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 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.

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.

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 Run Past Ambush

The Kansas City Comets ended their three game home stand to start the season with an 8-3 win over the St. Louis Ambush on Sunday evening. The Ambush, playing their first game of the season looked a bit rusty in the first half, similar to how the Comets looked against the Cedar Rapids Rampage in their opener. While the Ambush have played some preseason games, the Comets having two real games under their belt already certainly seemed to give them an advantage in the early going.

The Comets got the first goal of the game from a very unlikely source as about eight minutes in as goalkeeper Stephen Paterson took a lot of space that the Ambush defense gave him on a line change. Paterson raced almost to the Ambush yellow line before firing a shot low to the far post that Ambush goalkeeper Nikola Marojevic didn't even dive for. The shot bounced into the corner of the net giving the Comets a 1-0 lead. While the goal was impressive coming from a goalkeeper, Marojevic not even making an attempt to make a dive on the play looked bad for the St. Louis goalkeeper. The goal ended up being the only one of the first quarter as the Comets dominated but some good saves by Marojevic kept the lead to just a single goal.

It didn't take long for the Comets to extend their lead in the second quarter as some high pressure by the Comets led to a give away by Marojevic as he played a ball right to Guerrero Pino who fired a shot into the net to double the lead less than two minutes into the quarter. KC made it 3-0 five and a half minutes in after some good passing around the yellow line led to Alain Matingou playing a ball to the back post where Ramone Palmer was lurking to tap the ball home. The rout appeared to be on, but less than a minute later the Ambush were on the board with Stefan St. Louis scoring his first goal of the season. The Comets restored their three goal lead before half time as Vahid Assadpour scored after sending Marojevic sliding by with a fake shot and passing the ball into the empty net as the Comets went into the half up 4-1.

The Ambush came out after the half time break and looked to have woken up and were ready to play. They seemed to have gotten their feet under them and were able to create chances, especially on the counter were Richard Schmermund beat Paterson almost seven minutes into the quarter to cut the Comets lead back to two goals. Kansas City though responded again with Bryan Perez scuffing a shot into the far corner after a centering pass by Leo Gibson to make it 5-2. Before the end of the quarter Schmermund had cut the lead back to just two goals blasting a shot past Paterson to make it 5-3 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter saw the Comets pull away from the Ambush scoring three times while keeping the Ambush from cutting the lead any further. Less than two minutes into the quarter, Gibson set up Lucas Rodriguez to extend the lead back to three goals. Just over five minutes in the Comets made the lead four goals as Brian Harris scored to make it 7-3. With less than four minutes left, the Comets finished off their scoring, almost seeming to toy with the Ambush defense as a pair of Comets passed up shooting opportunities before Gibson picked up his third assist of the game playing a ball across the goal to an on-rushing Robert Palmer who fired a shot in off the post and the head of a St. Louis defender to finish the game.

The Comets will now go on the road for the first time this season next weekend when they'll take on the Milwaukee Wave, who split their East Coast road trip 1-1, defeating Baltimore but losing to Harrisburg.

Comets Beat Wave for First Win

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.

Comets Season Ends in OT Loss to Baltimore

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

Comets Run Past Milwaukee, Book Date with Baltimore

The Missouri Comets clinched a spot in the MASL's final four, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals to take on the Baltimore Blast with an 8-2 win over the Milwaukee Wave to sweep their series 2 games to none.

The Comets started things early with Vahid Assadpour finishing an effort off a John Sosa restart. The Wave were able to tie the game halfway through the quarter with Max Ferdinand finding the net. The Comets though proceeded to run away with things, Sosa scored off a restart with just over five minutes left, before Max Touloute scored in the final four minutes to make it 3-1 after one quarter. The Comets were able to extend their lead further in the second quarter, but only by a single goal as Alain Matingou finished up an opportunity off an assist from Kiel Williams.

The two teams both had their chances in the third quarter, with the Comets getting the better of play, but neither side was able to find the net again. Finally in the final five minutes the Comets struck twice, first Kevin Ten Eyck caught Nick Vorberg with a quick strike that went through the Wave goalkeepers' legs to make it 5-1. Then in the final few seconds of the period Touloute fired a shot from the top of the box into the net to end the quarter up 6-1. Virtually from the kick off in the fourth quarter the Wave went with the sixth attacker trying to make their way back into the game. Five minutes in they found one as Ian Bennett beat Boris Pardo to make it 6-2 with 10 minutes still to play. Three and a half minutes later though the game basically over. In the span of 20 seconds the Comets scored twice against the sixth attacker to put the game away. First Ramone Palmer scored after him and Brian Harris played a perfect counter leading to a Palmer tap in to make it 7-2. Then 20 seconds later on a long ball by Leo Gibson, sixth attacker Johnathan Greenfield slipped on the turf, pulling it up and falling to the ground. Touloute, who was racing after the ball picked up the loose ball after Greenfield's slip and walked the ball into the net. From there the Wave reinserted Vorberg and the two teams played out the final six minutes as the Comets advanced.

Comets Sweep Baltimore, Win East

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.

Strong Second Half Sees Comets Down Silver Knights

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.

Comets Beat Baltimore, Clinch Central

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.