Wings revisit 40-year rivalry with Comets, beat KC team in exhibition ‘friendly’
This year’s return of the Wichita Wings not only rekindled feelings of nostalgia for fans, it also reignited a rivalry dating back more than 40 years.
Considering the relative close proximity of the Wichita and Kansas City areas, it was only natural that the Wichita Wings and Kansas City Comets became adversaries soon after each club’s inception in the inaugural Major Indoor Soccer League season of 1979.
They compete in a different league now, in different divisions, but the front offices of both the Comets and Wings keep open their lines of communication open and try to help each other when needed.
Already this year, the Wings have loaned goalkeeper Steven Hamersky to KC and some Comets players have been loaned to the Wings. Wichita even made the trip up Interstate 35 to Kansas City for an exhibition game to help the Comets prepare for their season.
On Sunday, Kansas City returned that favor, coming to Hartman Arena for another “friendly.”
“They have great fans there in Kansas City, we have great fans here in Wichita,” voice of the Wings Johnny Freedom said. “Although there’s an intensity on the field and in the stands with the fans, when everything’s said and done, there’s a lot of love that will be expressed between the fans and the players ... and definitely a lot of appreciation and respect among the front offices of that run these two great organizations.”
Once Sunday’s game began, it was clear this meeting was about competitive soccer. The Comets turned it on late and even held a lead at one point, but they couldn’t keep it as the Wings won 8-6.
The Wings (6-2 MASL 2) had a comfortable lead through most of the second half. They started a quick 2-0, sneaking in two goals when the Comets’ goalkeeper drifted too far out of his box. The Comets (7-7 MASL) answered with three goals of their own before Wichita scored twice to make it 4-3 at halftime.
Early in third quarter, Wings keeper Hamersky suffered a minor injury and coach Roger Downing summoned backup Aaron Parrott to take over in goal for the rest of the game.
Parrot stopped numerous shots by the Comets while the Wings scored twice to take a 7-3 advantage into the final quarter.
That’s when the Comets hit the Wings with something they hadn’t yet faced this season: a sixth attacker. The move worked to Kansas City’s advantage, as the Comets scored three times. But the clock wasn’t in the visitors’ favor; time ran out before the Comets could put up any more goals.
“They threw the sixth attacker in there, and we definitely need to work on defending that,” Parrott said. “We can’t give up those shots, but a lot of the guys were hustling hard and making my job easier.”
Bryan Perez and Nico Andre each scored two goals for the Wings; Matt Sherrod, Leonardo Catarina, Jared Robbins and Collin Lawter recorded the others for the hosts. Defender Daniel Sack was the First Star (and Man of the Match). Perez was the Second Star and Parrot the Third.
Lucas Sousa scored two goals for the Comets; Ramone Palmer, Robert Gomes, Nick McDonald and Odaine Sinclare accounted for the others for KC.
Freedom, the Wings’ announcer, was pleased to see the high level of competition and respect continue between the two organizations. He hasn’t forgotten how KC recruited, and landed, Wichita’s star player — Kim Røntved — a generation ago.
“One of the heart-and-soul players for the Wings back in the day was kind of plucked away from us,” Freedom said. “He was kind of stolen away from us by Kansas City one summer and that initiated an even deeper rivalry.”
While Røntved found a long-term home in Kansas City and eventually became their head coach, Wings fans resented Kansas City for it. On Sunday, they had fun watching the Wings exact some measure of revenge.
The Wings are back in action with a 7 p.m. home kickoff Feb. 15 against the Springfield Demize.
The Comets return home to face the St. Louis Ambush at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena Feb. 16 at 3:05 p.m.
This story was originally published February 9, 2020 at 10:03 PM.