Comets secure three seed with win over Sidekicks

The Kansas City Comets ended their regular season with an emphatic 13-4 win over the Dallas Sidekicks on Sunday at Cable Dahmer Arena.

Kansas City had four players with braces, including Ray Lee, Leo Gibson, Dominic Francis, and Robert Kelly. Felipe De Sousa led the way for Dallas, scoring a hat trick for the third time against the Comets this season.

The Comets held out goalkeeper Nicolau Neto and forwards Ramone Palmer and Kevin Ellis. Ignacio Flores returned after missing both games last weekend. Neto was replaced by Lou Misner in the first half and Mark Saxby in the second half.

The Sidekicks opened the scoring in the first quarter with goals from Julio Varela and Felipe De Sousa. Kansas City replied with six straight goals in the second quarter, sending the Comets into halftime with a 6-2 lead.

The Comets continued to score with three goals in the third quarter and four in the fourth as De Sousa added a pair of consolations for the visitors to complete his hat trick.

Sunday’s win has secured Kansas City a three seed in the 2021 Ron Newman Cup Playoffs, finishing the regular season with a 7-5 record and a .583 winning percentage. Dallas still has one regular-season game remaining but will finish the season at the bottom of the table, currently sitting with a record of 1-9 and a .100 winning percentage.

Rian Marques also scored late in the game to win KC’s golden boot with 13 goals, beating Adam James by one goal. Leo Gibson ended the regular season leading the team with 20 points and 12 assists, three points more than Lucas Sousa and one more assist than John Sosa.

Sunday’s big win put the Comets up to 92 goals scored and a +25 goal differential, both of which lead the league with one fewer game played than the Florida Tropics.

Now that the three seed has been confirmed for the Comets, Kansas City gets the second pick of the opening round of the playoffs after the Ontario Fury. Assuming Ontario picks Dallas, KC will pick either the San Diego Sockers, Tacoma Stars, or St. Louis Ambush.

The Comets will have a week off before they open the playoffs at home on March 26.