Comets beat Baltimore to win MISL Championship

The Missouri Comets won the MISL Championship when they took a 6-4 victory in Game 3 of the MISL Championship Series at Baltimore Arena. After dominating Game 1 of the series in Kansas City, the Comets had the tables reversed in Game 2 when Baltimore won 19-4  to tie the series to force the Game 3 Mini-Game.

After the drubbing in Game 2, the Comets had to rally for Game 3. "If we really want it, it's in front of us, it's fifteen minutes, let's take it," is what Comets Captain Vahid Assadpour and the coaches told the team.

The Blast took an early lead in the Mini-Game but then Lucas Rodriguez scored on an incredible bicycle kick to tie it back up. Baltimore again took the lead with three minutes left. The Comets replied off of a restart when Stefan St. Louis scored from a Rodriguez shot.

Brian Harris earned the MISL Championship Series Most Valuable Player honors when he scored the game-winning goal with 56 seconds to play as the Comets twice came from behind in the deciding Game 3 mini-game.

"I can't explain the energy that was going through us," Assadpour said after the match. "It was unbelievable to get blown away in one game and then come out like a different team when it counts and score a goal with 56 seconds left.  I just can't explain the feeling."

It was a series that pitted the Blast's league best defense against the Comets' league best offense. The regular season saw the Blast easily shutdown the Comets in both meeting but those matches were early in the season. Comets head coach Vlatko Andonovski continued to mature his team and get young players experience and finished the season with five straight wins.

"When we knew it was coming," explained Assadpour. "The last few games of the season, it was time to peak, it was phase 3 and time to peak."

Peak the Comets did, they won five straight matches to close out the season, despite season ending injuries to defenders Coady Andrews and Alain Matingou as well as Alex Megson.

MISL Championship Series

No. 1 Baltimore Blast vs. No. 3 Missouri Comets

(Comets win series 2-1)

Game 1: Missouri 15, Baltimore 8

Game 2: Baltimore 19, Missouri 4

Game 3: Missouri 6, Baltimore 4