COMETS SET TO FACE THE HEAT

The Kansas City Comets are ready for another win when the Harrisburg Heat comes to town on Sunday. The Silverstein Eye Centers Arena will welcome the beginning of March with a MASL showdown, starting at 4:05 PM CT.

COMETS VS HEAT - GAME NOTES

5-9 on the season, the Heat currently sits in third place in the Eastern division. Last week’s win propelled the Comets to second place in the South Central division, totaling eight wins and seven loses.

Harrisburg is 3-1 against South Central division teams this season. This includes a win last Saturday against the Milwaukee Wave and a win last night against the St Louis Ambush. Earlier in the season, they also beat St. Louis Ambush and lost to the Florida Tropics.

Harrisburg and Kansas City have yet to face off this year, but the Comets dominate the series that started back in the 2014-2015 season. Over the years, Kansas City has won five games against the Heat, including two games last season.

All eyes will be on Kansas City goalkeeper, Mark Saxby. Thus far, he has maintained a 3-1 record and 0.571 save percentage. Harrisburg’s leading team scorer, Ricardo Carvalho, will put him to the test. Carvalho has scored 16 goals and has 11 assists this season. Forward, Tavoy Morgan will also be a threat with his 12 goals and 5 assists on the year.

Nelson Santana and Daniel Villela are tied with seven goals and seven assists apiece. Santana is 6^th in the league for blocked shots.

Both teams are similar in the penalty-killing category. The Heat holds a .455 penalty kill percent while the Comets sit at .552 percent. In power play, Kansas City carries a slight advantage with .633 percent versus Harrisburg’s .450 percent. Tom Mellor leads the Heat in power play goals with four and is tied for fourth in the league. However, James Togbah has him beat, scoring five power play goals and landing him tied for second in the MASL.

Leo Gibson remains the team’s leading scorer, netting 20 goals and 22 assists. He is second in the league in both assists and total points. Gibson will go up against Matt Perrella, the Heat’s goalkeeper. Perrella has a 3-6 record, but still holds a .630 save percentage.

In addition, Harrisburg will have to watch out for Bryan Perez and John Sosa, who have 20 points each. Perez has ten goals and assists. Sosa has totaled eight goals and twelve assists, two goals and two assists coming in the last game alone.

Also last game, Kevin Ellis scored his first two goals as a Kansas City Comet and looks to repeat the feat this week.

Both teams will try to increase their winning streaks when they face off at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena on Sunday. The match begins at 4:05 PM CT. Fans can see the game live by purchasing tickets available at Ticketmaster.com and KCComets.com. If you cannot make it to the game, follow along on Twitter (@KCComets) and Facebook (Kansas City Comets).

NOTES:
The Kansas City Comets announced today that the club has officially signed goalkeeper, Steven Hamersky. Hamersky, a familiar face for the Comets, played with the team in the 2017-2018 season before he eventually signed with FC Wichita. Hamersky clocked minutes in four games with the Comets and recorded a .610 save percentage.

A Newman University graduate, Hamersky helped the team secure its best season since transitioning to a Division II program with a 13-5-1 record. Upon graduation, Hamersky has seen professional playing time with the Wichita B-52s and the Electric City Shock with the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) where he averaged 10 saves a game.

Hamersky will be an excellent addition inside the Comets’ goal as he will help relieve some pressure off the team’s sole goalkeeper, Mark Saxby. The two goalkeepers will look to help boost the team’s 8-7 record in the South Central Division on Sunday night.