Comets drop to Ambush in OT

ST. CHARLES, MO — A hat trick from Dom Francis and a heavily rotated lineup was unable to extend the Kansas City Comets’ winning run against the St. Louis Ambush on Wednesday afternoon as the Comets fell 5-4 in overtime.

Making six changes to the lineup that won on Saturday, including the MASL debut of Ali Alomari, the Comets remained close throughout Wednesday’s contest, but never managed to grab the lead. It was the Comets’ first loss to the Ambush and over a year and their first loss in Family Arena since February 2024.

After a scoreless first quarter, in which the Comets failed to convert on a power play and Phillip Ejimadu made seven saves to keep the score level, action got moving quickly in the second quarter. Both sides exchanged five goals in about two minutes of game time.

The first two scores came from the Ambush, when Lucas Almeida scored 2:36 into the second quarter before Will Eskay added to the lead. The Comets cut into the deficit 20 seconds after Eskay’s goal when Alomari tallied his first career point, assisting Ramone Palmer’s first goal this season.

An unforced turnover allowed the Ambush to restore their two-goal cushion when Robert Kristo smashed his effort in 4:10 into the second quarter. Francis got his first of the day 33 seconds later with a beautiful combination that started with Zach Reget before David Stankovic laid it off for the Englishman, reducing the lead once again as the Comets trailed 4-3 going into halftime.

The Comets pulled level midway through the third quarter when Francis struck again, making it 3-3 on a restart assisted by Lesia Thetsane. St. Louis went back in front 4-3 when Axel Chakounte was credited with a score in a messy play in front of the goal.

Francis completed his hat trick 2:31 into the fourth quarter, unleashing a shot from distance that slipped under the outstretched arms of the St. Louis goalkeeper. With the score level at 4-4, neither team could find the go-ahead goal as the crowd inside Family Arena saw its third consecutive contest head for overtime.

After a tame first few minutes, St. Louis established itself and eventually found the game-winner from Randy Martinez, who finished off a three-on-two attack led by Eskay.

The Comets dropped to 6-2-1 on the season, taking a point from the overtime defeat. The Ambush improved to 3-3-1 this season, taking two points from the contest.

Ejimadu finished the afternoon with 13 saves. Among the changes to the Comets’ lineup was the absence of captain Nacho Flores and the inclusion of Chase Peterson, who logged a game-high three blocks in his season debut.

Leading the I-70 Series 4-1, the Comets will conclude the series on Sunday, when they host the Ambush at 4 p.m. Tickets for that matchup are available at kccomets.com/tickets.

SCORING SUMMARY

GAME STATS

Attendance - 2,486