AMBUSH PICK UP 9-8 SHOOTOUT WIN OVER DALLAS

by Jim Fossell/Ambush

St. Charles, MO – The St. Louis Ambush posted a dramatic 9-8 overtime shootout win over the Dallas Sidekicks Sunday at The Family Arena. The win broke a six-game losing streak for St. Louis, who improved to 6-9-2, while Dallas dropped to 8-8-0.

St. Louis drew first blood in the fourth minute of the match when Jeff Michaud went on a run from beyond the halfway line and was able to beat Dallas goalkeeper Juan Gamboa. Dallas answered 32 seconds later when Bradlee Baladez found the back of the net. Midway through the first quarter, Ambush defender Christian Briggs was sent to the penalty box on a handball call, giving Dallas a penalty kick, which Jamie Lovegrove completed to make it a 2-1 game. Robert Kristo got the equalizer for St. Louis when he tapped a loose ball in with just under four minutes left in the period. The Ambush went on a power play when Cody Ellis was blue carded for boarding. They capitalized on the opportunity when Vadim Cojocov scored at the goal mouth to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead at the end of the opening period.

Dallas knotted the score in the seventh minute of the second stanza when Jamie Lovegrove took a shot that went wide, came off the board and was tapped in by a sliding Felipe De Sousa. St. Louis regained the lead when Robert Kristo sent a pass to William Eskay, who took the ball with his back to the goal, turned and fired a shot that found its mark, giving the Ambush a 4-3 lead at halftime.

St. Louis increased the lead to 5-3 when Marcel Berry got off a shot from the top of the arc in the second minute of the third period. Lovegrove shaved the lead to 5-4 with a restart goal less than a minute later. Dallas would tie things up again when David Ortiz scored in the fifth minute of the quarter. The visitors took a 6-5 lead when a pass from St. Louis’ Ado Jahic went astray and found the foot of Dallas’ Sebastian Mendez, who fired a rocket into the net at just over the eight minute mark. De Sousa would get one more, his second of the contest, to make it a 7-5 game heading into the final frame.

Thirty seconds into the fourth quarter, Kristo scored off a long pass from Sam Guernsey to shrink the deficit to 7-6. St. Louis kept on grinding and Vadim Cojocov notched his second of the match, on a power play, for a 7-7 tie. Dallas went on a power play, on a delayed blue card by the officials, against Berry for tripping and made good on the opportunity when De Sousa completed the hat trick to give the Sidekicks an 8-7 lead. The Ambush weren’t done yet, as the Ambush employed the sixth attacker and Lucas Almeida scored a dramatic equalizer with just 44 seconds remaining in regulation play to send the game into overtime.

Neither team found the back of the net during the 10-minute overtime period, creating a shootout period. The Ambush scored all three times versus twice for the Sidekicks, resulting in a breathtaking shootout win. Ambush shootout goals came from JT Thomas, Pepe Junqueira and Tony Walls.

Sunday’s game was the first in a four-game home stand for the Ambush, who play twice next weekend. On Friday, March 4, the Milwaukee Wave come to town for a 7:35 p.m. CST match, followed by a visit from the Florida Tropics on Sunday, March 6 at 4:05 p.m. CST.

Tickets for all remaining Ambush home games are available at the Family Arena box office and at ticketmaster.com. Fans can stay current on all Ambush news by visiting the team’s official website, stlambush.com and on social media outlets.