WAVE WIN MINI-GAME OT THRILLER

Milwaukee, WI (March 12, 2017) - The Kansas City Comets 2016-2017 campaign came to an end on Sunday afternoon in an epic matchup with their long-tie rival, the Milwaukee Wave. A back-and forth battle in Game Two of the Central Division Championships evened the series and forced a Game Three Mini-Game. Even that wasn’t enough as the two teams were forced into a ‘Golden Goal’ overtime. Milwaukee’s Marcio Leite scored the series-winner 2:26 into the extra-extra period.

Kansas City started the day with a 1-0 lead in the Central Division series. They hoped to continue their run after Ramone Palmer started the game with two quick goals. Milwaukee’s Leite and Ian Bennett scored late in the opening period to tie it up after the opening period.

That set the tone for the entire afternoon as Game Two saw four ties and five lead changes. With the score tied at 5 with four minutes to play in the game, the Wave’s Andre Hayne scored the game winning goal with just under three minutes remaining. Drew Ruggles added an insurance goal a minute later as Kansas City lost 7-5 in the day’s opening match.

Major Arena Soccer League playoffs decide a 1-1 series tie with a ‘Mini-Game’, a 15-minute period that is treated as a completely separate game. Bennett scored the opening goal of the shortened game, followed by Kansas City scores from Bryan Perez and Vahid Assadpour.

With 1:40 seconds to play in the ‘Mini-Game’, Milwaukee pulled their sixth-attacker to try and even the score. Daniel Mattos was able to knock in the equalizer off a diving Comets defender. The goal tied the game 2-2 and forced the extra period.

After 60 minutes of Game Two, plus 15 minutes of Game Three, the Kansas City Comets and Milwaukee Wave lined up for an all-or-nothing overtime period. Each team had their chances, with both goalkeepers coming up big.

The stalemate was decided 2:26 into the extra period when Leite saw an opening from the left side. His initial shot was wide of the net, but the ball bounced off the back wall off of a diving Stephen Paterson and into the goal, giving the Wave the series-clinching score.