March 2, 2014 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Milwaukee Wave MILWAUKEE- The Milwaukee Wave will face the Missouri Comets in the semifinals of the Major Indoor Soccer League Playoffs after the Comets claimed a 9-4 victory at the U.S. Cellular Arena on Sunday afternoon in front of 4,552 fans. Lucas Rodriguez led the Comets to victory with a pair of goals, including a game-clinching 3-pointer with 7:55 to play that capped the scoring.

Milwaukee (16-4) is the No. 2-seed and Missouri (14-6) is the No. 3-seed. Game 1of the three-game series is at 3:10 p.m. CT Sunday at the Indpendence Events Center in Missouri. Milwaukee hosts Game 2 at 7 p.m. Monday, March 10. If the teams split, they'll play a 15-minute "mini-game" to break the tie.

Missouri handed the Wave their only four losses of the regular season, holding them to 23 total points in those games. Sunday's contest was not unlike the others, with Missouri keeper Danny Waltman frustrating Milwaukee with some outstanding saves as the Comets' pressure created problems.

"I think first you've got to go to Danny Waltman," said Wave coach Keith Tozer. "Danny Waltman has showed he's one of the best keepers in the league. I think we showed a lot of good shots at him, and he made a lot of unbelieveable saves."

Waltman stopped 17 of 19 shots and Rodriguez scored two goals, matching his tally from the Comets' victory last Sundayagainst the Wave. On his game-sealing 3-pointer,Rodriguez stole a pass in the attacking end, brought the ball into position with his chest and rifled a volley past Marcel Feenstra.

Rodriguez also scored Missouri's opening goal, and Bryan Perez made it 4-0 in the second quarter before Nick Perera opened the Wave's account with 10:46 left in the second.

Milwaukee didn't score again until Marcelo Fontana finished a crossing pass from Hewerton with 13:26 left in the fourth to make it 6-4. Rodriguez's blast then finished the game.

Now, Milwaukee has to show it can beat the Comets, who are the only visiting team to win a regular season game in Milwaukee in the last two years.

"We've got to make them wish that they didn't want to play us," said Wave midfielder Marcio Leite. "They wanted to play us [in the playoffs], now, the next two games, we've got to make them regret that."

Baltimore (17-3) claimedthe MISL regular-season crown and will takeon the Syracuse Silver Knights in the other semifinal. Those games are Friday night in Syracuse and next Tuesday in Baltimore.

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Rodriguez, Comets Hand Wave Defeat

March 2, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets UTICA COMETS (22-26-3-4) @ BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS (26-25-1-4)

Webster Bank Arena, 3 pm

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Tonight's Game: The Utica Comets look to snap a three game losing streak as they travel to Bridgeport for a matinee meeting with the Sound Tigers. Tonight is the final of two meetings between these two teams.

When They Last Met: The Utica Comets connected twice on the power play but could not quiet the Sound Tigers in a 5-3 defeat at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on Dec. 6. Patrick Mullen, Benn Ferriero and Yannick Weber were the goal scorers for the Comets. Ferriero had a three-point night with a hand on each of the Comet goals, while Ryan Strome led the way for Bridgeport with three points (1-2-3) of his own. Joacim Eriksson made 27 saves on 32 shots and was handed the loss and Parker Milner was victorious with 28 saves on 31 shots against.

Comets Outlook: The Utica Comets dropped a nail biter on home ice, a 3-2 decision to the Adirondack Phantoms. Despite a 29-23 shots on goal advantage, the Comets surrendered a late goal to drop their third contest in a row. With the defeat, Utica fell to 22-26-3-4 on the season. David Marshall and Benn Ferriero each scored for the Comets, while netminder Joacim Eriksson turned aside 20 of the 23 shots he faced. Tye McGinn potted two goals for Adirondack, which defeated the Comets for the second time this season.

Sound Tigers Outlook: Bridgeport dropped a narrow 2-1 decision to the Worcester Sharks last evening, in front of 5,711 fans at Webster Bank Arena. Joe Diamond was the lone goal scorer for the home side, while Freddie Hamilton and Travis Oleksiak scored for the Sharks. Harri Sateri was stellar between the pipes with 25 saves on 26 shots, while Kevil Poulin turned away 25 of 27 in defeat.

The Next Jeneration: Utica winger Nicklas Jensen finished the month of February tied for second in the AHL with eight goals. Jensen and Binghamton winter Mike Hoffman trailed only St. John's' centerman John Albert, who finished the month with 11 tallies. Jensen's prolific month was boosted by a hat trick on Feb. 9 against Rockford and four goals scored with the man advantage, which has him tied with Benn Ferriero for the team lead, with six.

Certainly Not a Has Benn: Speaking of Benn Ferriero, the winger scored against Adirondack on Friday, in his second game back in the lineup after a return from injury. Ferrieri is the team leader with 18 goals this season and his 38 points this season are five behind team leader Pascal Pelletier. The Boston College product is now just one goal shy of his AHL career high of 19, set back in 2009-10 with the Worcester Sharks.

The Monster Marsh: David Marshall finally got off the schneid, with his first goal as a Comet on Friday evening against Adirondack. Marshall, who picked up the 17th marker of his AHL career on the play, had previously gone 57 AHL games without a goal, dating back to Mar. 17, 2013 when he was a member of the Charlotte Checkers.

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Gameday: Comets at Bridgeport