COMETS BOUNCED FROM PLAYOFFS BY WAVE

OCEANSIDE, CA - (April 5, 2025) - The Kansas City Comets' hopes of a Ron Newman Cup came to an end on Saturday evening after facing an 11-7 defeat in the neutral-site quarterfinal matchup against the Milwaukee Wave at Frontwave Arena.

The Comets fought hard, but struggled to stop a Wave offense that was not going to be denied a spot in the Ron Newman Cup Semifinals. The Comets were outscored 7-3 in the final two quarter and were outblocked 10-7 as they head into the offseason.

The Comets got their quickest goal in a game all season when they opened the scoring just 26 seconds into the contest. Kansas City's early pressure paid off when Zach Reget forced a turnover, which found its way to Lucas Sousa for a quick turn before burying it with his right foot.

The Wave found the equalizer 9:40 into the contest, catching a slow change from the Comets as Javier Steinwasher took a direct shot from quick restart inside his own half. After the Comets challenged for ball placement, the goal stood.

A six-goal second quarter still couldn't separate the longtime rivals. The Comets went up 3-1 with goals from Stefan Mijatovic from a restart and Kyle Greig from a rebound effort, but the Wave went on a three-goal run towards the end of the quarter before Junior Kazeem pulled the Comets level at 4-4 before halftime.

It took just 15 seconds into the third for Milwaukee to restore its advantage, but the Comets equalized shortly after when Mijatovic assisted Guerrero Pino for another goal from a restart. Milwaukee kept building momentum and opened the game up with two more scores towards the end of the third, taking a 7-5 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Wave went up 9-5 when Ricardo Carvalho and Ian Bennett delivered blows to the Comets' comeback hopes. The Comets did find some more offensive success with goals from Sousa and Ramone Palmer to get back within three, but Milwaukee always had their own offensive answer and Bennett's fourth-quarter hat trick sealed the four-goal victory.

Milwaukee advances to face the Chihuahua Savage on Sunday in the first semifinal at 4 p.m. Central while the Baltimore Blast will face the San Diego Sockers in Sunday's second semifinal. The Comets will head home and begin preparations to challenge for indoor soccer's most coveted trophy in 2026.