Missouri Comets News Release -- www.missouricomets.com
Friday, November 18, 2011
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- In a battle of two teams expected to be in the MISL title hunt at the end of the season that lived up to that billing, the Baltimore Blast took a 10-8 overtime victory against the Missouri Comets at the Independence Events Center on Friday night, earning their first victory of the season while handing the Comets their first defeat.
Losing their home opener to the Syracuse Silver Knights, the Blast started the game with an aggressiveness the Comets hadn’t seen to this point in the young season. It only took Ptah Myers a little over two minutes to get the first goal of the evening. Leo Gibson tied the game several minutes later, but Mike Lookingland and Max Ferdinand of the Blast put in back-to-back goals at the end of the first quarter to take a 6-2 lead.
Vahid Assadpour cut the lead to 6-4 in the second quarter off a beautifully executed restart. Assadpour has now scored in four consecutive games and is tied with Geison for the team lead with 15 points on the season. The Blast did not sit on their small lead though as they continued to pressure the Comets defense throughout the quarter. Matt Watson extended the lead 8:29 into the second period and at halftime, the Blast led 8-4.
The Comets tried to match the Blast’s aggressiveness in the third quarter, but were unable to get anything past veteran goalkeeper Sagu. Last season’s Goalkeeper of the Year showed he was up to the task this season as he continuously turned away shot after shot. In the game the Comets had 23 shots on goal as opposed to the Blast’s 12. The third quarter saw plenty of action and a few fouls, but no goals.
In the fourth quarter the Comets came alive with a furious comeback, ignited by a great bicycle kick from Geison that found the corner of the goal in the fourth minute. Byron Alvarez followed up three minutes later to tie the game 8-8. The Comets were almost too aggressive looking for the win in regulation as Danny Waltman turned away a few odd-man rushes from the Blast forwards. Four quarter were not enough, though, as the game went to overtime.
Both teams have another game later this weekend and they both started the overtime period intent on ending the game quickly. Play was back-and-forth in both ends with each team getting several chances. But the Blast claimed victory 8:59 into the extra session as Waltman made another excellent diving save, only the rebound went straight to Noone, who took advantage of the sprawled out Waltman and put the ball in the corner of the net for the 10-8 victory.
“This is disappointing, but we don’t have time to hang our heads,” Comets coach Kim Roentved said. “We knew this was going to be a great matchup against a very good team. We have to move on now and focus on beating Milwaukee on Sunday.”
The Comets are back at the Independence Events Center this Sunday at 3:10 p.m. CT to take on the reigning MISL Champion the Milwaukee Wave. The World Famous Mascot Game returns at halftime of the game. Calvin the Comets Canine and his friends KC Wolf, Sluggerrr, Sizzle and many more will show off their foot skills in an always fun to watch game of soccer. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.com or by calling the Independence Events Center Box Office (816-442-6100).
For more information about the Comets, Season Tickets or Group Outings please call Jeff Husted (816-478-7870) or email jhusted@cometsindoorsoccer.com.