Comets Rally To Reach Championship

The Missouri Comets booked their first trip to the MISL Championship Series since the franchise's return to action in 2010 after taking a pair of dramatic victories against the Milwaukee Wave on Sunday evening at the U.S. Cellular Arena. Leo Gibson's goal with 34 seconds remaining kept the Comets' hopes of advancing alive, evening the series with a 9-8 win, before Byron Alvarez scored the game-winning goal with five seconds to play in the Game 3 mini-game to earn a 5-4 win and a meeting with the Baltimore Blast.
After losing Game One 12-10 in overtime on Thursday night, the Comets knew they had a big mountain to climb in Milwaukee. Missouri fell behind early when the Game 1 hero for Milwaukee, Guiliano Oliverio, scored halfway through the opening quarter. Oliviero’s initial shot was saved by Comets goalkeeper, Danny Waltman, but was still bouncing slowly towards the goal line when Comets defender Vahid Assadpour raced to save it off the line, only for his shot went off Oliviero’s head and in the net.
Jeff Hughes put the Comets on the board three minutes later when his cross in front of the Wave goal was deflected in by the Milwaukee defender, but the Wave regained the lead in the second quarter as Ian Bennett snuck home a shot off the right post to take a 4-2 lead into the half.
The Comets and Wave traded goals in the third period, with Tenzin Rampa making it 6-2 for Milwaukee as he scored from close range. Coady Andrews answered for the Comets from 3-point range, making it a one-point game entering the fourth quarter, but Oliviero scored nine seconds into the fourth quarter to give the Wave an 8-5 advantage.
The Wave then fell into a defensive shell to try and protect their advantage, giving Missouri the bulk of possession in the quarter. Feenstra was unrelenting as he faced several shots from the Comets and turned most of them away. Brian Harris was able to get the Comets back within one point when he took a shot from outside the penalty box that ricocheted through the Wave defense and into the net.
The Comets brought Vahid Assadpour on as a sixth attacker with around two minutes remaining in the game to try and overcome their 8-7 deficit. The move paid off with 34 seconds remaining when Gibson, returning from a three-game suspension, deflected a ball into the net, forcing a Game 3 ‘Mini-Game’.
In the 15-minute game, the Comets maintained their momentum from Game 2 as Coady Andrews, who scored only four goals all season, knocked in his second 3-point goal of the day only two minutes in. As the two-time defending champion, however, Milwaukee was not ready to give up its chance for a three-peat. Luan Oliviera weaved through the Comets defense for a goal from the left, then had the assist four minutes later when Hewerton’s goal put the Wave in front 4-3 with a little over five minutes to play.
Once again, bringing on Assadpour as the sixth attacker proved to be the key for the Comets as they pressed for a late game-winner. The extra pressure that comes from having one more attacker than the Wave had defenders created space, and Feenstra did well to deny the Comets as he tipped a shot over the crossbar with seven seconds remaining for a corner kick on the left. Milan Ivanovic threaded the needle on the restart, Alvarez finding space after a dummy run by Assadpour pulled defenders toward him, and the former MISL Most Valuable Player wasted no time and buried the shot from close to the penalty spot to give his side victory.
The Comets will host Game 1 of the MISL Championship Series at the Independence Events Center on Thursday, March 14th at 7:35 p.m. CT, with Game 2 set for Saturday, March 16 at Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena.