Kansas City Comets open new MASL season by sweeping St. Louis Ambush

The Kansas City Comets swept their opening week series against the St. Louis Ambush, using timely defense and efficient offense to defeat their cross-state rival on consecutive nights to begin a new season in the Major Arena Soccer League.

The Comets opened the campaign with a 7-3 victory on Nov. 28 in St. Louis before returning home to Cable Dahmer Arena and taking an 8-3 victory on Nov. 29. The Comets had eight scorers across both nights, including Kansas City area native and Park Hill South High School graduate Jacob Garza in the season-opener for his first professional goal.

The Comets had prominent offensive performances by Zach Reget and Christian Anderaos, who scored twice in both games. The big offseason additions, Dom Francis and David Stankovic, also opened their accounts: Francis on Friday night and Stankovic on Saturday.

“We don’t want to let them (St. Louis) win one game,” Reget said. “We always somehow give up one game against these guys every year, and we’re just trying to change that discipline and consistency to where we keep them in the backseat and we keep doing our thing.”

The opening pair of games was unrecognizable from their meetings last year, when the Comets won the series 4-1 while outshooting the Ambush 160-104. In the first two contests of the new season, the Ambush were the aggressive side, outshooting the Comets 72-42, but struggled to create high-quality chances.

“They can shoot as much as they want,” Comets head coach Stefan Stokic said. “I think our defensive shape and the way we defend creates that chaos for them not to create a good shot. We’ll have to play different teams and see if it still works against them.”

Defensively, the Comets showed discipline and resilience, outblocking the Ambush 45-9. Lesia Thetsane led the way in St. Louis with six blocks after scoring the opening goal before DeBray Hollimon blocked seven attempts in the return matchup.

Another challenging back-to-back remains ahead, this time with both games on the road as the Comets visit the Baltimore Blast on Dec. 6 and Utica City FC on Dec. 7. The Comets, who have led the league in attendance the past three years, had another strong crowd for the home opener and return to Cable Dahmer Arena on Friday, Dec. 12, for another rivalry matchup when they host the Milwaukee Wave.

“We’re just thankful for them staying committed,” Reget said of the fans. “Ever since I’ve been here — and I’ve been here for three years — it’s one of the reasons why I don’t want to leave here.”