COMETS REMAIN PERFECT AT HOME WITH 7-4 WIN OVER AMBUSH
INDEPENDENCE, MO. – The Comets (3-2-1) faced St. Louis (2-3-0) for the third time this season and topped the Ambush by a 7-4 final Saturday night at Cable Dahmer Arena in front of 3,694 fans. Comets keeper Nicolau Neto stopped 11 of 15 shots he faced to pick up his third win of the season.
It took just 25 seconds for the Comets to open the scoring when James Togbah fired a shot from the right side which was blocked by Ambush keeper Paulo Nascimento. Nascimento stopped it but sent a short rebound to his right which Mike Da-Silva sent to the back of the net for his second goal of the season and a very quick 1-0 Kansas City lead.
Kansas City doubled their lead on a power play goal from Togbah with 2:07 left in the opening quarter. Leo Gibson slid him a pass from just inside the yellow line and Togbah one-timed the shot with his left foot for his sixth goal of the season.
The second quarter belonged to Kansas City midfielder Nacho Flores who picked up a brace with the only two goals of the frame. On the first, he took a pass from Odaine Sinclair and slowed the play down to draw Nascimento off his line to cut down the angle. When he did, Flores fired a shot into the opposite upper corner for the 3-0 lead with 7:12 to go in the half.
His second goal was assisted by Lucas Sousa and came off a shot from the right side of the arc to make it a 4-0 Kansas City lead headed to the break. Through the first 30 minutes of play, the Comets outshot the Ambush by a 24-10 margin.
After being held off the scoreboard for the first half, St. Louis notched goals by Robert Kristo and William Eskay just 11 seconds apart to make it a 4-2 Kansas City lead with 9:12 to go in the 3rd quarter.
John Sosa put the Comets back up by three on a restart from the top of the arc. He faked the original shot which caused the Ambush wall to fall apart, and he casually chipped the ball through for his third goal of the season with 8:27 to go in the 3rd.
Kristo’s second of the quarter once again cut the Kansas City advantage to two goals at 5-3 with just over five minutes to play in the 3rd quarter.
The final goal of the 3rd was a great effort by Rian Marques as he went past a defender to his left and ripped a shot that Nascimento got a glove on but wound up in the back of the net for a 6-3 Comets lead heading to the final quarter.
Kansas City’s final goal of the game was the result of a textbook give-and-go as Mirko Sandivari dished the pass to Ali Sodal who beat Nascimento for the 7-3 lead with 10:27 to play in the game.
Kristo used an assist from Eskay to complete his hat trick for the Ambush with 1:32 on the clock and reach the 7-4 final score.
The Comets will have 11 days off before they return to action on Thursday, December 29 as the Monterrey Flash make their only appearance at Cable Dahmer Arena this season. Kick-off is set for 7:05 pm and tickets for that and all Comets home games are available at www.kccomets.com/tickets.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st – KC Da-Silva 0:25; KC Togbah (Gibson) 12:52 pp. Penalties – STL Junqueira (bc- tripping) 9:04; STL (bc- too many men) 11:18.
2nd – KC Flores (Sinclair) 7:46; KC Flores (Sousa) 10:36. Penalties – None
3rd – STL Kristo (Almeida) 5:37; STL Eskay (Briggs) 5:48; KC Sosa 6:34; STL Kristo (Walls) 9:36; KC Marques (Sosa) 11:27. Penalties – None.
4th – KC Sodal (Sandivari) 4:33; STL Kristo (Eskay) 12:28. Penalties – KC Marques (bc- handling) 1:23.
Power Play – Comets 1/2, St. Louis 0/1
Penalty Minutes – Comets 2, St. Louis 2
Fouls – Comets 17, St. Louis 14
Shots – Comets 35, St. Louis 29
Attendance – 3,694