COMETS PREPARED FOR HOMECOMING

by Pat Clifton

KANSAS CITY (Nov. 29, 2019) – The Kansas City Comets host the St. Louis Ambush Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena for the home opener of their 10th anniversary season. The Comets are coming off an overtime road loss, 6-5, at the Turlock Cal Express. The Ambush are playing on back-to-back nights, hosting the Milwaukee Wave Friday night in St. Louis.

For KC, this is the first of back-to-back contests against the Ambush. The Comets won’t take the field again until Dec. 15 at the Family Arena. These teams squared off six times last season, with St. Louis winning four.

Head coach Leo Gibson made one change to his starting lineup, swapping veteran midfielders Gui Gomes and Lucas Rodriguez. Gomes will start, and Rodriguez will play with the second line, which will likely be bolstered by the franchise debut of Matt Lewis, the All-everything A-10 defender at Fordham, Sporting KC signee and Swope Park Ranger. He missed the season opener with a hamstring injury but is listed as probable for the home opener.

Defender Robert Kelly gets his second-straight start of the season. Saturday will be a personal homecoming for Kelly, as it marks the Rockhurst grad’s first home appearance as a Comet. He played twice last season, both times on the road, and on the road at Turlock to start this season.

Rookie midfielder Hector Solorio Villalpando is making his hometown debut, as well. The Oak Park graduate got some minutes in last week’s loss at Turlock, but Saturday will mark his first appearance at home in front of La Barra KC, the local rabid band of soccer fans led by Hector, Sr., his father. He and his group are regulars at Sporting KC matches, and they’re expected to be full throttle for Solorio’s first home game with the Comets

The Comets will be hosting the Heartland Youth Soccer awards Saturday. Heartland Soccer Association is the biggest soccer league in the country. Their league winners will be honored during the pre-game with a parade of champions.

For those unable to make it to the arena, the game will be streamed live on MASL.tv.

--KCComets.com--