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The 2021 Kansas City Comets season came to a conclusion on Saturday night at Cable Dahmer Arena. After the Comets won game two of the Ron Newman Cup semi-finals in overtime by a score of 7-6, the Fury came back to win the decisive mini-game 2-1.
The Fury now advance to host the Ron Newman Cup Finals against the San Diego Sockers next weekend.
The Comets pulled ahead in game two of the series with two goals in the first quarter from Dominic Francis and Ignacio Flores. The Comets made it 3-0 with a goal from Lucas Sousa, but Ontario got one back from Franck Tayou. The Comets restored their three-goal lead right before halftime with another goal from Francis.
The third quarter was all Ontario as the visitors scored three unanswered from Franck Tayou, Justin Stinson, and Juan Carlos Gonzalez to tie the game at 4-4 after three periods.
The Comets pulled ahead by two with goals from Lucas Sousa and Ramone Palmer, however, Franck Tayou finished his hat trick before Maicon De Abreu leveled it late, setting up overtime.
More than three minutes into overtime, the Comets found the winner with a stunning strike from Dominic Francis, finishing off his first hat trick of the season. That sent the series to a series-deciding 15-minute mini-game.
After a brief timeout, both sides returned to the field for the first mini-game in the MASL in nearly two years. Things started well for the Comets when Francis beat the keeper from a shootout, giving KC a 1-0 advantage.
The Fury responded with a goal from Jorge Deleon before Uzi Tayou scored what proved to be the series-winner with less than six minutes remaining.
Saturday’s results, which included the San Diego Sockers completing the two-game sweep over the Florida Tropics, means that the final will be between the Ontario Fury and San Diego Sockers. Both games will be held at Toyota Arena in Ontario next weekend with game one on April 9 and game two on April 11. That series will feature four former Comets- Robert Palmer (Ontario), Jeff Hughes (Ontario), Boris Pardo (San Diego), and Guerrero Pino (San Diego).
For the Comets, it is a cruel way for the season to end. Some very tight contests between the two sides and both nights the Comets were on the losing end. After a relatively quiet regular season, forward Dominic Francis had a breakout series against the Fury, scoring six goals including the overtime winner in game two.
The 2021 Comets season concludes after finishing third in the regular season before falling in the semi-finals, the closest they’ve gotten to the final since 2016.