Comets Take Down Soul

Home Sweet Home for the Comets tonight.  After a tough couple of weekends that saw the Comets drop three straight games, they were happy to be back in front of the Independence Events Center crowd.  Behind three goals from Byron Alvarez and thirteen saves from goalkeeper Boris Pardo, the Comets defeat the MISL’s newest franchise, the Chicago Soul, 14-11.

Slow starts are nothing new to the Comets who have come from behind in seemingly every game this season.  Tonight proved to be no exception.  Led by former Comets forward Bato Radoncic, the Chicago Soul pressured Pardo and the Comets defense with an attacking strategy that kept the Comets on their heels for much of the quarter.  The strategy seemed to work as they ended the quarter with a 2-0 Chicago lead.

Usually one of the league’s most powerful offenses, the team came out firing in the second quarter.  As Chicago once again tried to establish a high pressure offense, the Comets defense worked out of the back with precision and found themselves with several odd-man rushes up the field.  Team captain Vahid Assadpour, Mads Falck, and Lucas Rodriguez capitalized on their opportunities and Byron Alvarez had his first goal of the night as the Comets went in to halftime with an 8-4 lead.

Trying to find a new strategy in the second half, the Chicago Soul decided to get aggressive.  Boris Pardo, playing his third straight game in the net, rose to the occasion.  Chicago peppered him with shots from outside the arc, shots from the corner and shots from seemingly everywhere else on the field.  Standing tall behind the league’s second ranked defense, he was able to stop nearly all of them.  The teams traded goals in the third and the Comets maintained their four-point lead, now 10-6.

The fourth quarter was back-to-business for the Comets.  The defense patiently waited for their opportunities as Chicago tried several times to push the pressure.  Leo Gibson, Ryan Junge and the rest of the defense had fourteen blocks on the night and Pardo turned in a great performance with thirteen saves.  Alvarez notched his second and third goals of the game in the final quarter to make the score 14-9. Chicago’s Matt Stewart got the Soul within three points, scoring in the ninth minute.  The Soul added a sixth attacker after that, but couldn’t get any closer.  The Comets earned their fifth win of the season by the score of 14-11.

The Comets now head on the road for four games, including another east coast road trip next weekend.  This time the Comets face the Syracuse Silver Knights on December 14th and the Baltimore Blast on December 15th.  The next home game is December 29th at 7:35pm.  The team will battle Syracuse in the Comets Annual Media Game.  Fans can watch their favorite TV, Radio, Internet and Newspaper personalities battle it out in a spirited soccer exhibition at halftime.