2014/15 MASL Weekly - Week 1
October 29, 2014 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) News Release
Round 1 of former rivals Dallas Sidekicks and Missouri Comets went squarely to the Comets. When teams from the MISL joined the MASL this spring it renewed some old rivalries. The Sidekicks and Comets last met in 2004.
Missouri rolled out to a 4-0 lead and was never threatened in a 13-4 win at the Allen Event Center, handing the Sidekicks their first regular season home loss since they rejoined the league in 2012.
The Sidekicks were missing injured Nestor Hernandez, who led the team in scoring last year, and last year's team runner up Jamie Lovegrove only played the first half before experiencing further complications from a recent concussion. Their next five leading scorers from last year either retired or did not return this season.
While the Sidekicks didn't have all their bullets, the Comets took advantage of every opportunity and played a complete game. Leo Gibson scored four goals, including three successful shootout attempts, and two assists. Vahid Assadpour added three goals and two assists.
The next big test will come when the Comets visit the Chicago Mustangs on November 8, which will pit the MISL and PASL champions against each other.
Kick Starters - Conversations you should be having about the MASL
MASL Taps GoLive for Live Webcasts
Every MASL game will be broadcast live on GoLive Sports Cast this year. Two of last weekend's three games were shown live except for the Dallas/Missouri game, which streamed live on ESPN3. All three games are now archived on GoLive at http://golivesportscast.com/your-masl-teams/.
Flash, Franco Bite Barracudas
The Monterrey Flash opened with a 15-6 win over the expansion Brownsville Barracudas before 6,339, the third largest crowd in league history. Many of those fans were there no doubt to see Guillermo "Guille" Franco make his Flash debut. Franco, who has started for the Mexican National Team and played in the English Premier League and Mexico's First Division, delighted the fans with three goals and an assist in his indoor debut. Brownsville hung around for three quarters, but an eight goal fourth quarter gave Monterrey a decisive victory.
More Power, Less Play
Early returns on the league's new shootout rule, in which a shootout accompanies all individual non-administrative player blue cards show more scoring and less power play time. In the opening weekend's three games, teams combined to go 11 for 12 on the power play. The 11 goals includes shootout goals, rebound goals set up by the shootout, and gold old-fashioned man advantage goals. Monterrey was 5-5 on the power play and Missouri was 4-4.
Speaking of Shootouts...
The Turlock Express rallied from a 6-3 deficit to tie the Las Vegas Legends with four seconds remaining in regulation time. Bolstered by stand-out goalkeeping by the Legends Zeke Sanchez and Turlock's Edgar Martinez neither team could score in the 10 minute overtime, which was five minutes shorter than it had been in prior years. With the score still deadlocked at 6-6, the game went to shootouts for just the fourth time in the league's seven seasons. Boris Gujic scored for Las Vegas in the shootout, while Turlock was unsuccessful in all three rounds, giving Las Vegas the 7-6 win. Gujic also added two goals in his MASL debut.
The Week Ahead
Saltillo Brownsville Sat, Nov 01 6:00 pm Est Barracudas
Wichita Dallas Sat, Nov 01 7:00 pm Allen EC
Las Vegas San Diego Sat, Nov 01 7:05 pm VV Casino Arena
Sacramento Turlock Sat, Nov 01 7:05 pm Turlock IS
Harrisburg Detroit Sat, Nov 01 7:05 pm Melvindale
All times Eastern
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from October 29, 2014
- MASL Partners with Puma for New Arena Soccer Ball - MASL
- 2014/15 MASL Weekly - Week 1 - MASL
- Syracuse Silver Knights to Host Local Side Fort Drum Mountain Lions - Syracuse Silver Knights
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