Tropics drop Game One of MASL semi-finals to Kansas City Comets, 8-7

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri – The Florida Tropics dropped Game One of their Major Arena Soccer League matchup Saturday night in Missouri as the Kansas City Comets rallied for an 8-7 win.

Game Two will be Saturday, April 23 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. Should Florida win that game, a 15-minute “mini-game” will be played at the conclusion of Game Two to determine who goes on to the MASL Ron Newman Cup championship round.

The two teams played a wild first-half, combining for 11 goals, with Ricardo Carvalho getting his lone goal of the the night in the final minute of the second quarter to give Florida a 6-5 lead at intermission.

But the Comets got three of the total of four goals scored in the second half, with Rian Marques getting the game winner with just under four minutes to play. It was the only goal of the final period, 

Ryan Lee led Kansas City with three goals and two assists, while the Tropics were led by former Comet standout Kiel Williams who had the hat trick, and Zach Reget and Carvalho who each had a goal and three assists.

Florida also got goals from Ricardo Diegues and Ricardinho. Jorge Navarrete, playing in just his ninth ever game in the league, faced 25 shots and was credited with 17 saves in taking the loss. 

Kickoff for the April 23rd start in Lakeland is 6 p.m. Both Game Two and the mini-game if necessary will be broadcast live on the Twitch MASL channel. 

As has been the case all year, team sponsors will be providing free general admission tickets to the game.

The “Tropics Blitz” program – sponsored by Bond Clinic and Advent Health – allows fans to simply pay to park, and then get the same number of free general admission tickets as there are occupants in the vehicle.

Single occupant vehicles will play $10 to park, while vehicles with two to eight persons will pay $20. Larger vehicles with nine or more occupants will pay $30. Fans are encouraged to sign up in advance to take advantage of the offer at https://www.fltropics.com/tropics-blitz since free tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Fans that want the best seats guaranteed can also purchase 100 level seats, and 200 level midfield seats, for $15 and $10 respectively. Tickets can be purchased through the RP Funding Center website at www.rpfundingcenter.com.

It is the second straight season the Tropics have advanced to the MASL semi-finals. Last year, however, games were played in a neutral site bubble because of ongoing pandemic issues. Florida lost in two straight to San Diego in games played in Kansas City, one by one goal and the other in overtime in last year’s semis. The Sockers went on to win the MASL title.

Winners of the Eastern Division, Florida comes in the No. 2 overall seed in the playoffs following an 18-3-2 regular season, while Kansas City took the regular season title in the Midwest Division with a mark of 13-9-1. They are the No. 3 overall seed by virtue of winning their division.

In the other semi-finals matchup, the San Diego Sockers are facing the Chihuahua (Mexico) Savage.