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The Kansas City Comets surrendered a three-goal lead to suffer their third straight loss on Saturday against the St. Louis Ambush.
The Comets entered the matchup already without player/coach Leo Gibson due to suspension, but Ray Lee, Felipe Abreu, Kevin Ellis, Ignacio Flores, and Kyle McGlagan also missed presumably through injury or illness. This forced KC to sign Jose “Ze” Ramos, who’s only previous experience was in KC’s Central Cup win over the Ambush in December.
KC started well with first quarter goals from Hector Solorio and Rian Marques. The Ambush answered with three consecutive goals before Marques scored his second of the night and Adam James added his third of the season to give KC the 4-3 lead at halftime.
The Comets added to their lead with a pair of goals early in the third period from Mirko Sandivari and Lucas Sousa. The Ambush soon took over and scored four goals unanswered, including Sam Guernsey’s game-winner with 1:19 remaining in the fourth quarter.
This loss brings an end to KC’s four-game road trip to open up the season, leaving the Comets with a 1-3 record. The Ambush improves to .500 with a record of 2-2 and has now won their last four meetings against the Comets in St. Louis.
The Comets brought 14 players to St. Louis, but Ramone Palmer watched the entire second half from the bench and Hector Solorio suffered a knock to keep him on the bench for much of the second half as well. The limited options forced KC to give Ramos his first couple of shifts in the fourth quarter once John Sosa was sent to the penalty box for five minutes for dissent.
KC gave a good effort with the limited numbers, but they have let another win slip away late. Rather than a much better 3-1 record, KC now finds themselves in a hole with a 1-3 record due to their inability to close games out. There is still time to turn things around, but there will be no easy games anytime soon.
The Comets will return to action with a highly anticipated home opener against Danny Waltman and the Tacoma Stars next Friday.