KC Comets off to winning start after sweeping the St. Louis Ambush | Weekly update
The Kansas City Comets feasted on the St. Louis Ambush over Thanksgiving weekend, outscoring their I-70 foes 16-7 in a home-and-home rivalry series to open the new Major Arena Soccer League season.
In the season opener on Friday, Nov 29, the Comets raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first half and won 8-3 on the road in St. Charles. On Sunday, Dec. 1, a rapturous crowd of 5,121 filled Cable Dahmer Arena for a Comets come-from-behind effort. The Comets completed the sweep with an 8-4 win on home turf.
The Comets turned to some different players to lead the way in the opening weekend. Usual leaders such as Nicolau Neto, Zach Reget and Lucas Sousa dealt with injury concerns, though Reget still managed three goals while Sousa also tallied a score.
Different faces step up
No one was more productive on the offensive end than Leo Acosta. The 22-year-old midfielder had a six-point weekend, tallying two goals in each game and two assists in the season-opener.
The Comets were especially prolific coming out of halftime, scoring three goals in the third quarter of both games. After scoring the league’s first goal of the season on Friday, Acosta also was among the third-quarter scorers in both contests, showcasing a clinical finishing ability.
“I expected that last year, it was a little bit slower,” Comets head coach Stefan Stokic said about Acosta, who tallied 18 points from 14 goals and four assists in his rookie campaign. “I thought he could do more and he’s showing that already in the first two games. Now the question is: Can he keep up with that quality?”
Stokic was also full of praise for goalkeeper Phillip Ejimadu. Filling in for a banged-up Nicolau Neto, Ejimadu “kept us in the game,” Stokic said, on Sunday. The Comets backup took advantage of the unexpected opportunities and earned the first two wins of his MASL career.
With opportunities limited for Ejimadu, he felt nervous after learning he would be the Comets’ starter on opening night. But a strong start for his side changed that.
“The nerves I had went away. It got all the pressure out of me,” Ejimadu said.
The former Los Angeles FC goalkeeper sprawled for some difficult saves, tallying 25 saves across both games. He also helped out on the offensive end with two assists on Sunday, including on Acosta’s game-winning goal in the third period. Ejimadu is now tied for the league lead among all players after two games.
“Indoor soccer is very important to have a really good goalkeeper,” Stokic explained. “If you don’t have that, everything becomes 10 times harder. Both of these games he played, he was phenomenal.”
Up next for the Comets
The Comets were far from perfect in their first two games, but their quality showed on several highlight goals and defensive plays. The Comets hit the road next weekend to face the Milwaukee Wave in their home opener, broadcast nationally on CBS Golazo Network on Saturday, Dec 7.
The Comets return to Silverstein Eye Centers Field the following weekend to face the Dallas Sidekicks on Sunday, Dec 15, at 5 p.m. Tickets are available at kccomets.com/tickets.