Emphatic End to I-70 Cup

Sunday night, the Kansas City Comets hosted their final I-70 Series match at Cable Dahmer Arena with cross-state rivals, the St. Louis Ambush. Three words described the evening events that ensued: energy, excitement, and entropy. With altered rosters for both squads and the 6-game series final concluding, each team arrived with something to prove to spectators and the entire MASL.

Lifting the fog off the blue turf, this game brought nothing short of excitement for the fans, as the Ambush kicked off their potent attack with an early 2-goal lead with goals by Robert Williamson and Mario Falsone.

The walls seemed to bounce favorably in the direction of the Comets, as Zach Reget netted his first impact on the match with a wallascora rebounded assist from Henry Ramirez (Q1 4:19).

The next visiting goal derived from a direct out-of-bounds clearance, setting up the Ambush’s crafty free kick to silence the home crowd (Torrealba 6:09 Q1).

Just as the quarter comes to an end and following the yellow card to Nascimento and high kick blue card penalty served by Axel Chakounte, Nacho Flores stamps home a thrilling finish past the St. Louis backup goalkeeper Jose Ogaz, bringing the Comets within one goal to start the second quarter.

The second quarter consisted of local workhorse, Garza, smashing home a low screaming shot from behind the yellow line, netting his first goal of the match (5:44 Q2). The third quarter provided similar results, as Rian Marques trickled his first goal of the evening past an outstretched and recovering St. Louis defense (4:30 Q3).

Providing an emotional roller coaster for this series finale, the fourth quarter and beyond gave the fans everything they wanted for this heated cross-state rivalry. St. Louis’ Christian Briggs sent yet another game-tying finish through Comet defenders off the Ambush restart (Q4 2:56). Less than 2 minutes later, Michael Lenis capitalized on the ricochet rebound past the retreating Nascimento for his first goal of the night (Q4 4:32).

Goals were exchanged between the sides, but the Comets held their one-goal lead into the final minute of the match. As St. Louis brought on their 6th attacker, the stalemate was broken when Ejimadu made one of his best saves of the match, only to have Kristo capitalize with a onetime game tying finish past the Comet’s goalkeeper (Q4 14:23).

Extra time seemed that both sides were hungry for goals, yet none fell through the cracks in either team’s pursuit for glory. This rivalry only had one way to end its 2026 series, which sent the teams into dribble up penalty kicks. Three alternating shots for each team; If they’re still tied after 3, sudden-death penalties would follow.

Kansas City sent out Francis, Reget and Marques for their chosen 3, as St. Louis sent Torrealba, Eskay and Kristo in rebuttal. Shots were made by the first 5 shooters, but the massive saves by both keepers triumphed over the roar of an electric home crowd. Yet, the night fell nothing short of entertaining inside Cable Dahmer, as Robert Kristo netted the final and only scored penalty, bringing the series to 4-0-2 in favor of the Comets.

Highlighted players were mentioned following the match, as #99 Phillip Ejimadu (KC) and #17 Paulo Nascimento (STL) became selected as I-70 Series MVP’s for both teams. These goalkeepers played unbelievably well throughout the 6-game battle and were both highly deserving of the accolade.

Final score KC Comets 6 – St. Louis Ambush 7

The Comets next home match is scheduled for Sunday 1/11/2026 at 4:00pm (CST) inside the Cable Dahmer Arena (Independence, MO) versus rival Milwaukee Wave.