COMETS BEAT THE HEAT

KANSAS CITY (March 3, 2019) – In a thrilling battle, the Kansas City Comets defeated the Harrisburg Heat 7-6. Six different Comets players found the back of the net in this Sunday afternoon team win. After a road victory on Saturday against the St. Louis Ambush, the Heat trekked across I-70 through the snow and wind to meet up in Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.

Kansas City started the scoring early in the first quarter. A free kick in the corner was John Sosa’s chance to set it up. He made a quick pass to James Togbah who made a swift move around the Heat defender and bounced the ball into the goal.

Harrisburg responded quickly after, when Matt Braem found Tom Mellor behind the Comets’ defense. With one slight touch to the left, Mellor beat Kansas City’s keeper Mark Saxby and evened the score 1-1.

Less than two minutes later, the Comets struck back. Gui Gomes scored his second goal of the season on the assist from Kiel Williams and put Kansas City back ahead.

However, the home team was not done yet. Sosa at midfield made a pass to Kevin Ellis. Following an impressive move off the wall and penetrating space in front of the Heat’s penalty box, Ellis rocked a left-footed shot past Harrisburg goalkeeper, Matt Perrella.

Harrisburg ended the first quarter with another goal, this time by William Eskay. A missed header by Ricardo Carvalho bounced to the top of the penalty box to Eskay, bringing the Heat one goal behind the Comets.

This gave Harrisburg the momentum going into the second quarter. Though Saxby made some great saves for Kansas City, the Heat found the back of the net. Braem scored his second of the game after an odd bounce off the post and into the goal.

Not long after, Harrisburg gained their first lead of the game. Ricardo Carvalho found Vesko Konov across the field and Konov put the shot in to gain his third goal of the season.

Less than a minute later, Leo Gibson netted his first goal of the game to put the Comets back in line with the Heat. Alain Matingou had the assist.

Back-to-back blue cards for two-footed tackles put the teams at 4 vs 4. Kevin Ellis received the first blue card and towards the end of the Heat’s power play, Nelson Santana repeated the infraction. Kansas City was able to hold off the Heat from scoring. The Heat were not able to do the same. Togbah, the Comets and MASL leading power play goal scorer, added another power play goal to the scorecard. Sosa got his second assist in the game and Kansas City grabbed the lead before halftime.

To start the third quarter, both sides made some key blocks to maintain the 5-4 score, going Kansas City’s way. The Heat and the Comets put on a show with their passing sequences, powerful shots, and physical play.

However, in the nature of indoor soccer, fans did not have to wait long for another goal. On the attack, Kiel Williams passed the ball to Ramone Palmer who streamed down the right hand side of the field. Palmer calmly and collectively put the ball into the net and gave the Comet’s a two goal lead.

Harrisburg came out ready to go in the final quarter of the game. Playing on the Comet’s mistakes, Dylan Hundelt put Harrisburg one goal closer to Kansas City. Dominic Francis put the teams even with his goal seven minutes into the fourth quarter.

After several shots bouncing off the glass near the goal, Berto Palmer ripped a shot from just above the yellow line. With three minutes left in the game, the Comets had the 7-6 lead. The Heat pressed for the remainder of the game, but did not prevail. The Comets pulled out the win and more security for their playoff spot.

The Kansas City Comets will get one more home game next week until they have to go on the road for a stretch. Let’s pack Silverstein Eye Centers Arena on Friday, March 8, at 7:35 PM when the team takes on the Orlando SeaWolves. Get your tickets at KCComets.com or ticketmaster.com.

MASL Match Report
Match: Kansas City Comets vs Harrisburg Heat
Date: March 3, 2019
Venue: Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, Independence, MO
Kickoff: 4:08 p.m. CT / 5:08 p.m. ET

Scoring Summary