WAVE CRUMBLE TO COMETS SUNDAY AFTERNOON

The 7-time champion Milwaukee Wave were in Independence, Missouri Sunday looking to get back to their winning ways against one of their biggest rivals, the Comets. Instead, Kansas City handed the Wave their second straight loss in a row.
 
“We have a lot of players that are injured, not to make excuses, and a lot of guys are getting opportunities,” said Milwaukee Wave Head Coach Giuliano Oliviero. “What are our young players doing with that opportunity? That was the sentiment in the locker room after the game.”
 
The game began like a classic back and forth match with a pair Wave goals from Kyle Crain and Shawn Azcueta and a pair of Kansas City goals. It wasn’t until late in the first half when Comets Forward Rian Marques scored to take a 3-2 lead into the half.
 
“We’re down 3-2, we had the power play and we just didn’t execute.” exclaimed Oliviero. “For me this one really comes down to, at what point are we going to hold players accountable for not making the most of their offensive opportunities?”
 
The second half was a defensive battle until late in the third quarter when the Comets scored a pair of goals. Kansas City would carry that momentum for the remainder of the game with the exception of two Milwaukee goals in the fourth quarter from Salvador Nunez and Tony Walls.
 
“For me as a coach, it’s great to see the young guys get their opportunity to play at the professional level,” added Oliviero. “We just want to see them get better because bottom line; it just wasn’t good enough tonight. We had plenty of chances to win that game and blew it.”

The Wave will head back home and prepare for a busy weekend ahead. Saturday night they face division foes, the Florida Tropics at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. After that game, the team will hop on a bus and head to St. Louis to take on the Ambush Sunday afternoon at the Family Arena.
 
“It would be great of we could get some players healthy and back from the injured list for this upcoming weekend,” said Oliviero. “The Florida game is now a battle for first place and it’ll be a very tough game but then to turn it around the next day and face a fresh team? This weekend will certainly be a test but we’ll be ready for it either way.”