COMETS COME UP ONE GOAL SHORT AGAINST ST LOUIS

The Kansas City Comets fell 6-5 to the St. Louis Ambush tonight. The score was close throughout the match, with four different lead changes and the largest lead being by two goals.

The Ambush’s Zach Reget and Justin Stinson, as well as Kansas City’s John Sosa all tied for leading scorer with 3 points. Stinson and Sosa both tallied 1 goal and 2 assists, while Reget had 2 goals and 1 assist.

Tonight’s match was a physical one, as is often the case when these two Midwestern rivals go toe-to-toe. Bodies would collide throughout the evening, resulting in 35 fouls and 3 penalties between the teams.

The Comets struck first when Sosa dished a quick pass to Lucas Rodriguez at the top of the goalkeeper box to put Kansas City up 1-0.

With 5:30 left In the first quarter, keeper Brett Petricek received a kick to the shoulder while diving on a ball to prevent a goal. He went down hard, but would continue in goal for Kansas City, making several impressive saves in the match.

Both Ambush and Comets remained scoreless for the rest of the first period, though each team came close to finding the net on multiple occasions.

St. Louis tied things up 1-1 just 30 seconds into the second quarter, when Reget assisted Stinson for a shot that glanced off of Petricek’s fingertips into the net.

Four minutes later, a goal from JT Thomas on a pass from Lucas Almeida put the Ambush up 2-1.

The Comets were awarded a power play when St. Louis’s Mario Marcos was sent to the penalty box for sending James Togbah careening into the arena wall. During the power play, Sosa found Rodriguez a second time to tie the game 2-2 with a shot into the near post’s top corner.

With just under 5 minutes left in the half, Togbah scored an unassisted goal to take the lead once again for Kansas City. The Comets would keep the 3-2 lead through the final whistle of the first half.

The second half had barely begun before Adam James was sent to the penalty box for boarding, placing the Comets in a penalty-kill scenario.

Kansas City managed to prevent a goal in the power play, but the Ambush’s Thomas scored shortly after on an assist from Marcos, tying the game at 3-3. A minute later, Stinson found Reget for a goal to take the lead for St. Louis.

At the eight-minute mark, Comets tied the game once more when John Sosa surprised St. Louis keeper Paulo Nascimento on a free kick for an unassisted goal.

Seconds later, Reget corralled a rebound from a Petricek save to slip the ball past the Comets keeper, retaking the lead for the Ambush.

The next goal came with 1:37 left in the third quarter, when the Ambush’s JerJer Gibson assisted Almeida to extend the St. Louis lead to 6-4. This lead would continue into the fourth period.

The Comets had several close attempts to score early on in the fourth, but were unable to finish. Alain Matingou was given a blue card with 7:35 remaining in the quarter, and the Ambush were awarded a chance at a penalty shootout.

St. Louis couldn’t convert on the shootout, and Kansas City executed a successful penalty kill, leaving 5:25 left in the match.

With Rodriguez stepping in as a sixth-attacker-goalie, Kansas City’s Leo Gibson snuck in a shot off a rebounding pass from Ramone Palmer, bringing the score to 6-5 in favor of St. Louis just over two minutes remaining in the match.

Kansas City fired several shots on goal, but could not find the net in the match’s final moments. A final scoring opportunity came in the form of a corner kick with 17 seconds on the clock, but the Ambush’s penalty box was crowded with jerseys, and the Comets could not convert.

The Comets will continue their series against the Ambush on Saturday, December 29 at The Family Arena in St. Charles, MO. Kickoff will be at 7:05 pm CT.

MASL Match Report
Match: Kansas City Comets vs St Louis Ambush
Date: December 22, 2018
Venue: Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, Independence, MO
Kickoff: 7:05 p.m. CT / 8:05 p.m. ET