KC Comets sweep Utica City, prep for MASL Eastern Conference Finals vs. Milwaukee

The Kansas City Comets are dancing into the MASL’s Eastern Conference Finals after completing a vindictive two-game sweep of Utica City FC on Monday night in upstate New York.

With the series victory, the Comets will revive their longtime rivalry with the Milwaukee Wave later this week. The stakes will be as high as ever, with a spot in the Ron Newman Cup Finals on the line.

After an overtime winner from Nacho Flores in last week’s match against Utica, the Comets captain led the way again in a complete team effort Monday. His hat trick led KC to a 7-5 road win in Game 2.

Zach Reget also proved pivotal, with two goals and two assists, while Rian Marques tallied three assists.

The teams traded first-quarter blows, but Utica City landed more to grab a 3-2 lead after the first 15 minutes. That scoreline remained intact for the remainder of the half.

The Comets went down 4-2 when they conceded a power play goal in the third period, but that only shook KC’s offense to life. The Comets went on a four-goal run with scores from Reget, Flores, Chad Vandegriffe and Henry Ramirez to take a 6-4 lead.

Utica City grabbed one back to get within a score through three periods. But Kansas City shut the door in the fourth quarter.

The Comets got numbers behind the ball and defended when necessary, stopping all of the hosts’ efforts toward goal. And Flores gave the visitors a multi-goal cushion midway through the period.

“That just tells you how badly the guys wanted to win,” said Comets coach Stefan Stokic.

The victory was over a year in the making after Utica City eliminated the Comets in overtime in last year’s MASL play-in game.

Now, the long and fiery Comets-Wave rivalry will be reignited in the conference finals. The series dates back decades but has reached some memorable heights in just the past several years.

Stokic, who coached the Comets to his first career playoff-series win, described beating Utica City as “satisfying.” But he and the KC team were already eyeing their next task.

The Comets beat the Wave 9-3 in November; that was their only meeting during the 2023-24 regular season.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals series is set for Friday in Milwaukee. The series shifts to Cable Dahmer Arena for Game 2 on Monday.

Tickets for the match in Independence are available via Ticketmaster and at kccomets.com/championship-2-pack.