ess than 24 hours after their final regular season home game last night, the Comets traveled nearly 600 miles north to face the league leading Milwaukee Wave. Behind a solid defense that only gave up two goals in the run of play, the Comets got their second victory over the weekend, beating the Wave 15-9 at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
This matchup of the league’s top two scoring teams started out as a defensive showcase. The teams traded stretches of possession with goalkeepers Danny Waltman of the Comets and Marcel Feenstra of the Wave each standing tall in their nets. Missouri’s John Sosa broke the stalemate in the final minute of the opening quarter, as the Comets led 2-0 after the first fifteen minutes
Defender Victor Quiroz got the Wave on the board after he caught Waltman too far off his line and launched a shot from just outside the Milwaukee zone. The Wave’s 3-2 lead only held for 34 seconds as Milan Ivanovic answered back for the Comets. Ivanovic found the net again three minutes later to grow the Comets lead to 6-3.
Just prior to the end of the half, a Milwaukee pass sent across the Comets penalty box careened off the hand of Missouri’s Sosa. The Wave’s Guiliano Oliviero converted the resulting penalty kick to get his team within 6-5 at the halftime break.
Defenses reasserted themselves in the third quarter as these two rivals fought for dominance in the game. The two teams traded goals in the third quarter with Lucas Rodriguez of Missouri and Marcio Leite of Milwaukee each finding the back of the net. After three periods, the Comets held a tight 8-7 lead.
Marcio Leite briefly regained the lead for Milwaukee just after the fourth quarter began, beating Waltman to his right side. Holding a 9-8 lead, the Wave fell into a defensive shell to try and preserve the lead and extend their nineteen game home winning streak.
As the only team to defeat the Wave this season, the Comets were confident down the stretch. Sosa found himself with the ball in the left corner of the Milwaukee end and laid off an easy pass to Lucas Rodriguez who hit the far side netting with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Stefan Stokic and Brian Harris each scored on the Wave’s sixth attacker, giving Missouri the 15-9 victory.
The Comets improve to 12-6 on the season and give them a 1.5 game lead over Syracuse for the third seed in the MISL Playoffs. The Wave drop to 15-3, with all three losses coming at the hands of the Comets.
The Comets are on the road for their final two games of the regular season, February 27th against St. Louis and March 2nd against Milwaukee. Missouri returns home for Game #1 of the MISL Playoffs on March 9th at 3:10p.m. CT. Fans can receive FREE playoff tickets by purchasing 2014-2015 Missouri Comets Season Tickets by March 4th.
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