Assadpour fired a blast past Knights goalkeeper Bryan O'Quinn on an assist by Gibson to tie the game at 4-4. The goal was the only one of the quarter and the two teams went into the fourth tied.
It took the Comets just over six minutes to retake the lead in the fourth with Assadpour again finding the net on Sosa's third assist of the game. Less than a minute later, Perez finished off the hattrick against his former team to make it 6-4 in a matter of moments. The Comets held off the Knights attack and with about three minutes left the Knights pulled their goalkeeper looking for a way back into the game with the extra attacker. The Comets though were the ones who took advantage, twice finding the open net in the final two and a half minutes to double the lead to 8-4 as Stefan Stokic and Max Touloute were the ones to add to their goal tally.
The Comets now return home for their final regular season game against the Blast next Saturday night. From there the Comets will then head into the playoffs to face off against Chicago or Milwaukee.
The Missouri Comets unbeaten run last season was ended in the playoffs when they lost to the Baltimore Blast twice to end their season. This year the Missouri Comets ended the Blast's 27 game home winning streak that dated back to 2013, and in the process clinched the MASL's Central Division with a 5-4 overtime win on Friday night.
The first quarter saw a defensive battle with both goalkeepers coming up with fine saves to keep the game scoreless. Boris Pardo ended up being the busier of the two goalkeepers. Very late in the first quarter, Leo Gibson picked up a blue card for endangering Baltimore goalkeeper William Vanzela. The penalty bled into the second quarter as the Comets killed the penalty but seconds after it ended the Blast took the lead Onua Obasi finally beat Pardo to make it 1-0 to the Blast. The Blast kept up the pressure and forced Pardo into a number of saves before Tony Donatelli scored less than five minutes into the quarter to make it 2-0 Blast. The Comets fought back though and were able to cut the lead to 2-1 before the half was over as Max Touloute found the net to get the Comets on the board.
The Comets didn't take long to tie the game in the third quarter as Gibson scored just 18 seconds in to tie the game at 2-2 and set the pace for the quarter. The Comets would score twice more in the quarter, once on a short handed situation after Vahid Assadpour was given a blue card for the Comets having too many men on the field. Robert Palmer scored off an assist from Touloute to give the Comets their first lead at 3-2. In the final minute the Comets got a power play of their own and took full advantage as John Sosa fired a shot from the yellow line into the top corner to put the Comets up 4-2 after three quarters.
Missouri tried to kill the game off in the fourth quarter, they didn't push forward as much, trying to kill the game off. The Blast though quickly got the game back to just one goal as Jinho Kim scored a little over three minutes into the fourth. The Comets continued to try to absorb the pressure and just over eight minutes in they conceded the equalizer. After the ball pinged around a little bit, Adriano Dos Santos cushioned a header down to the top of the box. Two Comets players had a chance to clear it, but neither did and the ball fell to Donatelli to blasted the ball past Pardo to tie the game. The Blast controlled the majority of the final few minutes of the game looking for a winner. The Comets pressure came back, but they were unable to muster much in the way of offense and after regulation the two teams were tied 4-4 and headed to overtime.
Overtime moved at a very quick pace for both teams from the start as the Blast came out with high pressure looking to complete their comeback. Pardo though continued to do well in goal and kept the Blast out. The Comets were able to strike the other way quickly through Touloute. He had a shot well saved by Vanzela with his feet. Touloute recovered his own rebound though and played the ball back to Assadpour who fired the ball past Vanzela and into the lower corner to give the Comets the win 5-4, pushing their record on the season now to 15-3. Holding the tiebreaker on the Chicago Mustangs 2-1 means that the Comets clinched the Central division as now the Mustangs can only tie their record. Missouri play their final road game on Sunday in Syracuse before ending the season at home a week from tomorrow against the Blast.
The Missouri Comets kept their lead atop the MASL's Central Division as they topped the Milwaukee Wave 7-2 in Milwaukee. The Comets came into the day only a half game ahead of the Chicago Mustangs for first in the Central, and three games ahead of the Wave for third place. With the win though the Comets have clinched at least a top two seed in the Central and will get at least one home game in the MASL playoffs this year.
The game between the two teams was tight and both goalkeepers were in top form early on as Boris Pardo and Nick Vorberg both made saves to keep the game scoreless. With less than five minutes left in the quarter the Wave were able to jump on top Stuart Grable scored to make it 1-0 after one quarter.
The second quarter saw the Comets mount a quick comeback. Less than four minutes in the Comets had leveled the score as a Leo Gibson shot redirected into the net to tie the game at 1-1.The Comets continued to pressure and hold possession and before seven minutes had been played, took the lead on the Wave as Bryan Perez finished off an opportunity from John Sosa. Late in the quarter Perez added a second of the game to put the Comets up 3-1. Missouri held the ball for long stretches late, killing plenty of clock and creating chances but were unable to extend their lead.
The third quarter started with the Wave having a renewed push on the game, coming out with a much higher line than they had in the first half. Pardo in the Comets net kept the Wave off the board for over half the period though. With just over eight minutes gone though the Wave finally broke through and cut the lead to one goal as Ian Bennett was finally able to get a shot past Pardo to make it a 3-2 Comets lead. After taking a timeout after the goal the Comets were able to reestablish their possession game and regain control. With a minute and a half left in the quarter the Comets restored their two goal cushion as Brian Harris caught the Wave on a line change and played the ball forward to Max Touloute who was unmarked in the Wave half. He dribbled in on Vorberg and fired a shot past him at the near post.
The Comets continued to control possession in the fourth quarter, but struggled to find a way to extend their lead as Vorberg continued to play well. Finally just past the midpoint the Comets had a break in their favor, as Lucas Rodriguez tried to square the ball to the back post Tenzin Rampa redirected the ball into his own net to extend the Comets lead to 5-2. At that point the Wave pulled Vorberg to go with the sixth attacker. It took the Comets less than two minutes to capitalize on the empty net as Touloute won the ball off his man and raced the length of the field beating sixth attacker Jonathan Greenfield down the field to extend the lead to 6-2. With less than four minutes left Touloute again started a counter against the sixth attacker, trying to set up Perez, the ball got knocked away, right to Touloute, who easily scored to make it 7-2. The Wave put Vorberg back in the game and the two teams played out the final few minutes without any additional goals. The Comets will now go on a two game road trip to the East coast to play Baltimore and Syracuse before closing the season out at home against Baltimore.
The Missouri Comets looked like they'd cruse into first place in the MASL's Central Division as they headed into the fourth quarter with a 5-1 lead over the Chicago Mustangs. The Comets had done a good job through three quarters of shutting down the Mustang offense, particularly Bofo Bautista, but the fourth quarter saw the Mustangs stage a big comeback. It wasn't enough though as the Comets were able to hold off the Mustangs just enough to survive for a 7-6 win.
The first quarter saw a number of chances for both teams with the Comes Boris Pardo probably being the busier of the two goalkeepers with the saves he needed to make. Late in the quarter though the Comets jumped on the board as Kevin Ten Eyck scored with less than a minute left in the quarter as the Comets ended up 1-0.
The second saw the Mustangs quickly equalize through Wilo Martinez to tie the game at one. The tie game didn't last as long this time as just four minutes into the period Vahid Assadpour scored off an assist by John Sosa off a restart. Near the midpoint of the quarter the Comets extended their lead to 3-1 as Stefan Stokic scored off an assist from Assadpour. Once again in the final minute of the quarter the Comets extended their lead to 4-1 as Leo Gibson scored off an assist from Max Touloute.
The third quarter again saw a tight quarter with only one goal scored as Robert Palmer just under six minutes into the quarter to make it 5-1 Comets as the two teams headed into the final period. The fourth quarter though belonged to Bofo as he almost single-handedly brought the Mustangs back. Just over four minutes in he beat Pardo with a nice finish to make it 5-2 to the Comets. Missouri responded less than a minute later as Ramon Palmer turned in a back post shot by Gibson to make it 6-2 for Missouri. Near the midpoint the Mustangs again pulled a goal back, this time Bofo set up Trajche Lostovski to cut the lead to just 6-3 with over half the quarter left to play. The Comets began pushing the game again looking for another goal and made it 7-3 off a restart goal again as this time Sosa set up Lucas Rodriguez for the finish. Less than a minute later the Mustangs were back within three goals as the Comets got caught up field countering leaving Bofo basically all alone in the Comets end. Bofo brought the ball down and slotted it past Pardo to make it 7-4. Shortly after the Mustangs went to the sixth attacker looking to close the lead further. Bofo did just that with just under two and a half minutes left off a restart being Pardo with the help of a deflection off Gibson. The Comets held off the Mustangs but struggled to clear their end as time ticked away and with less than a minute left Bofo scored his fourth goal of the quarter to bring the Mustangs within one goal. The Mustangs continued to have efforts over the final 50 seconds but the Comets defense held out enough to preserve the victory and move the Comets ahead of the Mustangs in the Central division and also give the Comets the tie breaker for the season with the Mustangs, going 2-1 against the Chicago side.
The Missouri Comets came back from a three week break to welcome the Baltimore Blast to the Silverstein Eye Centers for the first of three games in the final six for the Comets against the MASL finalist. For the first time since the infamous headbutting situation in last year's playoffs the two teams met. This time there was no physical altercation, just a good indoor soccer game. The Comets and the Blast fought in a back and forth intense game.
