MARQUES HAT TRICK LEADS COMETS PAST HEAT

INDEPENDENCE, MO — The Kansas City Comets (8-1-2) have won three straight after defeating the Harrisburg Heat (2-8-1) by a 7-3 scoreline on Sunday at Cable Dahmer Arena.

After going scoreless for two straight, Rian Marques returned in a big way on Sunday. The Comets' talisman had a five-point performance with a hat trick and two assists.

After a scoreless opening period, Ramone Palmer came crashing into the box to score his fifth of the season, completing the wallascora to give Danny Malhue his first career MASL assist.

Marques got his first score of the game several minutes later, slamming in a perfectly calculated pass off the board from Nacho Flores. Marques struck again 5:52 into the second with a well-placed finish off the post as Malhue got his second career assist to put KC up 3-0 before halftime.

The Comets got the second-half scoring started after high pressure from Marques forced a turnover in the corner. He found Palmer, who slotted it in for his second of the evening to make it 4-0. Former Comet forward Mike Da-Silva answered quickly, putting Harrisburg on the board assisted by Andrea DiSomma.

Marques answered for the Comets by completing his hat trick after his hard work created yet another turnover. After Marques forced the goalkeeper into a desperate attempted pass, Nathan Durdle picked it off and returned it to Marques off the board, and the Brazilian slotted it in to complete his second hat trick of the season. The Heat replied once again with a score from Riley Urie, assisted by Roshawn Panton to put the score at 5-2.

Scoring in the fourth-quarter got started quickly. Zach Reget got his foot on a ball from Nacho Flores, making it 6-2 KC. The visitors answered quickly as Jack Shearer fired in for his second career goal, assisted by from Urie. Flores finally got his goal 3:13 into the fourth as Marques got his second assist and fifth point of the evening.

Despite some rotation in the roster, including MASL debuts for Joe Wainwright and Leonel Palma, the Comets were on cruise control for most of the game. Nicolau Neto got his second start of the season, turning in a quality performance with 11 saves as he recorded his second win of the week.

"Could we have done better? Yes, but the new guys that we brought in did really well tonight. I think it was a good game," head coach Stefan Stokic said. "It's a process; there's a lot to learn. But they did well tonight."

In addition to his pair of goals, Palmer was tied with Harrisburg's Ebiel Gamino for a game-leading three blocks. Harrisburg goalkeeper Hugo Silva was kept busy, stopping 21 shots as he took his seventh loss of the season.

"This one was a good one," Flores said. "Still need to get better; we still need to play better. But at least we got three wins in a row. That gives us some momentum for the next one."

The Comets return home on Feb. 7 for a battle with the San Diego Sockers. Visit kccomets.com/tickets to secure your seat for Friday's must-watch matchup.

1st – None.. Penalties - None.

KC Ramirez (bc - too many men) 6:02.

2nd – KC Palmer (Malhue) 0:23; KC Marques (Flores) 4:37; KC Marques (Malhue) 8:04. Penalties – None.

3rd – KC Palmer (Marques) 4:43; HAR DiSomma (Tavernese) 5:52; KC Marques (Durdle) 6:43; HAR Urie (Panton) 7:39. Penalties — None.

4th – KC Reget (Flores) 0:49; HAR Shearer (Urie) 1:09; KC Flores (Marques) 3:13. Penalties — None.

Power Play – Comets 0/0, Harrisburg 0/1

Penalty Minutes – Comets 2, Harrisburg 0

Fouls – Comets 12, Harrisburg 14

Shots – Comets 41, Harrisburg 21

Blocks - Comets 7, Harrisburg 13

Attendance – 3,557