The St. Louis Ambush defeated the Omaha Kings FC 9-2 Friday night at the Family Arena in the first game of the Central Cup preseason tournament.
The Ambush drew first blood on a goal by JT Thomas. St. Louis went on a power play later in the period when Omaha’s Morgan Penn was sent off for tripping. The home team made good on the man advantage when Pepe found the back of the net to give the Ambush a 2-0 lead at the end of the opening frame.
The Ambush made it 3-0 within the first ten seconds of the second stanza when Ado Jahic took a ball off the glass and put it in goal. Pepe nailed his second tally of the contest to give the Ambush a 4-0 lead that would hold until the halftime break.
Just under two minutes into the third period, Ambush newcomer Triston Austin scored to increase his team’s lead to five. With just over four minutes remaining in the quarter, William Eskay went on a nice run, passed the ball to Sam Guernsey, who sent it back on a back heel pass, with Eskay in the right spot to beat Omaha keeper Rainer Hauss for a 6-0 Ambush lead. Sam Guernsey followed up with a goal of his own to make it 7-0 Ambush. In the closing seconds of the quarter, Omaha’s Sebastian Contreras earned a blue card for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving the Ambush their second power play of the match. Three seconds into the power play, Mo Ndiaye fired a rocket that Hauss had no chance of stopping and giving the Ambush an 8-0 lead heading into the final period.
Nearly two minutes into the fourth quarter, Omaha got their first power play of the game when Greg Kranz was sent to the sin bin for tripping. It was an opportunity the visitors would make good on, as Sebastian Contreras posted his team’s first goal of the night to make the score 8-1. With just over eight minutes left on the clock, the Ambush went on their third power play of the contest when Omaha’s Rodrigo Barajas earned a trip to the penalty box for charging. This one didn’t work out for St. Louis, as Murilo Ceruli scored a short-handed goal for Omaha when he nutmegged Ambush goalkeeper Fernando Cortes to make it an 8-2 game. The Ambush answered minutes later when Pepe exhibited some adept footwork on his way to completing the hat trick and giving the Ambush a 9-2 lead that would hold until the final buzzer.
Two newcomers minded the nets for the Ambush, with Sway Mazon playing a shutout first half and Fernando Cortes allowing two goals in the second half.
The Central Cup Tournament concludes when the Ambush collide with the Wichita Wings Saturday night (November 13) at 7:05 p.m. CST at the Family Arena. Prior to that game, the Kansas City Comets square off with Omaha at 3:30 p.m. CST. Tickets for Saturday are good for both games.
The 2021-22 regular season kicks off at home on Black Friday, November 26, 2021, when the cross-state rival Kansas City Comets invade the Family Arena for a 5:05 p.m. CST match. Fans can stay current on all Ambush news by visiting the team’s official website, stlambush.com and on social media outlets.