The first quarter was tight between the two teams with both goalkeepers being called upon to make big saves to keep the game scoreless. Under a minute left in the quarter though the scoring started. First Lucas Roque scored with 43 seconds left in the quarter to give the Blast the lead. The Comets though responded before the end of the quarter as Lucas Rodriguez scored off a restart with less than a second remaining to end the quarter with the two teams tied at 1-1.
Early in the second quarter Adriano Dos Santos took advantage of a power play opportunity and restored the Blast's lead before two minutes of the second quarter had been played. Once again though the Comets responded before five minutes had been played as Keil Willams jumped on a rebound after he and Leo Gibson had a few efforts in front of goal. With William Vanzela a little out of position, Williams was able to knock the ball into the net to make it 2-2. With less than five minutes left in the quarter the Comets grabbed their first lead of the game as Ramone Palmer set up the club's captain, Vahid Assadpour who made it 3-2.
The third quarter kept the game tight as the Blast tied the game with just over five minutes played as Roque scored his second goal of the game to knot the game at three all. Just under three minutes later, near the midpoint of the half the Comets retook the lead as Gibson scored to put the Comets back on top 4-3. The Blast once again fought back though and tied the game as Onua Obasi fired a shot off the inside of the far post and into the net to level the game at 4-4.
Into the fourth the Comets found themselves having to kill another penalty after a boarding penalty on John Sosa. The Comets were able to kill the penalty and shortly after had a power play of their own. The Comets took advantage of the man advantage as Lucas Rodriguez set up Bryan Perez with a nice pass to put the Comets up 5-4. The Blast pushed the game trying to once again find an equalizer but couldn't, after puling their goalkeeper and going with the sixth attacker. With under a minute left the Comets were able to extend the lead to 6-4 as Rodriguez found the back of the net to give the Comets the win.
In what turned into a tight defensive effort, the Missouri Comets closed out their busy after Christmas schedule welcoming the Milwaukee Wave to the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena for the first game of the New Year. The two teams who played a tight game a month ago at the SEC again played a superb defensive game.
The game started out going back and forth between both teams. Both Missouri and Milwaukee had some decent chances but Boris Pardo and Nick Vorberg both came up with some big saves early on. It wasn’t until the game was almost 10 minutes old that the first goal was scored. The Comets had had pressure on the Wave, pinning them in their own end. The goal came after a Vahid Assadpour shot was knocked wide of the goal by Vorberg. At the back side though was Milan Ivanovic who unmarked knocked the ball into the net putting the Comets up 1-0 and atoning for an earlier miss when he’d missed a goal on the doorstep. Twenty seconds later the Comets were able to put themselves up 2-0. The Comets high pressure forced a high pass to Vorberg who was outside the box. The Wave goalkeeper tried to bring the ball down on his chest but Stefan Stokic knocked the ball away and raced towards goal but was brought down by Vorberg from behind in the box. With a penalty kick give, Assadpour stepped up and buried a penalty kick for his first goal of the night to double the Comets lead. The Comets were able to add another goal before the quarter ended as Gibson beat his defender in the corner and fired a shot into the far post to put the Comets on top 3-0 after one quarter.
Like the first quarter, the second quarter continued with a tight performance. The Comets controlled a good portion early on, but as the quarter continued the Wave started to get more of the ball. Around the midpoint of the quarter though the Comets added a fourth goal to their total as a long ball over the top found Gibson. The Comets forward chipped a ball into the box where Ivanovic had arrived to head the ball past Vorberg and into the net. Shortly after the goal though the Wave were able to get themselves on the board through a shootout attempt of their own through Max Ferdinand. After Stokic almost made Vorberg pay again for a poor giveaway the ball the Wave countered the other way through Ferdinand. Robert Palmer fell down while in pursuit, leaving Ferdinand one on one with Pardo. The Comets goalkeeper pushed Ferdinand wide but fouled the Wave midfielder just outside the box drawing a blue card and shootout that Ferdinand put away himself. The Comets did a good job of shutting down the Wave attack by playing keep away and were able to go into the half up 4-1.
The defensive effort by both teams continued into the second half as neither side was able to get themselves on the board early on in the third quarter. Both teams had their chances but the defense on both teams was able to shut down the chances and when they didn’t the goalkeepers kept the ball out of the net. It wasn’t until there less than five minutes left in the quarter that the Comets scored, but it was worth the wait as Max Touloute on his return from injury fired a blistering effort into the far corner to make it 5-1 to the Comets.
