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After a concerning start the Kansas City Comets showed well in the middle two quarters, outscoring the St. Louis Ambush 7-2 in the second and third periods, as the Comets ran away with a 10-6 rivalry win.
The Comets were without Robert Kelly due to a fractured fibula as well as missing Ray Lee, Ray Saari, and Matt Lewis due to outdoor soccer while Stefan Stokic was rested. The Ambush were without player/assistant coach Oitomeia Souza and defender Jonathan Santos, who were both coaching from the bench.
The Ambush opened the scoring after JT Thomas found Lucas Almeida. Kevin Ellis leveled the score at 1-1 on the Comets powerplay assisted Kiel Williams. Anthony Grant replied quickly to score against his former team to put the visitors up 2-1.
The @KCComets equalize on this @Kev_Ellis4 #PowerPlay goal#KCvSTL pic.twitter.com/ASZfb3Av9b
— MASL (@MASLarena) February 16, 2020
Ellis grabbed his second to tie back up at 2-2 after Robert Palmer picked him out on the far side in the second quarter. After the John Sosa was given a two minute penalty for his fourth foul of the half, Duduca Carvalho scored his 17th of the season to give the Ambush their third lead of the afternoon, but Gui Gomes and Adam James both scored their first goals since December to give the Comets the 4-3 lead at halftime.
The @KCComets take their first lead of the night as Adam James taps it in off the back post#KCvSTL pic.twitter.com/jfMLnNv4rz
— MASL (@MASLarena) February 16, 2020
Gui Gomes scored his second of the afternoon after showing delightful skill assisted by Odaine Sinclair. Pablo Da Silva momentarily equalized for St. Louis, but Robert Palmer and John Sosa each scored seconds later to restore the Comets lead at 7-4 in the third quarter. Ignacio Flores scored after Adam James found the assist off the wall to make it 8-4 at the end of three quarters.
Lucas Rodriguez stretched the KC lead to five by rolling the ball into the net after goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento forfeited possession in the Comets defensive half midway through the final quarter. Lucas Almeida sent a blast past Nicolau Neto to bring the Ambush within four, but Kiel Williams got his 10th goal of the season on the powerplay to make it 10-5. JT Thomas registered a late consolation for the Ambush as the match finished 10-6.
Lucas Almeida, trying to scratch the @stlouisambush back in this one, hits an absolute screamer to the far upper 90. They get within 9-5 of their hosts#KCvSTL pic.twitter.com/ssU0ctt4GV
— MASL (@MASLarena) February 16, 2020
The Comets climb back above .500 with a 8-7 record while the Ambush drop below .500 to 8-9. This result places the Comets in sixth place, still behind the 10-7 Harrisburg Heat and 11-7 Baltimore Blast in the playoff chase.
The Comets didn’t start well, but they finally grew into the game and came out with a convincing victory. St. Louis left frustrated with the officials, but struggled to create chances after KC gained the momentum in the second quarter. Odaine Sinclair looked decent in his return to the Comets while Nick McDonald picked only entered for two shifts in the fourth quarter on his Comets debut.
The Comets will finish their three game home stand next weekend with games against against the Milwaukee Wave and the Ontario Fury, who will bring former MASL MVP Franck Tayou.