Comets looking to give Flash better battle
Kansas City Comets vs Monterrey Flash
MASL Regular Season
Tuesday, January 16 — 8:00 p.m. CT
Where | Arena Borregos - Monterrey, Mexico
Stream |twitch.tv/masl_soccer
The Kansas City Comets (7-2-1) and Monterrey Flash (9-0-0) will meet for the second time in three days on Tuesday evening at Arena Borregos in Monterrey, Mexico.
The first meeting was a lopsided 12-5 Flash victory on Sunday, though the Comets did make some second-half improvements. After trailing 8-1 at halftime, the Comets played a 4-4 second half against the Eastern Conference leaders.
The Comets are looking to avoid a third consecutive loss on Tuesday after losing to Utica City FC in overtime before the trip to Mexico. Head coach Stefan Stokic will look for four quarters of concentration from his team on Tuesday. Currently sitting at third in the Eastern Conference, a win Tuesday would put the Comets into second place.
Zach Reget is on a 12-game goalscoring streak and leads the East with 25 points and 19 goals. John Sosa is also having a stellar season, tied with Milwaukee's Mario Alvarez for a conference-leading 12 assists.
Lalo Alonso (right thigh strain) is probable and remains the only injury concern. The Comets are 3-1 in road games this season.
The Flash are 2-1 against the Comets in the all-time series and have won the two most recent meetings. They won in Kansas City last season in overtime before Sunday's win in Monterrey. The Comets won in Monterrey in 2015.
Monterrey enters Tuesday's matchup with the highest goal differential at +46 through nine games and are the last undefeated team in the entire league.
They come from back-to-back wins, first defeating the Texas Outlaws 6-5 on Saturday before the seven-goal win over the Comets on Sunday. Alan Crespo, Ismael Rojo and Genaro Castilo all tallied three-point performances in Monterrey's second-highest-scoring display this season. Berna Valdovinos earned the win on Sunday with 16 saves throughout the contest.
Rojo is joined by Alexis Espinosa for a Flash-leading 10 goals. Castilo is Monterrey's points leader with 20 points from nine goals and 11 assists. Valdovinos has logged the majority of minutes in goal, but has gotten assistance from Christian Hernandez.
Monterrey has won all four games this season at Arena Borregos, each by at least a five-goal margin. They are 5-0 at home this season, with the additional home match being a 3-2 win over Texas at UANL Tigres Sports Center.
The Flash will be without Antonio Medina (right knee) once again.
Following Tuesday, the Comets will travel to Chihuahua, Mexico for their inaugural visit to the Chihuahua Savage to round out the Comets' three-game trip south of the border.