Comets open home-and-home at Stars

Kansas City Comets vs Tacoma Stars

MASL Regular Season — Game 21

Friday, March 21 — 9 p.m. CT

Where | accesso ShoWare Center - Kent, WA

National Broadcast | MASLtv YouTube

The Kansas City Comets (14-4-2) head to the Pacific Northwest on Friday to kick off their home-and-home slate this weekend with the Tacoma Stars (8-10-3).

After Friday's showdown, both teams will travel to Cable Dahmer Arena for the Comets' home finale and celebrate Military Night on Sunday.

The Comets are coming from an important 9-6 victory over the Milwaukee Wave, breaking a three-game losing streak. Stefan Mijatovic opened the game by scoring his first goal as a Comets and remained an essential factor with three assists and four blocks to complete the rivalry triumph.

Playing a variation of 18 lineups in 20 games, the Comets will continue to shift players around for Friday's game, which could be light in the midfield. Offensively, the Comets could see the return of leading scorer Rian Marques.

The Comets will be without Leo Acosta (foot), Mikey Lenis (foot), Chase Peterson (lower leg) and Marcel Berry (lower leg). Midfielders Henry Ramirez (illness) and Lucas Sousa (illness) are doubtful while Nacho Flores (illness) is questionable. The trio of Chad Vandegriffe (hip), Rian Marques (thigh) and Lesia Thetsane (lower leg) are probable.

The Comets have relied on its staunch defense to lead the way. Veteran defender Chad Vandegriffe is having the season of his career, blocking 64 shots and reaching double-digit points for the first time since winning the Ron Newman Cup with Milwaukee in 2019. Phillip Ejimadu has also been a key component and is in the only goalkeeper to rank inside the top three in three statistical categories, including goals against average (4.52), save percentage (74%) and wins (11).

After 20 games played, they sit third with four games left to play. Every win moves the Comets closer to locking down the No. 3 seed and in the hunt to sneak in as the No. 2 seed in the Ron Newman Cup Playoffs.

The Comets are 5-3-1 on the road this season, losing their last two away trips. Tacoma is 6-4-1 at the accesso ShoWare Center.

Friday's visit to Tacoma will just be the Comets' third visit in the MASL era. They previously lost 7-6 in 2018 but got an 8-7 win most recently in 2022.

While the Comets are 6-5 against the Stars since 2014, the Stars have given the Comets some tough games in recent years. KC is 3-5 against Tacoma since 2018, losing the past two matchups inside Cable Dahmer Arena in 2024 and 2023.

The Opponent

The Stars are in a heated battle for the last playoff spot with the St. Louis Ambush.

On 26 points, the Stars currently sit two points clear of the ninth-place Ambush, who have a game in hand. After this weekend, the Stars will conclude the season against San Diego while the Ambsh face Dallas and Texas this weekend before a home-and-home with Milwaukee next weekend.

Two MASL legends synonymous with the Stars the past few seasons are Nick Perera and Christ Toth. While both have been critical for them, Michael Ramos and Tyler John have also shared the load offensively.

Perera leads the Stars with 33 points from 15 goals and 18 assists but John is Tacoma's leading scorer with 16 goals. Ramos completes Tacoma's trio of 20-point offensive threats.

Toth is the reigning Goalkeeper of the Year and leads the MASL with a 75% save percentage. Toth's defense also consists of MASL's third-leading shot-blocker Logan Jones and World Cup veteran Roman Torres.

The Stars will be without Matt Braem (lower), Alessandro Canale (lower) and Jamael Cox (lower).

Following Friday's clash, both teams will duel again on Sunday at Cable Dahmer Arena. Get your tickets now for Sunday's Home Finale at kccomets.com/tickets.