4/5/87: The Comets lost a tough one, 7-6 in OT to the Stars before 11,297 at the Tacoma Dome. The Lord of All Indoors, Steve Zungul, scored twice, including the game-winner 9:23 into OT after Charley Greene of KC tied the game with 1:25 left in regulation. Damir Haramina and Gino Schiraldi each had two goals for the Comets and journeyman Godfrey Ingram had the hat trick for Tacoma.
4/8/87: Three days after losing in OT in Tacoma, the Comets lost to the Stars again 4-3 at Kemper Arena in front of 11,112. Louie Nanchoff scored twice for KC and Preki scored twice for the Stars.
4/11/87: The Comets won a thriller 7-6 in OT over the Wichita Wings at Kemper Arena in front of 13,314. The Wings sent the game into OT with 19 seconds left in regulation on a goal by Dave Hoggan. Damir Haramina was the hero of the night, scoring his 4th hat trick as a Comet, including the game-winner 3:00 into OT. Pato Margetic added 2 goals and 3 assists, including his final regular season goal as a Comet, while rookie Tom Kain notched his first MISL career point.
My 10 year-old self was there at that 3/22/87 double OT game. (I cannot tell you how much I dreaded overtime games.) I remember pleading with the lads, GET IT, GET IT, GET IT! every time they lost ball possession. When Tasso scored it was like a knife to our hearts. Funny, I have that game on DVD and watching the OT is about as nerve-wracking now as it was all those years ago.
25 years ago today, 4/17/87: In one of the more infamous games in team history, the Comets lost to the Steamers 8-5 at The Arena in St. Louis before a paltry crowd of 5,847 at the "Old Barn" on Oakland Avenue. In what was the beginning of the end of Pato Margetic's tenure as a Comet, Pato got into a heated exchange on the bench with head coach Dave Clements in the 2nd quarter after Margetic berated goalie Ed Gettemeier for giving up what he thought was a soft goal. Clemo suspended Margetic for the next game, and released him altogether after the playoffs. Jan Goossens had 2 goals and 3 assists, while the Steamers' Charlie Falzon scored a hat trick, and Redmond Lane and former Comet John Bain had 2 goals each.
25 years ago today, 4/18/87: The Comets bounced back from the previous night's mini-debacle in St. Louis by defeating the Cleveland Force 7-4 in front of 11,113 at Kemper Arena. Tasso Koutsoukous, Charley Greene and Tim Clark scored 2 goals each, and Clark's were the final regular season goals of his MISL career. Goalkeeper Alan Mayer also thwarted a Cleveland penalty kick attempt in the 1st quarter.
25 years ago today, 4/21/87: The Comets got thumped by the Wichita Wings 7-3 at Kansas Coliseum before a good Tuesday night crowd of 8,894. Seven different Wings and three different Comets scored goals.
25 years ago today, 4/24/87: The Comets lost a tough one 5-3 to the San Diego Sockers before 10,134 at Kemper Arena. Louie Nanchoff scored his final two goals ever as a Comet and Pato Margetic added two assists. San Diego goalkeeper Zoltan Toth left the game with bruised ribs, but was still credited with the win.
25 years ago today: 4/26/87: The Comets won for the first and only time ever at the Met Center in Bloomington, 4-3 over the Minnesota Strikers in front of 6,369 in a Sunday matinee. Damir Haramina and Charley Greene combined for the MISL record for fastest two goals by the same team by scoring five seconds apart in the first quarter (later tied singularly by Jan Goossens in 1988).
25 years ago today, 5/2/87: In the first Comets regular season game ever played in the month of May, K.C. won a wild one in their 1986-87 home finale at Kemper Arena, 8-6 over the Wichita Wings. Jan Goossens had 5 (count 'em) 5 goals and 1 assist and became first Comet ever to score 50 goals in one season. Tasso Koutsoukos scored twice as well as the Comets held off a 4th quarter Wichita rally that saw the Wings score 3 6th-attacker goals, in what was Kim Roentved's final regular season game as a Comets opponent and final game as a Wichita Wing until 1991-92.
25 years ago today, 5/3/87: The Comets finished off the 1986-87 regular season on a high note, beating the Chicago Sting for the first time ever at Rosemont Horizon, 7-6 in front of 5,691. Dale Mitchell notched his 6th hat trick as a Comet, while Jens Busk and Jeff Kraft each scored the one and only regular season goals of their MISL careers. It was also the final regular season game for Charlie Fajkus, Pato Margetic, Jorge Espinoza, Tim Clark, Edmund Rugova and Louie Nanchoff in a Comets uniform. Ben Collins added a hat trick for the Sting. The Comets finished the season 28-24, good for 2nd place in the MISL West, 7 games back of the Tacoma Stars.
25 years ago today, 5/7/87: Game 1, MISL Western Division Semi-Final series--The Comets lose a heartbreaker to the San Diego Sockers, 5-4 in OT in front of 8,141 at Kemper Arena. Waad Hirmez had a hat trick for SD, including the game-winner @ 5:58 of OT. Gino Schiraldi scored two goals and Jan Goossens sent the game into overtime with the game-tying goal with 4:04 left in regulation.
