December 13, 2023 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – Kansas City Comets News Release
The Kansas City Comets are delighted to announce an affiliation with MASL 2 club Iowa Raptors FC.
This affiliation gives the players of both organizations a pathway to get the necessary experience to develop in the indoor game. The Comets will have the opportunity to send players to the Raptors and the Raptors can have players move up to the Comets.
“We are excited to be working with the Iowa Raptors,” said Kye Martey, Comets assistant coach. “This will provide more opportunities for the talented players that are currently on our roster, and be more connected to the Raptors roster that has become an important M2 organization with a bright future.”
Based out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Raptors began playing in 2019. In the club’s inaugural season as part of the MASL 2 last season, they finished runner-up in the M2 championship. The club also has men’s and women’s outdoor teams that compete in the NPSL and WPSL.
“We are thrilled to see this partnership affiliation between the Comets and Raptors,” said Chris Economides, MASL 2 Commissioner. “The Raptors have been strong on the field making it to the M2 Final last year, and will be a key player development partner for the Comets moving forward. We are excited to see more players move up the ladder through this and other existing M1 and M2 affiliations.”
The Raptors have already produced MASL-caliber players. Last season they had Jonah Dancer and Ricardo Orozco, who signed this season with the Milwaukee Wave and Utica City FC, respectively. They also an experienced MASL veteran Patrick Kelly, who played two years with the Comets and two years with the Cedar Rapids Rampage.
“Being able to affiliate with M1’s top organization is a blessing for us and all those guys playing with us wanting to make it to the next level,” said Bobby Hurwitz, Iowa Raptors FC head coach.
Junior Kazeem and Tony De La Torre have already benefited from the affiliation. They both played last week in the Raptors’ season-opener and De La Torre scored twice. This affiliation will continue to grow and flourish for both organizations.
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