Comets Double up Wave with 8-4 Win

February 26, 2023 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – Kansas City Comets News Release

INDEPENDENCE, MO. – The Comets (8-5-4) met the Milwaukee Wave (10-5-2) for the sixth and final time during the 2022-23 regular season and came away with a convincing 8-4 win in front of 4,361 fans at Cable Dahmer Arena on Sunday evening. Nicolau Neto stopped 25 Milwaukee shots on the way to the victory.

Three goals were scored in the opening quarter with two coming in favor of the Comets off the foot of Zach Reget. The opening goal, however, was knocked in by Kyle Crain after Comets’ keeper Nicolau Neto was drawn off his line. Luan Oliveira fed a pass to Crain, who was standing in front of an open goal and converted on his third goal of the season and made it a 1-0 Wave lead with 9:55 remaining in the 1st.

With the Wave short-handed due to a blue card for too many men, Leo Gibson sent a pass to Reget off the end board which resulted in the power play goal to level the game at 1-1 with 7:26 to play in the first frame.

Reget’s second goal of the quarter was also assisted by Gibson, who sent a lob-pass for Reget to fire a one-timer past Wave keeper William Banahene to go up 2-1 headed to the 2nd quarter.

Milwaukee brought the game back even when Derek Huffman found Shawn Azcueta on the right wing wide-open. Azcueta sent a bender past Neto, who was partially screened on the play and it was 2-2 with 8:41 to play in the half.

Kansas City would take a 3-2 lead to the locker room though. Rian Marques headed home a rebound of a Benji Monreal shot following an absolutely amazing save by Banahene. Marques was right on the doorstep for his sixth goal of the season.

The Comets were the only team to find the back of the net in the 3rd quarter. After some intense pressure by the Wave, Neto sent a long outlet pass along the boards and it ended up on the foot of Junior Kazeem who fed Milos Vucic for his third goal of the season, doubling Kansas City’s lead to 4-2 with 3:39 left in the 3rd.

It became a three-goal lead for the Comets at 5-2 off the second walla-scora of the game for Kansas City. This time it was Monreal connecting with Ramone Palmer, who went top-shelf for his fourth goal of the season. The game moved to the final quarter by that score.

A restart goal from Lucas Sousa, assisted by John Sosa extended the Comets lead to 6-2 before the Wave found the back of the net again.

After an initial save by Neto, Slavador Nunez scored his first goal of the season for the Wave to cut…