Kansas City Comets’ win over St. Louis involved milestone dating back 11 years

The KC Comets have yet to put together a complete performance this season, but they did pull together to grab a fourth road win in five attempts by defeating the St. Louis Ambush on Sunday, Dec. 21.

The road victory was unique as it was the Comets’ first shootout win in over a decade. More precisely, it came just 10 days shy of the 11th anniversary of their last shootout victory, which came on the road against the Milwaukee Wave.

For a team that has faced some struggles in overtime and shootouts over the years — most recently losing a shootout in 2024 amid an eight-game losing streak — finding a way to win the shootout in St. Louis was a big mental hurdle for the Comets to climb.

The Comets took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter with goals from Nacho Flores and Mikey Lenis. The chances began to dry up in the second quarter, as the Comets played the final three quarters and 10 minutes of overtime without scoring.

Despite having three of the league’s most prolific scorers held scoreless, the Comets relied on their defense to lead the way in a gritty performance. The Comets’ defense held the Ambush scoreless in the first half before allowing two goals in the second half to force overtime.

Comets head coach Stefan Stokic admitted his disappointment with his side’s offensive struggles. He expects his team to be able to adjust to various defensive coverages, which did not happen in St. Louis.

“We were a little bit off of everything,” Stokic said. “We didn’t do well offensively, that’s for sure.”

The Comets’ defense remained resilient, even with goalkeeper Phillip Ejimadu getting called on to relieve Julio Coronoado with hopes that Ejimadu’s arm could spark more offensive transition. While that decision did not end the Comets’ scoring drought, it did pay off in the shootout.

Ejimadu, standing at 6-foot-2, made four saves in regulation before stopping all three attempts in the shootout. Lucas Sousa’s first-round score proved to be the game-winner to give the Comets the shootout victory.

The Comets improved to 5-2 on the season, winning a third consecutive road game. Stokic remains focused on approaching each game with a similar mentality.

“No matter if we’re on the road or home, we have to have a winning mentality,” Stokic said. “I look at every game the same. If you want to win a championship, you have to win games on the road and at home.”

With a share of the I-70 Series Cup now secured with a 3-0 lead, the Comets hope to clinch the outright title when they host the Ambush in Game 4 of the series on Saturday, Dec. 27. Fans can purchase a four-pack of tickets to Saturday’s contest for as low as $61 at kccomets.com/holidaypack.