It’s not quite on par with the “Miracle on Ice,” but the Comets certainly pulled off the “Miracle in Milwaukee” with a shocking, 13-8 victory over the undefeated Milwaukee Wave at U.S. Cellular Arena Friday afternoon. The Comets, coming off an embarrassing loss just two days ago to the Baltimore Blast, played their most complete game of the season and ended the Wave’s 13-game consecutive regular season win streak, dating back to last year.
“This is the best we’ve played all year long, and the hard work the team put in after that ugly loss on Wednesday really paid off,” said Comets head coach, Kim Roentved. “The guys really wanted to show our fans and themselves that they could play with the big-boys in this league. This was a collective team effort, and we couldn’t be happier right now. It’s going to be a very happy New Year for sure!”
Probably the most important play of the game wasn’t by one of the Comets players, but by Coach Roentved himself, who inserted the team’s second leading scorer and forward, Leo Gibson, to play defense. Gibson terrorized the Wave offensive players all game long, solidifying a Comets defense that has been prone to making costly mistakes all season long.
Equally as impressive as Gibson was Comets goalkeeper, Danny Waltman, who had his best game of the year after sitting out Friday night’s game against Baltimore. Waltman finished with 29 saves in the game.
The Wave got on the board first at the 6:52 mark with a power play goal by Giuliano Oliviero. The Wave would eventually score three of their four goals during power plays. Byron Alvarez answered for the Comets with less than a minute remaining in the period with an assist from Matt Iverson, giving Iverson his first point of the season. 1st Quarter Score: Tied 2-2.
The second quarter began like the first quarter ended – with the goal by Byron Alvarez, 20 seconds into the period, giving Alvarez two goals in 65 seconds. After another Wave power play goal at the 7:57 mark by Marcio Leite, the Comets’ Jamar Beasley responded with a goal of his own, assisted by Alvarez, a half minute later to give the Comets a 6-4 lead at halftime.
The Wave tied things up 6-6 at the 1:11 mark on a goal by Marco Terminesi, which ricocheted off Comets’ defender, Brian Harris. Again, the Comets answered quickly with a goal of their own, this time, by newcomer, Will John, earning his first goal as a Comet and giving the Comets an 8-6 lead at the 2:24 mark. The Wave tied things back up on another power play goal by Terminesi, after the Comets were penalized for having too many men on the field. The Wave should have scored moments earlier in the power play, when Harris of the Comets deflected a shot that surely would have gone in with his hand that went unnoticed by the officials. The Comets would take the lead for good though on Byron Alvarez’s third goal of the game on a ball that was mishandled by Wave goalie, Nick Vorberg, at the 14:11 mark. The goal, assisted by Leo Gibson, gave Alvarez a hat trick for the game. 3rd Quarter Score: Comets 10, Wave 8.
In the final period, Comets hunkered down on defense even more, punctuated by Waltman’s play in goal. After the Wave inserted a sixth attacker with two minutes left in the game, the Comets’ Jamar Beasley broke free and scored an unassisted 3-point goal to put Milwaukee away for good. The goal was Beasley’s first 3-pointer of the season.
The win brings the Comets record to 2-6 on the season, while the loss is the Wave’s first of the season. The Comets next game is a rematch against the Chicago Riot on Friday, January 7th at the Independence Events Center. Game time is 7:35p.
Comets single game tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com. Groups and youth soccer teams can also “Play Like the Comets” on the field before every Comets home game. For Comets group tickets, call 816-478-BALL. For all the latest Comets news, visit www.cometsindoorsoccer.com.
For more information about the Major Indoor Soccer League, please visit the League’s official website www.MISL.net.
Box score below. Link to box score: http://www.pointstreak.com/
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