Comets hoping to turn tide against Stars

by Nathan Dunn

Kansas City Comets vs. Tacoma Stars

MASL Regular Season — Game 12

When: Fri, Jan. 16 - 7pm CT

Where: Cable Dahmer Arena

Tickets: Ticketmaster | Tickets For Less

The Kansas City Comets will hit the midway point of their regular season on Friday, when they welcome the Tacoma Stars to Silverstein Eye Centers Field.

The Comets are hoping Friday marks a turnaround after suffering three consecutive defeats. Kansas City continues on the hunt for its first win of 2026, last winning on Dec. 27 against St. Louis to clinch the I-70 Series Cup.

After clinching the series against the Ambush, the Comets lost the final two matchups against STL via overtime and shootout. Most recently, the Comets lost 8-7 to the Milwaukee Wave after a fourth-quarter comeback effort fell just short.

The Comets also hope to turn around their performances on home turf, posting a record of just 2-2-1 with back-to-back home defeats. Still, the Comets remain at the top of the MASL standings with 18 points and a record of 6-3-2.

A concern has been the number of goals the team has conceded in recent games. They aim to hold opponents to four goals or fewer, but the team has gone four games without achieving that, following back-to-back games in which they conceded 7 and 8 goals.

The Comets boast four MASL Players of the Month for December: Chad Vandegriffe, Zach Reget, Rian Marques and Dom Francis. Vandegriffe logged 18 blocks and three assists last month while the attacking trio of Reget, Marques and Francis combined for 25 goals and five hat tricks.

A rapid start to the season has caused some injury issues, with midfielder Lucas Sousa and former Star defender DeBray Hollimon set to miss Friday’s contest. Midfielder Leo Acosta and goalkeeper Julio Coronado are both questionable, while Phillip Ejimadu, Marcel Berry and Marques are probable.

The Comets have lost four consecutive meetings against the Stars, last defeating Tacoma in Jan. 2022. The Comets lost both matchups last March, both by a single goal. The Comets visit the Pacific Northwest on March 6 to conclude the brief two-game series against the Stars.

Tacoma Stars

The Stars enter Friday’s contest sitting fourth in the MASL standings, but a road win in regulation would bring them within a point of the first-place Comets.

While unbeaten at home with victories against San Diego, Empire, St. Louis and Baltimore, Tacoma has shown vulnerabilities in its two road games. They were shutout 8-0 by San Diego on Dec. 30 before more recently falling 8-3 to Empire on Jan. 8, conceding seven goals in the first quarter across both contests.

Goalkeeper Luis Birrueta has been an early-season standout for the Stars, earning MASL Team of the Month honors for December. In nearly 350 minutes on the turf, Birrueta has made 60 saves with a 4.66 goals against average.

Backing up Birrueta is Comet great Danny Waltman, who was with the Comets from 2010 to 2015 and has the franchise record for wins and saves. Waltman has featured in three games this season, totaling more than 82 minutes with 16 saves and a record of 1-1-1.

Offensively, the Stars have numerous options, but have looked to the veteran pairing of Jamael Cox and Michael Ramos to supply the most production. The two have combined for more than 400 points in more than 300 games for Tacoma over the past decade, with 14 points this season as Cox leads the team with six goals.

The Stars will also have an eye on their matchup Sunday at home against the Empire Strykers. Tacoma will be without Roman Torres (personal), while the trio of Alex Caceres (lower), Birrueta (lower) and Cox (lower) are probable.

The Comets hit the road following Friday’s matchup, visiting Milwaukee for a Sunday afternoon matchup. Comets fans are encouraged to attend the watch party at Paul & Jack’s in North Kansas City, with kickoff slated for 2 p.m.