COMETS TOPPED BY SOCKERS 7-4 IN CALIFORNIA
Oceanside, CA. – The Comets (5-1-2) entered Wednesday’s game with the San Diego Sockers (6-1-0) as the only team not to lose a game in regulation this season. Kansas City had their chances, but a couple of untimely penalties presented the Sockers with what they needed to get the win in front of 2,105 mid-week fans at Frontwave Arena.
San Diego managed the game’s only goal in the first frame when Gabriel Costa sent a low shot to the opposite corner past Comets’ keeper Phillip Ejimadu to give the home squad a 1-0 advantage heading to the second quarter.
Charlie Gonzalez, who assisted on San Diego’s first goal of the game, picked up the second marker unassisted to double the Sockers’ lead to 2-0 with 9:43 to play in the first half.
After Kraig Chiles game San Diego a 3-0 lead, Chad Vandegriffe snapped the Sockers’ run with the Comets first goal of the game. He took a pass from Rian Marques and fired a shot top-shelf past Boris Pardo to make it a 3-1 San Diego lead just before the end of the half.
Kansas City scored a pair of goals less than two minutes apart, first from Marques and then Lesia Thetsane to level the game at 3-3 with 2:30 to play in the third frame.
The Sockers were handed a great opportunity to re-take the lead when Ejimadu drew a blue card for holding with less than a minute to go in the quarter which set up a shoot-out for Chiles. He converted on the chance and San Diego went back up by one at 4-3 and that score held until the end of the third.
The fourth quarter turned out to be the downfall of the Comets at Frontwave Arena. The Sockers outscored Kansas City 3-1 in the final 15 minutes.
Ejimadu drew a second blue card in the game, but this time Nicolau Neto stopped Chiles’ shootout attempt. The Comets initially killed the penalty but just after time expired Chiles got his third goal of the game to make it a 5-3 game with 7:42 to play.
Junior Kazeem fired a rocket into the upper-90 past Pardo to cut the Sockers’ lead to a single goal at 5-4. San Diego had a quick answer though, as Sebastian Mendez ran the score to 6-4 just 14 seconds later.
The Sockers added an empty-net goal to reach the 7-4 final and run their win streak to six games. The loss snapped the Comets’ two-game win-streak and now they return home to take on the Chihuahua Savage at Cable Dahmer Arena on January 25 at 605 pm.
Get your tickets today for this game at www.kccomets.com before they sell out for this 2024 Ron Newman Cup Finals rematch.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st – SD Costa (C. Gonzalez) 7:30. Penalties – None.
2nd – SD C. Gonzalez 5:17; SD 5:17; KC Vandegriffe (Marques) 13:34. Penalties – None.
3rd – KC Marques (Vandegriffe) 10:35; KC Thetsane (Palmer) 12:30; SD Chiles 14:09 s/o. Penalties – KC Ejimadu (bc- holding) 14:09.
4th – SD Chiles (Costa) 7:18; KC Kazeem (Flores) 8:41; SD Mendez (Morgan) 8:55; SD C. Gutierrez 12:22 en. Penalties – KC Ejimadu (bc- GK handling outside the box) 5:14.
Power Play – Comets 0/0, San Diego 0/1
Penalty Minutes – Comets 4, San Diego 0
Fouls – Comets 19, San Diego 15
Shots – Comets 27, San Diego 25
Attendance – 2,105