Lucas Rodriguez is the MISL Rookie of the Year

The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) announced today that Missouri Comets’ midfielder, Luca Rodriguez has been named the 2010-2011 MISL Rookie of the Year. Rodriquez, a 25-year-old midfielder, recorded six goals and seven assists (19 points) in 17 games this season.  Rodriguez was also named to the league's All-Rookie 1st Team.

The announcements follow a formal voting process that polled members of the media, as well as MISL coaches and general managers. Voters were asked to select three forwards/midfielders, two defenders and one goalkeeper.

 

When told that Rodriguez been named MISL Rookie of the Year, Head Coach, Kim Roentved sounded like a proud papa. “I honestly couldn’t be more proud of Lucas,” the coach said. “His confidence escalated throughout the season after he got his first goal. He has tremendous skills with unlimited potential, and it was a pleasure watching him progress as the year went on.”

Rodriguez was a bolt of energy for the Comets all season long. Rodriguez brought speed and ankle-breaking ball movement to each game, and was key to opening up defenses and creating scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Lucas Rodriguez profiled and interviewed by Dos Mundos Newspaper.

Dos Mundos Newspaper recently caught up with Missouri Comets rookie of the year candidate and NSC Minnesota Stars midfielder Lucas Rodriguez and had the chance to talk with him about playing for his hometown team in the MISL.

Playing professionally for the Missouri Comets, his hometown indoor team, gives Rodriguez an emotional boost, he said, because of the responsibilities involved.

“You want to win for your family, your friends, the people (in the stands), the city, the community,” Rodriguez explained. “I have a lot of people that … look up to me and support everything I do. I … have … tons of friends and people I play soccer with that I know … would give anything they had in order to be able to represent Kansas City.”

Because of those responsibilities, Rodriguez tries to do everything possible to help the Comets win when he plays, he said. Through the Comets’ first 15 games, what Rodriguez had done was play in 12 games and contribute 22 shots; 10 points (three 3-point goals and four assists); and nine blocks.

Comets coach Kim Roentved believes Rodriguez will have a bigger impact on the team as he gains professional indoor soccer experience.   It’s clear to Roentved that Rodriguez “has lots of talent.” “He just needs to use it at the right places,” Roentved commented. “And that’s what we’ve been working on since he came into (training) camp.”

Lucas Rodriguez Scores Twice, Leads Comets In Rout Over Chicago

Fighting for their playoff lives, the Missouri Comets squared off against the Chicago Riot on Sunday night, and they did not disappoint. Trailing by 2 points in the second quarter, Lucas Rodriguez dribbled through three defenders and put a shot past the Chicago keeper to equalize the score. Rodriguez opened up some space with some crossover moves against Riot defender Marco Sullo, shot to the lower right side of the net and slotted the ball past Keeper Richey.


Rodriguez found his second goal of the match on a power play at 6:02 in the third period. This was the first multi-goal game for the rookie.


The rout was capped by a rare goal from Comets' goalkeeper Danny Waltman, when he threw the ball the length of the field into an open net.

“Good teams win when the pressure is on. This is the team we knew we had at the beginning of the season,” said team captain Byron Alvarez, “The training Coach Kim puts us through helped us to be able to play at a high level on back to back nights, we’ll feel this on Monday though.”

The Comets next game is back at the Independence Events Center on March 6 at 3:10pm when the Riot come for a visit. The Comets are currently tied with Omaha for the final position in the playoffs and another win against the Riot would help to solidify their chances for postseason play.

Rodriguez Scores Again in Comets' Loss

Lucas Rodriguez continued his excellent form, scoring a goal and adding an assist and creating another goal in the Missouri Comets' loss to the Milwaukee Wave in MISL league action on Saturday night.

Early in the first period, Rodriguez played a penetrating ball to Byron Alvarez who smashed the ball off the wall into the center of the box for Leo Gibson to stroke home.  Rodriguez turned goalscorer in the third period, slotting home a loose ball after a scramble in front of Milwaukee's net.  Minutes later, Rodriguez raced down the outside of the pitch and found Alvarez for goal, giving the Comets a 14-9 lead.  Unfortunately, the Comets could not hold the lead and eventually fell to the Wave 17-16.


On Sunday night, Lucas Rodriguez continued his strong play by drawing a yellow card and penalty shot against the Omaha Vipers' goaltender after some fancy footwork put Rodriguez one-on-one to goal.  Byron Alvarez stepped up to convert the penalty shot.

Rodriguez Scores in Comets' Comeback

Lucas Rodriguez scored his second goal of the weekend in dramatic fashion.  Trailing the Omaha Vipers in MISL league play, the Missouri Comets needed a spark, having already lost a heart-breaker to the Baltimore Blast on Saturday night.  Lucas Rodriguez and his Comets teammates delivered, as Rodriguez scored a fantastic diving goal past the Omaha goalkeeper in the third period.

The Comets continued to battle and completed the comeback victory, winning 21-20.

Rodriguez and Perez Score First Goals

Congratulations to S&E Entertainment clients Lucas Rodriguez and Bryan Perez, who scored their first goals of the 2011 MISL indoor season for the Missouri Comets.

Playing against MISL power the Baltimore Blast, Rodriguez scored an unassisted goal in the second period.  He added an assist in the fourth period, finding Jamar Beasley with a nice pass.

Perez notched his first goal of the campaign in the fourth period with a tremendous headed effort.  Unfortunately, his heroics could not salvage the win, as the Comets fell 15-13

Lucas Rodriguez Tallies Assist in MISL Action

Lucas Rodriguez tallied an assist for the Missouri Comets against the Omaha Vipers in MISL action. After the Comets pulled their goalkeeper in favor of an extra attacker, Rodriguez found Leo Gibson with 1:50 left in the match.  Unfortunately, his efforts were not enough and the Vipers beat the Comets by a final score of 6-4.

Lucas Rodriguez is playing with the Missouri Comets in his first season as a professional in the MISL, having recently finished his first outdoor professional season with the Minnesota Stars of the NASL.

Lucas Rodriguez Signs with Missouri Comets of the MISL

S&E Entertainment client Lucas Rodriguez has signed a contract to play professional indoor soccer with the Missouri Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).

The Comets are a new expansion team in the MISL, based in Kansas City Missouri. The Comets will be the sixth team in the MISL, joining Baltimore, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Monterrey (Mexico) and Rockford, Ill.

The original Kansas City Comets also played in the MISL and took the metro area by storm in the early 1980s. Hope are that the new team will rekindle the love affair a city had with a team that featured players like Enzo DiPede, Gino Schiraldi and Kim Roentved. The new Missouri Comets will play 12 home games at the Events Center beginning Nov. 12, and will celebrate the past history of the Comets while bringing a new, up-to-date team to its new home in Independence.”