25 years ago today, 5/10/87: Game 2, 1987 MISL Western Division Semi-Final series--the Comets laid a rare whooping on the San Diego Sockers, 5-1 in a Sunday matinee at Kemper Arena in front of 8,127. Charley Greene had two goals and an assist, which included at 2-man DIS-advantage goal late in the 4th quarter when the Sockers were on a power play and employing their 6th-attacker. Jan Goossens and Pato Margetic each assisted twice, and defender Tim Clark scored the final goal of his MISL career.
25 years ago today, 5/12/87: Game 3, 1987 MISL Western Division Semi-Final series--The Comets won a wild one, 9-7 over the Sockers at San Diego Sports Arena in front of 7,685. KC trailed 5-2 and 6-3, then scored 7 goals in the 2nd half in what was their first postseason win ever at San Diego. Pato Margetic, Dale Mitchell and Jan Goossens each scored 2 goals and Tasso Koutsoukos added 3 assists. Margetic's two goals were his last as a Comet.
25 years ago today, 5/17/87: Game 4, MISL Western Division Semi-Final series--Momentum began slipping away from the Comets as they lost to the Sockers 5-2 before 7,946 at San Diego on a night when they had a chance to eliminate the Sockers. KC got a goal from Jens Busk, of all people, while Branko Segota scored twice for SD. San Diego's Brian Quinn received a red card for violent conduct early in the 4th quarter, but the game was long-decided by then.
Hard to believe (not questioning our Historian, just stating a matter-of-fact) that Clemo and Pato couldn't get together for a few drinks, talk it out, and then bury the hatchet. From my limited experience with Pato, you sit down, have a drink, speak openly, have another drink, and before you know it, Pato is leading the bar patrons in a round of, "Ole...ole...ole...ole..." By then he has forgotten what you were at odds about in the first place. Maybe they couldn't agree on which KC watering hole...
I think that had more to do with Clemo than Pato. Clemo was a great coach and is a really good guy, but I think once you got on his bad side, it was very difficult to get back in his good graces, especially if he thought you were underachieving. Damir Haramina came to training camp out of shape in '88-'89, and Clemo was not pleased, and released him not long after that. Pato had his moments too, though. I remember watching him coach the Chicago Power in the NPSL in a game against the K.C. Attack, and during every timeout, he seemed to have these very animated exchanges with his players on the bench.
5/20/87: Game 5, MISL Western Division Semi-Final series--The Comets' pursuit of the 1987 MISL Championiship came to an end at Kemper Arena in a 9-5 loss to the San Diego Sockers before a crowd of 11,136. The game was actually tied at 4 early in the 2nd half, but the Sockers pulled away at the end, fueled by Branko Segota's five goals and two more from Juli Veee. San Diego's George Katakalidis was given a red card for violent conduct late in the 1st half when he overreacted to being boarded by Comets forward Damir Haramina. Tasso Koutsoukos had a hat trick for KC in what turned out to be the final game in a Comets uniform for Pato Margetic and Charlie Fajkus and the final game in the MISL career of defender Tim Clark.
They're baaaaaack! 11-6-87: The Comets stumbled out of the blocks to start the '87-'88 season with a 6-5 overtime loss to the St. Louis Steamers before 15,818 fans at Kemper Arena. KC was done in by ex-Comet John Bain's goal @ 13:08 of OT. The game marked the debut of Kim Roentved, Barry Wallace, Duncan MacEwan, Armando Betancourt and newcomer Kia in Comets uniforms. Ade Coker and Charlie Falzon each scored twice for St. Louis. Little did anyone know that this was the start of the Steamers' final MISL season...
11-11-87: The Comets faltered to an 0-2 start to the season with an 8-5 loss to the Stars before 10,020 Tacomans (Tacomites?) at the Tacoma Dome. Damir Haramina had 2 goals and an assist, while Kia and Kim Roentved each notched their first goal in Comets uniforms, with Kia scoring twice on the night. The Stars scored 4 times in the 2nd quarter, and were led by Preki's 2nd career hat trick vs. K.C., while Gary Heale added a goal and 3 assists. The game was also the inaugural telecast of Comets soccer on American Cablevision, with Chuck Heinz (a former radio co-hort of mine) doing play-by-play and former Comet Clive Griffiths doing color commentary. These broadcasts were a MAJOR upgrade over Comets telecasts on KCTV Channel 5 at that time...
11-13-87: Kansas City got off the schnide (sp?) with their first win of the '87-'88 campaign, 7-5 over the L.A. Lazers before a whopping throng of 4,488 at the Fabulous (and three-fourths empty) Forum. Dale Mitchell was the star of the night with 3 goals and 2 assists (his 7th career hat trick as a Comet), while Chico Borja scored his first goal as a Los Angeles Lazer. This game marked yet another KCTV Channel 5 telecast that was joined in progress at 10:30, K.C. time, when the game was already half-over. Don't get me started on that subject...
11-14-87: Another trip to San Diego, another flogging at the hands of the Sockers, as the Comets lost 8-2 in front of 9,946 at the Sports Arena. It was the Comets' 100th regular season road loss ever in team history, and their misery came in the form of a hat trick by Keder and 2 goals, 3 assists from usual nemesis Branko Segota. Then again, Branko was everybody's nemesis back then...