This week in MASL: Week 3
The MASL season is in full swing, and to make up for some lost time on the past two weeks, we’ll begin with a brief look at the first two weeks.
Entering Week 3, Utica led the Eastern Division with three wins and a loss, followed by 2-1 Baltimore, with Mississauga and Harrisburg both at 1-1.
In the South Central Division, Milwaukee won their only game thus far to lead the division ahead of 1-2 Florida and St. Louis, with both Orlando and Kansas City having lost their only match played.
For the Southwest Division, only Dallas had played more than once, leaving Monterrey leading with a 1-0 record, Dallas sitting at 1-2 following a disastrous road trip, and both RGV and El Paso sitting 0-1.
Out west, Ontario and Tacoma sat atop the Pacific Division on 2-0 records, followed by 0-2 Turlock and San Diego, which has yet to start its season.
Week 3 Recap
We begin Week 3 in Mississauga, Ontario, where the MetroStars played host to the Kansas City Comets on Thursday. Mississauga was riding high off their home opening 10-0 win over the Florida Tropics, while Kansas City lost 6-10 in their previous game. Despite leading 2-0 after the first quarter, Mississauga had nothing for the Comets the rest of the night. Kansas City scored seven goals in the second to build an insurmountable lead en route to a 12-6 win despite being outshot by the MetroStars 29-25. Leo Gibson and Ignacio Flores both finished with hat tricks.
The Florida Tropics put their disastrous shutout in Canada behind them, hosting the Harrisburg Heat on Friday. The Tropics’ offense found its rhythm early, scoring twice in the first and second quarters to lead 4-2 at halftime. The second half began with three goals for Florida, extending their lead to 7-2 before Harrisburg rallied midway through the fourth quarter to make things interesting. The Heat went for the sixth attacker with over four minutes remaining, scoring twice without a keeper, but couldn’t quite catch the Tropics, losing 7-5.
Orlando once again lost a dramatically close game, this time against the Baltimore Blast. Luiz Mota opened the scoring, putting the home side on the board in the first quarter. Thanks in large part to SeaWolves ‘keeper Rainer Hauss, Orlando managed to keep things close despite an offensively dominant opponent. Hauss saved 22 of 26 shots, with only three goals conceded from even-strength open play, in what ended as a 4-1 loss.
Perpetual plucky underdogs Turlock Express had a rough start in Week 1, losing twice by a combined score of 23-4. Hosting the Rio Grande Valley Barracudas, Turlock managed their best performance yet in a surprisingly clean affair for both sides. The Barracudas swam to a 6-0 victory, but Turlock was a constant threat to score, and the game was hardly one-sided on the floor. Penalty wise, just a single blue card was handed out, to Turlock’s Matthew Germain in the second quarter.
Dallas hoped to put their rough two-game road trip in Week 2 aside for their home opener, the first Sidekicks home game since Feb. 25, 2017. El Paso took an early lead as Jorge Rios scored just 86 seconds into the game, followed not long after by a second from Omar Tapia. Dallas rebounded to score three unanswered, leading 3-2 at halftime. The Sidekicks offense continued to perform, scoring another four to win their second of the season 7-4. Dallas favorite Jamie Lovegrove got his first hat trick of the season, while El Paso’s Jorge Rios got himself ejected in the fourth quarter.
Saturday’s action continued with Kansas City hosting the Milwaukee Wave in a wild affair that went down to the wire. Despite going to halftime with Milwaukee up just 4-1, both offenses came alive in the second half, with five goals from both teams in just the third quarter. Kansas City trailed by three into the fourth quarter, scoring twice to come just one goal shy before Milwaukee scored into an empty net to seal a 10-8 road win. Anthony Grant finished with a hat trick for the Comets, while Ian Bennett led the Wave with four goals.
Tacoma vs. Ontario was set to be a battle between early favorites, as both the Stars and the Fury entered Saturday on 2-0 records. The Fury dominated the first quarter, scoring on all three shots taken, with Tacoma rallying to enter halftime down by one, 3-4. The Stars outshot the Fury throughout the second half but couldn’t find the net again, while Ontario added two to secure a 3-0 record and 6-3 victory in Washington.
Utica City FC hosted Harrisburg for the first of Sunday’s games. Utica jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, while Harrisburg charged back in the second to cut the lead to just 5-3. The Heat struck first in the third as the two sides traded blows, and Harrisburg trailed by just one goal early in the fourth. Unfortunately, going for the sixth attacker with more than four minutes remaining proved to be a fatal mistake for the Heat, as Utica scored three into an open net to secure a 10-5 win. Bo Jelovac led Utica with four goals and an assist.
Kansas City traveled to St. Louis for their third game in four days against a well-rested Ambush side. The first half was all Comets, as Kansas City scored four unanswered despite being outshot 10-7 by the home side. St. Louis dominated the second half, scoring four of their own to bring things level, before Lucas Rodriguez put the Comets back up with four minutes remaining. Zach Reget’s second goal of the night drew things level again with under 40 seconds on the clock. Despite facing 14 shots, Ambush ‘keeper Paulo Nascimento let just the one goal in in the final period. Enter overtime for the first time this week. St. Louis killed a Comets power play to begin overtime, followed by five minutes of high-speed, back-and-forth chaos. A mishandled shot from Jerjer Gibson came loose and Corey Adamson buried it home to give St. Louis a 6-5 win.
San Diego made its season debut in the final game of Week 3, hosting the Rio Grande Valley Barracudas. San Diego fired 17 shots in the first half to RGV’s 3, but Barracudas ‘keeper Fidel Garcia managed all of them, keeping the game scoreless at halftime. The Sockers found their rhythm in the 3rd quarter, with Christian Gutierrez and Kraig Chiles combining to give the Sockers a 3-0 lead. Erick Jhon Ponce fought back for the Barracudas, scoring two to close the gap, while Moises Gonzales scored with six attackers to draw the game level and force overtime. San Diego controlled much of overtime, and a ball off the boards from Brian Farber landed at Leonardo De Oliveira’s feet. He took a moment to line up his shot, and launched it past three defenders and Garcia to give the Sockers the win.
Follow John on Twitter: @JohnMLTX.
Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Click here to become a patron today.
