COMETS EYE RIVALRY LEAD OVER ST. LOUIS

KANSAS CITY (Feb. 27, 2020) – The Kansas City Comets look to take the advantage in the I-70 Series with a defeat of the St. Louis Ambush Sunday at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The rivals have met four times this season, with each team claiming two wins.

So far, the home team has won every contest. The Comets won in Kansas City 6-4 and 10-6 in November and February, respectively. The Ambush won in St. Louis twice in December, 7-6 and 8-7.

The Comets (8-9) enter the game reeling from back-to-back losses, falling to Milwaukee Friday and Ontario Sunday. The results haven’t eliminated them from playoff contention, but the Comets’ margin for error is now razor thin as they four games behind Harrisburg for the Eastern Conference’s fourth and final playoff spot with seven games to play.  

The Ambush (8-11) have lost three straight and are also still technically on the postseason bubble. With the same number of wins as Kansas City and two fewer games to play, St. Louis is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with a loss Sunday.

The Comets are led in attack by MVP candidate Leo Gibson. His 52 points are second only to the 57 of Ontario’s Franck Tayou, and his 24 assists tie with those of Milwaukee’s Max Ferdinand for the league lead in that category.

St. Louis’ top attacker is JT Thomas, who has 21 goals and nine assists to his name. The Ambush have struggled to replace the offense of Tony Walls, who departed midseason for an outdoor contract. Their best defender is Axel Duarte. His 31 blocks are good for third in the league. Kansas City’s Robert Palmer is second with 34.

The Comets will be shorthanded Sunday, as captain and midfielder John Sosa serves a one-game suspension for penalty accumulation. He was shown two cards in Sunday’s loss to Ontario, a blue for contact above the shoulder and a yellow for dissent.