MILWAUKEE WAVE SPLIT WEEKEND; EARLY GAME STRUGGLES IN LOSS TO COMETS.

By Henry Amini.

MILWAUKEE, WI - The 7-time Champion Milwaukee Wave met the Kansas City Comets on Sunday, December 18 in their first loss on home turf.

Final Score: Milwaukee Wave 5 Kansas City 7
BOXSCORE | GAMESHEET | REPLAY

First quarter struggles defined the result on Sunday and they began directly from the opening kickoff when Chad Vandegriffe scored just eight seconds into the match. By the ninth minute, the Comets had scored four unanswered goals and held a 4-0 lead to exit the first quarter. 

“We wanted to secure all the wins at our home field,” Head Coach Marcio Leite said after the game. The fortress built on black turf is an important part of the Milwaukee Wave’s identity and the importance of that is not lost with Leite.

The Wave began to chip away at the deficit in the second quarter when Michael Da Silva scored the first goal of his return to the Major Arena Soccer League, following the assist by Mario Alvarez. After Ramone Palmer notched one more goal for the Comets, Javier Steinwasher picked off Phillip Ejimadu’s distribution and scored from behind half-field. This came after the Milwaukee Wave successfully defended two successive blue cards, which were shown to Andre Hayne and Javier Steinwasher. These two penalties overlapped by 12 seconds and saw the Wave defend with three field players in that timeframe. 

The second half told a slightly different story, although the Comets still scored first. Cesar Correa and the rookie target, Oscar Flores, each scored to shrink the deficit to just two goals. Leading into the fourth quarter, Alex Sanchez scored the Wave’s third unanswered goal and the scoreline was 5-6. The dagger came with less than 90 seconds to play, however, when Christian Anderaos scored an empty net goal, securing the final score of 5-7 and a Kansas City Comets win. 

“I love the way the guys performed in the 2nd half,” Leite said. Despite a poor start to the game, the Milwaukee Wave outscored Comets by three goals throughout the final three quarters, giving the Milwaukee Wave something positive to build off of after the weekend gauntlet. 

“We haven't won a back-to-back game yet and we have another back to back next weekend,” Leite said. He looks ahead to the upcoming weekend where the Milwaukee Wave will travel to Missouri for a back to back weekend against the St. Louis Ambush. 

The Milwaukee Wave square off against St Louis Ambush at Family Arena in St. Louis, Missouri on  Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 4:05pm CST. 

They’ll have a rematch against the Ambush the next day, again at Family Arena in St. Louis Missouri, on Sunday, January 25th, 2026 at 3:05pm CST.