Cedar Rapids Rampage turn away Kansas City rally for fifth-straight win

CEDAR RAPIDS — This time, there was no need for a comeback. Rather, the Cedar Rapids Rampage were forced to quell a late surge.

Seven different players scored goals as Cedar Rapids led by as many as five goals on two occasions, then staved off a late Kansas City rally for an 8-7 victory in a Major Arena Soccer League game Saturday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'It was a good lead, but when you play a team like the Kansas City Comets, you cannot give up,' Cedar Rapids defender Pablo Da Silva said. 'They're a really good team, great players, but I think our effort was good to the end. The most important thing is one more win on the table.'

Cedar Rapids (6-2) needed a rally in each of the first four wins in the current five-game streak, but early on the Rampage offense jumped all over the reigning MASL player of the week in Kansas City goalkeeper Stephen Paterson.

A pair of second-year defenders led a 5-0 Rampage burst to begin the game. Pat Kelly – a former Comets' player – punched a goal past Paterson 12 seconds into the game, then Sam Guernsey delivered another score off an assist from Jonnathan Pachar less than three minutes later.

'I was telling the guys in the locker room,' Rampage forward-coach Hewerton Moreira said. 'As long as I've played in the league, I've never scored such a quick goal, especially when the other team starts with the ball. Our intensity was tremendous. It was huge.'

Rookie forward Derek Huffman collected his first MASL goal after Da Silva delivered a perfectly-placed assist off the wall to the right of the goal. Bobby Hurwitz and Da Silva each tallied second-quarter strikes that pushed the Rampage lead to 5-0 midway through the period.

'I think that's teamwork,' Da Silva said. 'You cannot rely just on the target. … Anyone on our team can score. Defenders, midfielders. … It's a good advantage for us.'

Kansas City (3-3) finally got on the board midway through the second quarter with a pair of goals a minute and a half apart, but forward Gordy Gurson gave the Rampage a 6-2 halftime lead with a chest deflection off an assist from Cedar Rapids native Charlie Bales.

Gurson leads the club with 12 goals, eight in his last four games.

First-year midfielder Angel Curiel Ruiz – acquired in an offseason trade from San Diego – gave the Rampage their seventh goal-scorer with two strikes in 15 seconds for a seemingly-comfortable 8-3 Rampage lead with 6:22 left in the third quarter.

Kansas City rallied for four unanswered goals over the final 18 minutes of the game – including the final minute-plus with a sixth attacker – but could never provide the equalizer.

'It's a dangerous area, especially when you have a sixth attacker,' Moreira said. 'We had our strong team in there to defend. … Everything ended up falling into place.'

Cedar Rapids visits St. Louis on Dec. 18.

AT U.S. CELLULAR CENTER

Cedar Rapids 8, Kansas City 7

Kansas City 0 2 3 2—7

Cedar Rapids 3 3 2 0—8

FIRST QUARTER

Scoring — 1. Cedar Rapids: Pat Kelly, 14:48; 2. Cedar Rapids: Sam Guernsey (Jonnathan Pachar), 11:59; 3. Cedar Rapids:

Derek Huffman (Pablo Da Silva), 3:02.

SECOND QUARTER

Scoring – 4. Cedar Rapids: Bobby Hurwitz (Tony Walls), 12:57; 5. Cedar Rapids: Pablo Da Silva (Jonatan Santos), 6:59; 6. Kansas City: Leo Gibson (Ramone Palmer), 6:23; 7. Kansas City: Gui Gomes, 4:53; 8. Cedar Rapids:

Gordy Gurson (Charlie Bales), 0:04.

THIRD QUARTER

Scoring – 9. Kansas City: John Sosa, 8:14; 10. Cedar Rapids: Angel Curiel Ruiz (Bobby Hurwitz), 6:37; 11. Cedar Rapids: Angel Curiel Ruiz, 6:22; 12. Kansas City: Leo Gibson, 3:03; 13. Kansas City:

Vahid Assadpour, 2:37.

FOURTH QUARTER

Scoring – 14. Kansas City: Alain Matingou (Leo Gibson), 13:59; 15. Kansas City:

Lucas Rodriguez (Ramone Palmer), 9:36.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com