COMETS SCORE THREE GOALS IN FINAL MINUTES TO TOP DALLAS 7-6

DALLAS, TX. – The Comets (7-1-2) scored three goals in the final 2:35 of the fourth quarter to top the Sidekicks (3-9-0) at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center Thursday night. Nacho Flores scored two of the three goals, including the game-winner with 31 seconds left to play.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Sidekicks opened the scoring just 25 seconds into the second frame. Colin O’Keefe found a loose ball on the doorstep of the goal and tapped it in for his third goal of the season. The Sidekicks led 1-0 with 14:35 to play in the first half.

Less than a minute later, Dallas’ Renato Torquato was in the cliché right place at the right time and redirected a pass intended for Comets keeper Phillip Ejimadu for a 2-0 Sidekicks lead with 13:41 on the clock.

Kansas City’s first great opportunity to score was a Rian Marques shootout attempt which was turned away following a blue card to Sidekicks’ keeper Parker Lackland. Dallas was not able to stop the power play though, as Leo Acosta rifled a shot just under the crossbar to cut the Sidekicks lead to 2-1 with 11:50 to play before halftime.

In the final minute of the half, David Texeira scored for the Sidekicks following a flurry of shots just missing to give Dallas a 3-2 lead at the break.

23 seconds later, Junior Kazeem capitalized on a Dallas turnover deep in their own zone to tie the game at 2-2 with 11:27 on the clock.

In the final minute of the half, David Texeira scored for the Sidekicks following a flurry of shots just missing to give Dallas a 3-2 lead at the break.

The third quarter was a story of official reviews and Nathan Durdle goals for the Comets. With 8:10 to play in the third, Durdle scored an apparent goal which held up under an extended review to tie the game at 3-3.

The second occurrence came with 2:50 to go when a Durdle shot went in under the crossbar but was not called a goal during play. The Comets challenged at Durdle was awarded his second goal of the game and Kansas City took a 4-3 lead into the final 15 minutes of play.

The fourth quarter was a wild game of rallies. The Sidekicks scored the first three goals of the final frame and held a 6-4 lead with 3:22 to play in the game. That proved to be enough time for the Comets, however.

Flores scored twice and Reget once in that window to earn the 7-6 win making the Comets the first team to beat the Sidekicks in Dallas this season.

Reflecting on the victory, head coach Stefan Stokic was upset with how the game unfolded.

“They (Dallas) played a phenomenal game,” Stokic said. “I just think that for us, if we want to be champions, there are going to be tough games where the ball doesn't go in and it'll be difficult. Where I'm upset is we lost our discipline, we were unorganized at moments, and we didn't execute what we do in our principles.”

Flores came in to save the day late, deservedly taking the plaudits with his game-winner inside the final minute of regulation.

“He did a great job leading the team in the tough moments,” Stokic said of his captain. “That's what your leaders need to do. He got rewarded with two goals late. His mentality and his attitude, his belief in this team. He never gave up one second. That's one of the reasons why we're at where we are at. Our leaders all stepped up.”

The Comets will now head home to face the Harrisburg Heat at Cable Dahmer Arena on Sunday, February 2 at 4:05 pm CST. Get your tickets today for this big game at www.kccomets.com as the playoff race heats up!

SCORING SUMMARY

1st – None. Penalties – None.

2nd – DAL O’Keefe 3 0:25; DAL Torquato 1 13:41; KC Acosta 5 (Flores) 3:10 pp; KC Kazeem 2 3:33. Penalties – DAL Lackland (bc- gk handball outside the box) 2:24.

3rd – KC Durdle 2 6:50; KC Durdle 3 12:10. Penalties – None.

4th – DAL Torquato 2 (O’Keefe) 4:48; DAL Lovegrove 11 (Rodriguez) 5:01 DAL Perez 3 11:38; KC Flores 3 12:25; KC Reget 8 (Marques) 13:04; KC Flores 4 14:29. Penalties – KC Ejimadu (yc- delay of game) 12:25.

Power Play – Comets 1/1, Dallas 0/0

Penalty Minutes – Comets 7, Dallas 2

Fouls – Comets 22, Dallas 20

Shots – Comets 26, Dallas 28

Attendance – 490