KC Comets update: rookie Kazeem scores twice in 4th period of comeback win vs. Ambush

It is safe to say that Kansas City Comets forward Junior Kazeem left his mark against the St. Louis Ambush.

The rookie’s two fourth-quarter goals delivered the Comets a 6-5 come-from-behind victory Saturday evening at Cable Dahmer Arena.

After a back-and-forth contest, the late winner secured the Comets all three points in their final matchup with the Ambush this season. The Comets also moved to 10 points clear of the playoff cut with 10 games remaining.

Kazeem’s first of the night leveled the score at 5-5 with 11:09 remaining, pulling the Comets back level after seeing their two-goal lead erased. The celebration was full of passion and excitement.

With emotions high following a scuffle moments before, Kazeem put the Comets ahead with 37.8 seconds remaining after corralling a rebound and shuffling it in the back of the net. The arena went wild as Kazeem took his celebration to another level, sprinting a lap around the field as he was just moments away from leading his team to a momentous victory.

“I was like ‘I have potentially got the winner’ but you never know in this game,” Kazeem said. “We just stayed locked in and stayed until the final whistle. After the whistle went, then I was like ‘oh, I really just scored the winner.’ This feels good.”

After being sidelined with visa issues all season, Kazeem got his first opportunity in St. Louis on Jan. 20. That did not go as planned as the team suffered a 5-4 overtime loss. The two big moments Saturday were a result of his hard work and desire throughout the season.

“I’ve worked hard and it was hard watching,” he said. “I always knew that, at the end of the day, I’ve just got to stay ready and wait for my time. It finally came, so I was just happy to give back.”

Saturday’s win in front of 4,629 — with many Ambush faithful on hand — helped the Comets win the annual I-70 season series, topping the Ambush four games to two.

“It’s always competitive,” Comets player/coach Leo Gibson said of the rivalry. “We appreciate the St. Louis fans that took the time to come down here and support their team and vice versa to the Comets fans that do the same for us. These are two franchises that have been around for a while and fans are very, very supportive.”

Sitting third in MASL’s Eastern Conference standings, the Comets now turn their attention to the second-place Florida Tropics, who eliminated KC from the playoffs last season in the semifinals. Their first of three meetings is this Friday at Cable Dahmer Arena.