WAVE EMBARRASSES COMETS ON HOME TURF; ALEX SHANCHEZ NETS HAT TRICK IN ROAD TRIP VICTORY.

By Henry Amini.
The 7-time champion Milwaukee Wave's stretch of success continued Friday night as they take down the Kansas City Comets on the road for the first time since the 2019 MASL season.

Final Score: Milwaukee Wave 9 Kansas City Comets 6.
BOXSCORE | GAMESHEET | HIGHLIGHTS

Milwaukee Wave Head Coach Marcio Leite credits his team’s “Willingness to win” and “To do whatever it takes,” in what was a hard fought victory in front of a very crowded Cable Dahmer Arena. 

With stark similarity to the Milwaukee Wave’s victory in San Diego, the first half saw a tightly contested battle between the two sides. The Kansas City Comets struck first but consistency was the theme of the first half when Alex Sanchez’s first half brace and Max Ferdinand’s goal took the Milwaukee Wave into halftime tied 3-3. 

The first half showcased the rivalry between Kansas City and Milwaukee when Christian Andreaos and Derek Huffman got into an on-field battle resulting in a blue card shown to the Comet’s Andreaos and a red to Derek Huffman.

Consistency and clinical finishing was the theme of the second half. After out-shooting the Comets 25-10 in the first half, The Milwaukee Wave’s attention to detail shined through. “We talked about the little things—We talked about being more precise in our shooting,” Marcio explained. The Milwaukee Wave dominated the third quarter score sheet 4-1 thanks to two goals from Mario Alvarez* And a goal from Shawn “Squid” Acqueta and Ricardo Carvalho. 

The closing minutes of the game saw another closely contested battle. The Milwaukee Wave led 8-4 with 4:08 remaining in the game when the Kansas City Comets responded with two goals, one scored on a shootout as the result of a tripping call on forward Oscar Flores. The final goal was scored by Javier Steinwasher against the Comet’s sixth attacker to cap off a successful night for the Wave, accompanying the top-corner finish from Alex Sanchez earlier in the fourth quarter. “Can’t stop here, gotta keep going” Alex “Saucy” Sanchez exclaimed after the game, citing the importance of a one-game at a time mentality. Sanchez finished the game with a hat-trick in style with three jaw-dropping finishes.

“We need to be smarter managing the game when we have a lead” Marcio said, displaying his detailed vision. Despite this statement road win, Head coach Marcio Leite and Alex Sanchez stress the importance of looking ahead.

The Milwaukee Wave look directly ahead to Sunday where they square off against the St Louis Ambush to close out their Missouri Road trip before heading back home to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Friday, December 19th to face the Baltimore Blast at 6:35pm.

Marcio boasted his team’s “healthy competitive” culture and announced his players are “fit and aggressive” in confidence that his team will travel to St Louis ready for the battle and he hinted at the possibility of two new faces playing in their first games of the 2025-26 season. 

Milwaukee Wave at St. Louis Ambush, Sunday, December 14, 2:05pm CST from The Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. Watch the game LIVE! and for FREE! via MASLtv on YouTube, Victory+ or the National Soccer Network.
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