The Kansas City Comets open the MASL playoffs next week. Here’s their first assignment
The Kansas City Comets finally know their path to the Major Arena Soccer League’s Ron Newman Cup Finals after concluding their roller-coaster 24-game regular season schedule with 11 wins and 13 losses.
That path begins on the road next Monday, April 10, when they visit Utica City FC for the Eastern Conference play-in game.
While the Comets were hoping to win the East at the beginning of the season, they are still hopeful of making another deep playoff run and chasing championship glory after a regular season of ups and downs.
“At the end of the day, we’re happy to still be playing in the season,” said forward Zach Reget. “We’re ready to make a nice playoff run. I think we are going to hit our stride here quickly.
“The performances are good. Every player holds themselves to a higher standard each game. When we’re clicking on all cylinders, we’ve been a hard team to beat.”
The Comets do seem to be hitting their stride after concluding the season with back-to-back wins for just the second time all season.
Reget’s four-point performance helped secure a 5-1 road win against the Harrisburg Heat on Saturday. The U.S. National Futsal Team player came to the Comets in February as part of a blockbuster trade and recorded 12 goals and 10 assists as a Comet.
That 12th goal was the 100th regular-season goal of Reget’s MASL career.
“The system (with the Comets) fits targets really well,” Reget said. “We get the ball and go forward quickly. It’s just a matter of getting more fluid and reading each other’s body language. We are starting to see more goals and more chemistry.”
Next Monday’s win-or-go-home situation in Utica won’t be easy. Utica is among the most intimidating environments in the MASL, and that factor will only be multiplied as the team plays host to its first postseason game since 2019.
“Kill or be killed,” Reget said. “It doesn’t really matter the atmosphere. We are either going to play our game and win, or are we going to not show up and lose. It’s on us individually and collectively.
“It will be hostile and we’re going to try our best to enjoy it and get the result we want.”
If the Comets win, they will advance to play the top-seeded Milwaukee Wave in a best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinal series.
