OVERTIME NAIL BITER ENDS IN DEFEAT

The 7-time champion Milwaukee Wave closed out their road trip in St. Louis where they fell to the Ambush 6 goals to 7 in an overtime clash.

The Milwaukee Wave closed out their stretch of three road games on Sunday at Family Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The battle was close from the opening whistle to the final goal with neither side holding a lead greater than two goals. 

The first strike was blown by the St. Louis Ambush when Colin O’Keefe scored a goal, his first of two. A second goal was scored by the St. Louis Ambush less than two minutes after the first, putting the wave down 0-2—the largest lead of the game. 

“I didn’t feel that we were the same team from the other two games,” Head Coach Marcio Leite explained. The Missouri road trip ended a stretch of away games to open the season in which the Milwaukee Wave defeated the Kansas City Comets and San Diego Sockers at their respective fortresses. 

Despite fighting from behind, the Milwaukee Wave put their resilience on display closing out a first-half deficit for a third straight game. The scoresheet for the Milwaukee Wave was opened by Major Arena Soccer League legend Max Ferdinand set up by an assist from Max Ludwig, a breakout performer this season. 

A goal from rookie forward, Oscar Flores, tied the game at 2-2 early in the second quarter. When Will Eskay re established the St. Louis Ambush lead with his first goal of the season, Ian Bennett found the net with a strike from beyond the yellow line. The Milwaukee wave entered the half-time locker room tied and found themselves with the lead heading into the fourth quarter, thanks to goals scored by Bennett and Ludwig. 

“I’m proud of the boys for fighting all the way to the end,” Leite stated. The St. Louis Ambush took the lead back in the fourth quarter, when rookie goalkeeper, Jerry Perez, made his Major Arena Soccer League debut in a 6th attacker role, generating a shot which narrowly missed the post and a save. 

It was the inevitable, Ian Bennett, who scored the late game-tying goal for the Milwaukee Wave on a successful restart. This was the final goal in regular time and this capped a hat-trick performance for the two time MVP. 

Overtime was ended when the golden goal was scored by Daniel Torrealba, splitting the points and St. Louis take an overtime win in their first game of December. 

“Right now it’s frustrating,” Leite said, “Whenever we put on the [Milwaukee] Wave uniform, we’re expecting to win.” The 2019 Ron Newman Cup Finals MVP winner and leader in three of the Milwaukee Wave’s seven championships, Leite understands what the Milwaukee Wave uniform stands for. For now, he is focused on the recovery of his team with Milwaukee Wave’s home opener on the horizon.

“The boys are fired up to be back home in front of our fans. We need to make that place rocking,” Ian Bennett exclaimed. He calls Milwaukee Wave fans to Milwaukee Panther Arena this Friday at 6:35pm CST, where the Milwaukee Wave face the Baltimore Blast in their first home game of the 2025-26 MASL season.