(Photo Credit: Mark Guthrel)
The St. Louis Ambush will bring back one of their top defenders as Chad Vandegriffe returns to the team for the 2015-16 season, General Manager Andrew Haines announced on Monday. Vandegriffe ranked third in the league in blocks in each of his first two professional indoor soccer seasons. He has also contributed offensively with 11 goals and 10 assists in 37 games played. During the Ambush off-season, Vandegriffe made the move outdoors, appearing in 18 games for Saint Louis FC.
Vandegriffe is a St. Louis native who was a standout at Chaminade College Preperatory School, where he was a four-year letter winner, team captain and Defensive Player of the Year. He helped lead the school to the Missouri Class 3 state championship in 2006. Other accolades include first-team all-state, first-team all-Midwest, first-team All-Metro Catholic Conference, and he was named to Great Midwest Classic All-Tournament Team. Chad played club soccer with Scott Gallagher, where he helped lead his team to Missouri state championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The solid defender began his collegiate career with two years at Southern Methodist University, where he appeared in 25 games. He then transferred to St. Louis University, where he started in 26 games, earned honorable mention all-A10 Conference in 2011 and A10 Conference all-tournament team in 2012.
Also re-signed was goalkeeper Alan Hagerty, who compiled a 3-3 won-loss record, a 7.42 goals against average and a .679 save percentage in six appearances for the Ambush last season.
The Ambush kick off the 2015-16 season when they host the Chicago Mustangs Saturday, November 14 at 4:35 p.m. at the Family Arena. Fans can get a preview of the new season this weekend as the Ambush are hosting a free Fan Fest and pre-season game this Saturday, October 3 at the Family Arena. Among the activities planned are a block party with music, inflatables for the kids, a premiere showing of the documentary “Whoomp There It Is: The Story of the 1995 NPSL Champion St. Louis Ambush,” and a pre-season game against the expansion Cedar Rapids Rampage, followed by an autograph session on the field. For the complete Fan Fest schedule of events, visit the Ambush official website at stlouisambush.com.
The Ambush will get another tune-up for the regular season when they journey to Cedar Rapids to face the Rampage in another pre-season duel on Friday, October 30.
Season tickets are now on sale and start at just $100. Single-game tickets will go on sale in October. Call the Ambush office at 636-477-6363 for more information. Keep up with Ambush news anytime by visiting the team’s official web site, stlouisambush.com, the Ambush Facebook page, facebook.com/stlouisambush, or on Twitter, twitter.com/stlouisambush.
