Kansas City Comets sharpening offense ahead of weekend matches with Mesquite, Milwaukee

The Kansas City Comets kicked off their Major Arena Soccer League season over Thanksgiving weekend by splitting a two-game series with the St. Louis Ambush.

The Comets lost the road contest 5-4 in overtime before a 4-2 win at home.

The Comets were not happy after scoring a total of eight goals from 72 shots in those two games. But after some time to reflect, player-coach Leo Gibson had some optimistic takeaways.

“It’s not a bad start, but it’s not the start we wanted,” he said. “It was good to see where we are and what we need to work on.”

Gibson was pleased with his team’s defensive effort — the Comets held the Ambush to just seven goals in two games — but he is hoping they can convert more chances in front of goal: the Comets outshot the Ambush 72-34 across both games.

“Defensively,” Gibson said, “we did really well. It was nice to see that we are capable of denying them opportunities.

“Our biggest problem was executing our opportunities. It was nice to have the week off so we could work on finishing and executing our opportunities.”

The Comets are back in action this weekend with another back-to-back set as their MASL schedule continues. They play an inter-conference clash at the Mesquite Outlaws on Saturday before coming home to face Eastern Conference rival Milwaukee Wave on Sunday.

One of the obstacles the Comets are facing through this early portion of the season is player availability. Gibson inserted himself in the lineup because a number of Comets players were missing due to injuries and/or visa clearance issues.

Rian Marques, who was among the team’s leading scorers the last two seasons, is out with an injury. Promising rookies Benji Monreal, Junior Kazeem and Milos Vucic are each awaiting visa clearance alongside second-year midfielder Christian Anderaos.

“It’s challenging, but it’s not the first time,” Gibson said of balancing roster machinations and playing and coaching simultaneously. “We did it all of last year so we just find a way to manage players and games.”

The Comets still have offensive firepower on hand, with John Sosa, Lucas Sousa, Lesia Thetsane and Ray Lee each capable of carrying some of the load.

Tickets to Comets home games can be purchased through ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more can obtain discounted tickets by calling the Comets directly at 888-9-COMETS.