Comets open homestand with I-70 Series finale

Kansas City Comets @ St. Louis Ambush

MASL Regular Season — Game 10

When: Sun, Jan. 4 - 4pm CT

Where: Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, MO

Broadcasts: 38 the Spot | Fox Soccer Plus | SportsWorold | Unbeaten Network | Fox Sports Mexico

The I-70 Series will draw to a close as the Kansas City Comets open a three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon on Silverstein Eye Centers Field when they host the St. Louis Ambush for Game 6 of the rivalry.

The Comets lead the series 4-1, hoping to wrap up the series with a third win on home turf after dropping in overtime on New Year’s Eve in St. Louis. Dom Francis was the shining star in a rotated lineup, recording his first hat trick since returning to the Comets.

Francis became the third Comet to reach double-digit scoring figures with 10 goals in the opening nine games, joining Zach Reget (12 goals) and Rian Marques (10 goals). The longtime Harrisburg Heat forward also jumped into second place in points league-wide with 14, trailing only Reget’s tally of 19.

The Comets’ trio of Francis-Reget-Marques has combined for 44 points, with the midfield contributing 33 points. Christian Anderaos and Henry Ramirez have been a pair of catalysts in the midfield, with nearly half of the midfield’s points between the two. They hope to return to the lineup after missing out on Wednesday’s defeat in St. Louis.

Defensively, the Comets are backed by Chad Vandegriffe and Lesia Thetsane, who both lead the MASL with a combined 47 blocks, with Thetsane already achieving a career-high 21 blocks. Phillip Ejimadu also leads the league with five wins in eight appearances, posting a record of 16-4-2 over since the start of last season.

Off to a 3-0 start in Sunday games, the Comets hope to continue their good fortune. The Comets have faced a deficit in six of their last seven games, posting a record of 4-2-1 in that timeframe.

Currently leading the MASL standings with a 6-2-1 record, the Comets aim to extend their lead at the top of the table by seven points above second-place Milwaukee.

The Comets will be without Erik Pereira due to injury while goalkeeper Julio Coronado and midfielders Leo Acosta and Marcel Berry are questionable. The trio of Reget, Marques and Phillip Ejimadu are probable.

The series finale on Sunday also wraps up four consecutive games between the two rivals. The Comets have held a 15-13 scoring edge in the first three meetings, but a 30-19 edge over the entire season series.

St. Louis Ambush

The Ambush remain fifth in the MASL standings with a 3-3-1 record, with all four defeats coming against the Comets.

STL’s first victory against the Comets this season came without any point contributions from Daniel Torrealba, who had previously tallied seven points in the first four games against the Comets. Instead, Ambush veterans Lucas Almeida and Will Eskay produced multi-point performances, with Eskay leading the attack for Randy Martinez’s game-winner in overtime.

The Ambush enter Sunday’s contest full of confidence as they look for their second statement road win. An Ambush win could see them jump as high as third place by the weekend’s conclusion, but a defeat could drop them to sixth.

Ambush goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento has come up big for his team time and time again this season. He leads the MASL with 87 saves this season and 1,708 throughout his career, on the cusp of passing former Baltimore Blast goalkeeper William Vanzela for the sixth-most saves in league history.

STL has listed James Thomas as questionable. The trio of James Togbah, Christian Briggs and Mario Falsone are probable.

The Comets’ homestand continues next Sunday when they host the Milwaukee Wave, then turn around the following weekend to host the Tacoma Stars. Tickets for all home games are available at kccomets.com/tickets.