KC Comets set to open new season against St. Louis

The Kansas City Comets will open the new indoor soccer season with a home-and-home series against the St. Louis Ambush. They start with a Black Friday road game at the Family Arena in St. Charles before a homecoming at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence on Sunday, December 1.

Stefan Stokic had a roller coaster of a season in his first year as head coach. The Comets went from coming out of the gates hot to an 8-game losing streak before finishing with an incredible run to the championship series. Stokic wants to see a more improved and consistent product from his team this season.

"The stakes are really high now with the season we had last year," Stokic explained. "We not only need to compete, but we need to win a lot more games than we did last year."

The reigning Eastern Conference champions and Ron Newman Cup Finalists, who finished the regular season 14-10, have unfinished business with another strong roster. The Comets retained most last year’s roster - including MASL leading scorer Zach Reget - but lost Defender of the Year Berto Palmer while left-footed specialist Ray Lee retired.

New Additions

With a strong roster already, the Comets added some serious talent. Kansas City brought back two-time Ron Newman Cup champion Guerrero Pino from the San Diego Sockers and signed speedy midfielder Marcel Berry from the Ambush.

Re-joining the roster is forward Junior Kazeem, who missed all of last season due to visa issues. The Comets also brought back defender Lesia Thetsane via trade with the Harrisburg Heat.

The addition of Berry will add more talent and pace to the midfield, which Stokic wanted to address after last season. He believes these additions, plus some other potential signings, will provide more creativity in the midfield once they develop more chemistry with the team.

"We have a lot of midfielders this year," Stokic said. "A lot of players that are going to be competing for playing time."

The Comets also signed some newcomers to the MASL, including 20-year-old Kansas City native Leonel Palma and Nathan Durdle. Palma previously played in the FC Barcelona Residency Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona, and could have a bright future with the Comets. Durdle had a well-decorated five years at Columbia College and joins the Comets as another young player that can have an impact for years to come.

I-70 Series Showdown

The Comets' opening weekend of action will pit them against their I-70 foes twice in three days. It is a rivalry that always delivers and can be expected to take more leaps forward this season.

This season's I-70 Series features two teams with ambitions of making a run for the Ron Newman Cup. After a disappointing couple of seasons, the Ambush view the forthcoming season as an opportunity after some eye-opening offseason acquisitions, including the signing of four-time league MVP Franck Tayou.

The Comets and Ambush will meet five total times throughout the season - three times at Cable Dahmer Arena and twice at the Family Arena in St. Charles. Fans have the opportunity to get tickets to all five matchups this season for the price of $115 by visiting www.stlambush.com/i70series. Tickets for Sunday’s home opener and other single games can be purchased at www.kccomets.com/tickets.