Inferno Are Heating Up As They Top Omaha in Game Two of Heartland Invitational

WICHITA, Kan. – ;The Colorado Inferno FC roared back in a big way Saturday night, dropping the Omaha Kings FC 10-7 in the second day of the Heartland Invitational at Hartman Arena.

The host Wichita Wings had dispatched Colorado on Friday, 9-2, but the Inferno were hot right from the start against Omaha, opening a quick 4-0 lead less than two minutes into the second period. Omaha (1-1) would respond with three of its own, to make it 4-3 at intermission.

However. Colorado’s Francisco Rodriguez scored 2:48 into the second half to start a run of five-straight Inferno goals that put the game out of reach. Leading 9-3, Omaha scored four straight sixth attacker goals to pull within 9-7 before Felix Elias quashed any hopes of a Kings comeback with the game’s last goal in the final minute of the fourth quarter, his third of the night.

In addition to the Elias hat trick, Robert Jacobs had a four-point game with a goal and three assists. Josue Jimenez and Rivas scored twice, and Raul Elias added two assists. Additional Inferno (1-1) goals came from Stibe Torres and Justin Gilvar.

For Omaha, James Thayer and Carlos Ferrer had two goals each, while Bobby Jaffery had a goal and two assists. The Kings also got markers from Ali Sodal, – who had five goals in Omaha’s 11-9 win over Amarillo on Friday – and  Morgan Penn.

The three-games-in-three-days tournament will conclude Sunday (Jan. 24) with a noon start as Amarillo takes on the Colorado Inferno FC in a noon central standard time start, and the Wings host Omaha Kings FC in a 3 p.m. kickoff, both at Hartman Arena.

Both games are available on the M2 Facebook pay-per-view platform, which can be accessed here. One hundred percent of the proceeds generated by pay-per-view sales will go back to the teams to help defray costs associated with the invitational

All six games of this weekend’s Heartland Invitational will be counted in M2’s regular season standings. Those standings will be based on a team’s winning percentage, a model similar to what the Major Arena Soccer League and other sports leagues are using in the short term since not all teams will be able to play the same number of games. Schedules will be announced on a month-to-month basis as pandemic conditions change and improve in individual markets. 

Additional teams are expected to come online in the coming weeks and months, with teams having until April 1st to opt-in for the 2021 season. Teams will have to complete regular season play by early July. The official playoff structure will be announced after the April 1st cutoff date, however fans can expect the top 3-4 teams to compete, as the league office works through multiple scenarios to crown a champion for 2021.