ST. LOUIS COMPLETES WEEKEND SWEEP OF SAN DIEGO WITH 6-4 WIN SUNDAY

by Jim Fossell

St. Charles, Missouri (February 28, 2021) – The St. Louis Ambush completed a two-game sweep of the San Diego Sockers with a 6-4 win Sunday afternoon at Axius Field at the Family Arena. The win improved the Ambush to 6-6 on the season, while San Diego dropped to 3-4. The Ambush also leapfrogged the Sockers in the MASL standings, with St. Louis now in fourth place and San Diego in fifth.

San Diego drew first blood when Brandon Escoto placed a shot out of the reach of Ambush goalkeeper Paulo in the fourth minute of the first quarter. The Ambush scored an equalizer when Magui Souza went on run with the ball from the half line and scored an unassisted tally at 12:40. At the end of the first, the Ambush and Sockers were knotted at one.

The Ambush took the lead (2-1) when Max Ferdinand sent a pass out of the corner to a charging William Eskay, who sent the ball into the net at 4:23 of the second frame. Eskay’s goal would be the only one of the quarter giving the Ambush a 2-1 lead at halftime.

The Ambush went up 3-1 when JT Thomas scored nearly three minutes into the second half. San Diego answered in the fourth minute when Escoto nailed his second of the match. Vadim Cojocov took a shot that hit the crossbar and ricocheted to JT Thomas, who headed it in for his second of the contest and a 4-2 Ambush lead at 9:32.

San Diego heated up with two goals in the fourth minute of the fourth quarter to make the score 4-4, courtesy of Gerardo Jurado and Escoto, who completed the hat-trick. The go-ahead goal for the Ambush came at 10:59 on a restart when Stefan Mijatovic found an opening in San Diego’s defense. St. Louis increased their lead when Tony Walls scored against the sixth attacker with less than two minutes left in the game. The Ambush were able to hold on until the final buzzer to bring home the win.

St. Louis outshot San Diego 27-25 in the match. Ambush goalkeeper Paulo stopped four shots in 18 chances (.778 Sv%), while Boris Pardo made 12 saves in 17 attempts (.706 Sv%).

The Ambush finish the 2021 regular season with three home games in March, beginning with a visit from the Ontario Fury on Friday, March 5 at 7:35 p.m. CST. Tickets for upcoming home games are available at the Family Arena box office or online at ticketmaster.com. All Ambush games can also be viewed online at Facebook Live PPV.