Comets host Milwaukee for spot in MASL Championship

by Nathan Dunn

Kansas City Comets vs Milwaukee Wave

MASL Ron Newman Cup Playoffs — Game 2 of Conference Finals

Monday, April 22 — 6:35 p.m. CT

Where | Cable Dahmer Arena - Independence, Missouri

Watch | 38 the Spot (local TV)

The Kansas City Comets have to beat the Milwaukee Wave one more time in the Eastern Conference Finals to earn a spot in their first-ever Ron Newman Cup Finals. A Comets win in Game 2 on Monday would clinch the series, or a Wave win would send it to a 15-minute Knockout Game to decide which team advances to play for the most coveted trophy in indoor soccer.

The Comets were far from their best in Game 1 on Friday, but they kept their faith and found an equalizer with 1:10 remaining. With 27 seconds left, Zach Reget found the go-ahead goal that delivered the Comets a magical come-from-behind victory for their ninth straight win.

In the playoffs, the Comets have been led by the trio of Zach Reget, Nacho Flores and Rian Marques. They have a combined 19 points from 11 goals and eight assists. Flores is tied with Chihuahua's Hugo Puentes for a league-leading six playoff goals.

The Comets' defense is led by Defender of the Year Robert Palmer as well as All-MASL Honorable Mentions Chad Vandegriffe and Nicolau Neto. That defense will likely be without Ray Lee (foot) again on Monday as he is doubtful for the contest.

It is no time to panic for Milwaukee, which is in a similar spot to where they were in the Conference Semifinals against Monterrey. They lost Game 1 at home in heartbreaking fashion but won Game 2 and the Knockout Game in Monterrey. They will have to repeat the course to return to the Ron Newman Cup Finals.

One stat that does not favor MKE is their recent record inside Cable Dahmer Arena. It's been more than four years since Milwaukee won a road game over the Comets, and they have lost each of their last seven trips to Kansas City.

The Wave will be throwing everything they have at Game 2, which will likely include Ian Bennett. The 40-year-old had the least productive season of his Wave career in the MASL but still scored 22 times and averaged 1.5 points per game. Bennett was held out of Game 1 with a lower leg injury but is expected to be available for Game 2.

The most notable absence for Milwaukee will still be their regular season scoring leading and All-MASL 2nd Team honoree Marcio Leite (knee). Tyler Howard and Breno Oliveira are also out while Tony Walls (groin) was added to the injury list as doubtful.

Tickets for Monday's game are available through Ticketmaster.