COMETS EARN THEIR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON IN GREAT WHITE NORTH

Mississauga, Ontario (December 13, 2018) There was no sign of jet lag for the Kansas City Comets tonight, as they came back after an early deficit to triumph 12-6 over the Mississauga MetroStars. Leo Gibson lead all scorers with 3 goals and 3 assists while Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Flores  chipped in with four goals.

The first goal of the night was scored by Mississauga midfielder Sebastian Lopez, sneaking a shot past Comets keeper Brett Petricek just a bit over five minutes into the match.

With a minute left in the first period, a shot from forward Dwayne De Rosario was saved by Petricek, but the resulting dive carried him outside the box, resulting in a blue card and a MetroStars penalty shootout.

In the shootout, Mississauga midfielder Marco Rodriguez feigned a drive to the goal and cut around Petricek for a strike into the back of the net. The Comets entered the second quarter down 2-0.

Shortly into the second period, a pass from Leo Gibson to Adam James at the top of the box resulted in a beautiful shot into the upper right corner, bringing the score to 2-1.

The Comets had their own chance at a penalty shootout when midfielder Joshua Paredes was called for holding and given a blue card.

Gibson was unable to convert on the shootout, but Kansas City found the net in the following power play when Bryan Perez found Nacho Flores by the far post for a tap-in shot to tie the game 2-2.

Seconds later, a breakaway shot from De Rosario was saved by Petricek, but the Mississauga midfielder was able to corral the rebound and poke the ball into the net.

The MetroStars’ 3-2 lead didn’t last long. Nacho tied the game again less than a minute later, bending a shot around a defender and keeper Adrian Becic to the upper right corner.

Kansas City’s momentum continued when James Togbah juggled a ball from his left foot to his right for a strike into the goal, putting the Comets up 4-3.

Comets newcomer Ray Lee assisted Bryan Perez on a goal and later scored his first MASL goal on an assist from John Sosa with a minute left in the first half. Adam James found Stefan Stokic near the back post for a final goal to put the Comets up 7-2 just before halftime.

Kansas City tied a team record with their 7 goals in the second quarter-- the last time the Comets scored 7 goals in one quarter was in 2014 against the Chicago Mustangs.

The second half was relatively quiet until the around the eight minute mark,when a blue card was pulled on each team. Brett Petricek successfully stopped Marco Rodriguez’s attempt in the shootout, while Leo Gibson converted his own penalty opportunity to extend the lead to 8-3.

Mississauga’s scoring drought was ended 13 minutes into the third quarter by Martinho Dumevski, who surprised the Kansas City defense on a free kick. The score remained 8-4 through the rest of the third quarter.

Kansas City’s offense sped up once more at the start of the fourth, when Adam James crossed to Leo Gibson behind the keeper for a textbook header. Just 45 seconds later, Nacho danced around Becic to complete a hat trick.

MetroStars forward Molham Babouli scored one minute later on a pass from De Rosario, but the Comets’ offense kept rolling as Nacho added another goal on an empty net, and Gibson slipped a ball past the keeper.

With just under three minutes remaining in the match, David Velastegui of Mississauga found the net to cut the Comets’ lead to 12-6 before the final whistle.

Kansas City’s experience trumped the home field advantage of the Paramount Fine Foods Centre. Now the team must get rested up and ready for their home-opener against the Milwaukee Wave on Saturday, December 15 at 7:05 p.m. CT.

MASL Match Report
Match: Mississauga MetroStars vs Kansas City Comets
Date: December 13, 2018
Venue: Paramount Fine Foods Centre, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Kickoff: 6:35 p.m. CT / 7:35 p.m. ET

Scoring Summary