KC Comets hope to regroup after shorthanded defeat. There’s good news, too

The Kansas City Comets saw their three-game winning streak come to an end as they fell in a 10-6 defeat on Jan. 25 against the Empire Strykers in Ontario, California.

The Comets conceded six goals in the second quarter alone and found themselves down 7-0 early in the third quarter. It was a hole too deep for them to climb out of, with some integral pieces missing.

“I just feel like the team that we had last week that we played wasn’t here today,” Comets head coach Stefan Stokic said. “We got punished for it.”

Forced to play without two experienced defensive forces, Chad Vanegriffe (injury) and Guerrero Pino (red card suspension), the Comets felt their lack of presence. The Comets eventually found some offensive production from defender Lesia Thetsane, who scored his first hat trick in nearly four years, but it was too little to overcome such a large deficit.

The Comets had chances to take the lead in the first quarter but lacked the killer instinct when it mattered most. They eventually found some offense in the second half once the game got away from them.

“There’s a lot of things that went wrong,” Stokic said. “We didn’t play well defensively and offensively. We had opportunities, and they took all our momentum and we were not able to recover.”

Stokic was disappointed with how flat-footed the team looked for much of the first half. He pointed to his team’s one-on-one defending, not stepping to opposing players as they moved into shooting positions.

“Defensively, we were backing off, not being aggressive,” Stokic said. “The defending wasn’t good. We gave them space to shoot and to make passes.”

The Comets managed to cut into the deficit toward the end of the contest as Zach Reget scored twice and Rian Marques once. They finally showed some fire late in the game, cutting into the deficit to get within four for the first time since the second quarter.

Still, the Comets sit first in the Major Arena Soccer League standings after 14 of 24 games. They aim to secure the MASL Shield, which is given to the league’s regular-season champion, and secure a bye in the first round of the playoffs as a top-two seed.

Next up, the Comets prepare for a revenge matchup against the Strykers, hosting them at Cable Dahmer Arena on Friday, Jan. 30, as the team also celebrates Star Wars Night. Fans can purchase tickets at kccomets.com/tickets or by calling 888-9-COMETS.