Comets Fall in Opener

One year after needing an extended overtime to defeat the expansion Cedar Rapids Rampage in their season opener, the Kansas City Comets fell to the same Rampage 5-3 on opening night of the 2016-2017 season.

Things started extremely bright for the Comets as Milan Ivanovic scored less than a minute into the first quarter to put the Comets on top 1-0. Late in the first quarter, new signing, Guerrero Pino, doubled the lead with a volley on a lofted ball into the box by John Sosa to make it 2-0 by the end of the first quarter. The Rampage have made a number of additions in the offseason, many of them coming from the Milwaukee Wave. In the second quarter, one of those signings, Tony Walls cut the lead to one for the Comets making it 2-1 as the two teams headed into half time.

The third quarter saw Walls again score about half way through the period to tie the game at 2-2. That was the only scoring in the third quarter, but in the fourth the Rampage ran away from the Comets. First Gordy Gurson scored to give the Rampage their first lead of the game, then player/coach Hewerton Moreira scored a pair of goals to put the Rampage up 5-2. The Comets tried to force a comeback, similar to what they'd done last year against the Rampage, but all they could get was a second goal from Ivanovic with four minutes left to cut the lead to 5-3.

The Comets return to action Friday when they'll host the Milwaukee Wave.