March 30, 2024
By Fred Liggett
sports.lstribune08@gmail.com
After a long 24-game regular season that took four months to complete it’s time for MASL teams to play post-season games. For the Kansas City Comets it means a case of déjà vu as they open post-season play against Utica City FC the same team they opened up against in 2023.
The Kansas City Comets enter the post-season off from a regular season that saw them finish at 14-6-4. The Comets are riding a six-game winning streak as they look to defeat a higher-seeded team to advance in the playoffs. The Eastern Conference semifinal round begins at home inside Cable Dahmer Arena with Game 1. A game date/time has not been set as of press time. Game 2 will be on Monday, Apr. 15 with a 5 p.m. start at Utica City. If needed a mini-game or Game 3 will immediately follow.
During the regular season the third-seeded Comets went 1-2 against the second-seeded Utica FC. The Comets will rely on a stiff defense and timely scoring to achieve a series victory. The Comets defense is led by defender Chad Vandegriffe and goaltender Nicalou Neto. The Comets offense leans on forward Zach Reget who is headed into the post-season off from a hat trick performance against San Diego on Saturday, Mar. 23. The Comets defense only allowed a single goal in the entire fourth quarter in their regular season ending 10-6 win over San Diego who at the time was seeded number one in the Western Conference. The home game before that one the Comets didn’t give up a single goal in the fourth quarter in an 11-5 win over rival St. Louis.
Kansas City Comets head coach Stefan Stokic on the team’s last six games, “We always find ways to win, very proud to coach these guys.” Stokic adds we “will need everybody for a chance to win a championship.” Stokic concludes, “We are ready.”
Entering the final week of the regular season Utica was found to be at 16-6-1 and enjoying a three-game winning streak. The regular season finale for Utica is on Saturday, Mar. 30. Utica will visit Baltimore to close out the season. Utica is led by Frank Tayou who leads the team in scoring. The winner of this semifinal series will advance to the Western Conference finals against the winner of the Monterrey/Milwaukee series.
