KC Comets face must-win situation in Tuesday night’s MASL finals match in Mexico

An opening-match loss to the visiting Chihuahua Savage finds the Kansas City Comets bound for Mexico trailing 1-0 in the Major Arena Soccer League’s Ron Newman Cup Finals.

The Comets must win Tuesday’s game at Arena Corner Sport — where the defending champion Savage is unbeaten in 12 matches this season — in order to force a 15-minute knockout game for the MASL championship.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Comets coach Stefan Stokic said. “It’s a hard place to play. That’s their territory.

“Like we’ve been doing all season long, we’re going to fight.”

The Comets certainly gave it all they had during Sunday evening’s Game 1 at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence. A sellout crowd of 5,523 provided a vibrant atmosphere, but the home fans saw the Comets’ 10-game winning streak come to an end with a 4-3 defeat.

KC was up 3-1 in the third quarter but missed some big chances, outshooting the Savage 11-8 but scoring just once via a penalty kick.

“When we have chances, we have to make sure we punish them,” Stokic said.

All three Comets goals came from set pieces. Rian Marques scored from a penalty kick in the third period after the restart link between Lucas Sousa and Nacho Flores worked well in the first half.

Sousa scored two goals off Flores’ restarts, including a clever one from the corner in the second quarter. Flores faked a pass, then back-heeled the ball off the near board. That set up Sousa, who ripped a goal past the Savage goalkeeper.

It was a well-rehearsed play many weeks in the making, and the Comets may need more like it when they’re south of the border Tuesday evening. The Savage is 39-4 against American opposition at Corner Sport Arena since joining the league three seasons ago.

This will be the Comets’ second visit of the year to Chihuahua. KC lost 8-2 there in January at the end of a grueling four-games-in-one-week stretch.

Tuesday’s match is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Central Time and can be streamed for free on CBS Sports Golazo Network. It will also be broadcast on SportsRadio 810 WHB.