The St. Louis Ambush were defeated 7-6 by the cross-state rival Kansas City Comets Saturday night at the Family Arena, dropping the Ambush to 2-15 on the season, while the Comets improved to 5-11.
The Ambush drew first blood in the game when a shot by Corey Adamson hit the dasher board and rebounded to J.T. Thomas, who was near the goal mouth and was able to head the ball into the net at 2:15 of the first quarter. The Comets drew even when Anthony Grant took a shot that Ambush defender Robert Acosta got a foot on but was unable to fully block, as the ball found the back of the net at 9:35.
Acosta would play a role in the next Kansas City goal, as Leo Gibson shot, Acosta blocked, but the ball rolled off his foot and into the goal at 3:48 of the second quarter. The visitors took a 3-1 lead when Odaine Sinclair caught Ambush goalkeeper Paulo down at the goal mouth and launched a high shot over him at 10:04.
Gibson put the Comets up 4-1 with his second tally of the contest at 4:35 of the third period. Kansas City went on an unusual power play with a two-man advantage when two Ambush players earned trips to the penalty box at 5:35. Pablo Da Silva’s penalty was for tripping, while Raphael Nascimento was charged with a technical foul for holding. With only three position players and the goalkeeper, the Ambush prevented Kansas City from scoring and killed off the penalty. Jerjer Gibson cut the lead to 4-2 with his goal at 10:16. The Comets would get that one back at 13:14 when forward Adam James was left unmarked and fired a shot out of Paulo’s reach to make the score 5-2.
The Ambush got the first goal of the last quarter when Raphael Nascimento scored at 2:34. The deficit was reduced to one (5-4) when Dylan Hundelt got possession of the ball and made a furious run toward the goal, with the Comets’ Leo Gibson in hot pursuit. Hundelt managed to beat Gibson, then beat goalkeeper Jeff Richey with a corner shot at 4:33. Gibson completed the hat trick at 5:02, giving the Comets at 6-4 lead. Comets forward Andre Braithwaite charged Paulo, then applied an elbow to the chin, earning Braithwaite blue and yellow cards and giving St. Louis a power play opportunity. Pablo Da Silva scored a power play goal with a laser shot from beyond the arc at 6:39 to make it a one-goal game (6-5). The equalizer came at 12:58 when Ambush player/coach Hewerton scored. Gibson responded in short order, scoring his fourth of the match, at 13:09, to give the Comets a 7-6 lead with less than two minutes left on the clock. Kansas City successfully stopped the Ambush from mounting a comeback and posted the win.
Saturday’s game was the third of four between the two Missouri teams this season. The Comets won all three. The final clash is slated for next Friday, February 9 at 7:35 p.m. at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena in Independence, Missouri. The next night, Saturday, February 10, the Ambush return home to the Family Arena to host the Cedar Rapids Rampage at 7:05 p.m. CT. Prior to the February 10 game, the Ambush will salute 30 seasons of professional indoor soccer in St. Louis with an alumni game featuring previous St. Louis Steamers, St. Louis Storm and St. Louis Ambush players taking the field against former players from other MISL and NPSL teams. The Alumni Game is slated for 5:00 p.m. and a ticket for the Ambush-Rampage game includes admission to the Alumni Game as well.