The Wave started to apply more pressure in the fourth quarter needing to cut the lead down. The Comets though were getting more chances on the counter but Vorberg continued to come up big. The saves proved to be worth it as the Wave were able to cut the lead to three just over the half way point of the quarter. Kevin Ten Eyck handled a Milwaukee cross in the box, drawing a blue card and giving the Wave a penalty kick. Ferdinand stepped up and sent it right down the middle to make it 5-2 with just over seven minutes left. As soon as the Wave won the ball back off the kickoff they went to the sixth attacker bringing another player up the field to try to cut further into the lead. The Comets defense held firm and kept the Wave out of the net, but were unable to hit on the counter. With less than three minutes left though the Wave began to make it interesting as a pair of goals by Ian Bennett in the span of 16 seconds made it a one goal game at 5-4. The Wave continued to pressure, keeping the Comets pinned in their own end looking to find that last goal to tie the game up, but the Comets defense stepped up again late and kept the Wave from getting a clear chance at goal with Stokic getting the final block right as the clock hit zero to preserve the win.
It's the first day of 2016 and with little news from any of KC's teams likely to come down in the next day or so we're going to take another look back at the year that was 2015 in Kansas City. Here are some moments of the year.
Game of the Year
7/1/15 vs Dallas
There were a few options to pick from here, the 3-2 win over Philadelphia, the 4-3 comeback win over Vancouver, or the US Open Cup final against Philadelphia, but I'm going with probably Sporting KC's most dominating of the season. KC jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first half, including a natural hattrick by Dom Dwyer, the club's first since the 2010 season. Dwyer scored in the fifth, 30th, and 41st minute to put KC on top. In first half stoppage time Krisztian Nemeth scored to make it 4-0. Before the hour mark Nemeth made it 5-0 with his audacious effort from neither the end line that he curled and chipped over Dan Kennedy. After Dallas' Michael Barrios got Dallas on the board, Dwyer finished off his night by scoring a fourth goal from a free kick outside the box. Dallas was able to grab one last consolation through Kellyn Acosta but KC cruised to victory and advancment in the Open Cup. Plus it gave us this video:
Goal of the Year
Krisztian Nemeth vs Portland Timbers 10/3/15
Really there was never any doubt on this one, the MLS Goal of the Year by Nemeth, beating three Portland Timbers defenders, two of them multiple times to allow KC to steal all three points at Providence Park. The goal is one of those that will be replayed over and over for years. Plus for once I actually love the opposing team call of the goal, the "oh no" is just perfect in a "I can not believe I just saw that happen" kind of way.
Assist of the Year
Graham Zusi vs Houston Dynamo 4/25/15
It may seem like a really mundane header, but I love the poise of Zusi on his cushioned header back to Benny Feilhaber. As the broadcast said, most players would try to take the ball on the chest and set up a shot for themselves, but unselfishly Zusi touches the ball back to Feilhaber and we get an amazing goal to give KC a point.
Single Game Performance of the Year
Leo Gibson vs Tacoma Stars 2/22/15
The Missouri Comets had a lot of big victories in the 2014-2015 season, and many of those saw Leo Gibson play a big role in those games. None was bigger than the Comets final regular season game of the season. Taking on the Tacoma Stars, who'd replaced the Seattle Impact midway through the season, Leo Gibson scored eight goals and assisted on four more as the Comets won 17-1 over the Stars.
Low Point of the Year
5-0 loss to San Jose 8/19/2015
Coming off the high of the big come from behind victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps it was a very big fall when San Jose came into Kansas City and beat Sporting 5-0. It was the first win by either team away from home in the series since 2004. It was also the start of a five game winless run for Sporting that really started to be the downfall of their season.
Non-Kansas City-KC player moment of the year
Lauren Holiday vs Japan 7/5/2015
The Women's World Cup final was the Carli Lloyd show, Holiday herself had a very nice game against Japan and a superb volley off a poor headed clearance that proved to be the game winning goal.
KC Soccer Player of the Year
Benny Feilhaber
The MVP finalist had a career year for Sporting KC. Feilhaber was the main catylist for Kansas City all season. He scored 10 league goals and added two in all competitions. He also proved 15 assists and another five in all competitions to make him responsible 32 of KC's 64 goals this season. That's right, Feilhaber was involved as the scorer or assist man on half of Sporting's goals in 2015.
FCKC Player of the Year
Becky Sauerbrunn
The rock in the back not only for FC Kansas City but for the US women's national team as well. Sauerbrunn was snubbed by the Women's World Cup for the Best XI and other awards but was arguably the USA's best player over the course of the entire tournament over the summer. Back in the NWSL Sauerbrunn continued to just be a solid defender for FC Kansas City, winning her third straight NWSL defender of the year, at this point they should just name the award after her.
Comets Player of the Year
Leo Gibson
He's been doing it for years for the Comets, scoring goals and leading the team. In 2014-2015 he was the MASL MVP in the league's first season finishing the season with 93 points, 48 goals and 45 assists. The 93 points were 30 more than the league's next closest player in the league.
