:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66408869/i_L7GFnzQ.0.jpg)
Kansas City Comets at St. Louis Ambush
When: Sunday, March 1st, 2020 at 3:05 PM CT
Where: The Family Arena, St. Charles, Missouri
How to Watch/Stream: Masl.tv/YouTube
The Kansas City Comets will be looking to break a streak of six consecutive home wins for the hosting team of the I-70 Series, as the St. Louis Ambush were the last team to grab an I-70 rivalry win on the road when they defeated the Comets 8-5 in January of 2019 at SEC Arena. Both teams have won their first two home games against each other this season.
Per usual, a trip to St. Louis will be a tough test. It won’t be any different this time, but the Comets will be forced to do it without captain John Sosa, who will serve a one game suspension for point accumulation. Outdoor soccer has also taken away four players from the I-70 Series, as KC’s Matt Lewis, Ray Lee, and Ray Saari will miss as will Ambush breakout forward Tony Walls, who racked up 16 goals and eight assists in his 16 games this season.
With both teams sitting below .500 and a longshot to make the playoffs, the Ambush will look to finish the season ahead of the Comets for the first time since both cities returned to professional arena soccer.
The Hewerton Moreira-led Ambush will rely on the attacking duo of JT Thomas and Duduca Carvalho, who have combined for 56 points. Despite the addition of veteran defender Jonathan Santos, the Ambush are still leaking more goals than they would have liked with goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento, who seems to always rise highest when the Ambush host the Comets.
The Comets are led by one of the league’s finest players, Leo Gibson. The former MASL MVP is up for contention again, but will need to put up even better numbers than he already has. The Comets player-coach is second in points and assists with 52 points and 24 assists. Along with Gibson’s great contributions, goalkeeper Nicolau Neto and midfielder Kevin Ellis have been tremendous midseason additions as well.
These two teams seem to always provide great entertainment when the meet, even if the playoffs aren’t in either team’s future. Each game rookie Hector Solorio has been coming closer and closer to his first MASL goal, and it might just come Sunday with a shorthanded lineup.