The St. Louis Ambush have signed midfielder Kentaro “Taka” Takada. The Ambush begin their 2015-16 Major Arena Soccer League season in less than three weeks. Throughout the off-season, General Manager Andrew Haines has re-signed key players and added some new faces who promise to make an impact when the team hits the carpet at the Family Arena for their home opener Saturday, November 14 at 4:35 p.m. Haines said he expects Takada to be one of those impact players.
Takada appeared in 18 games with Saint Louis FC this summer and quickly became a fan favorite. Prior to joining Saint Louis FC, Takada played from 2010-14 with Minnesota United FC (formerly Minnesota Stars FC) in the North American Soccer League (NASL). In 2009, he played one season with the Rochester Thunder in the USL Premier Development League. He turned professional in 2006 with Thespa Kusatsu of the J. League in Japan.
Takada is a native of Hokkaido, Japan. He attended Hokkaido Sapporo Daiichi High School and Hokkaido University of Education, where he garnered Rookie of the Year honors in 2002, participated in the national college tournament in 2003 and 2004, and received the Hokkaido College League MVP award after 2005 season.
Kentaro is looking forward to joining the Ambush and making the transition to the indoor game. He said, “I’m very excited about new challenge of playing indoor pro soccer. I will definitely play my best every practice and game. Looking forward to have great season with Ambush teammates. Again many thanks to Andrew for the opportunity.”
The Ambush officially opened training camp this week and will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a pre-season match against the Cedar Rapids Rampage this Friday, October 30. The 2015-16 regular season begins Saturday, November 14 when the Ambush host the Chicago Mustangs at 4:35 p.m. at the Family Arena.
Season, group and single game tickets are now on sale for all ten home games. 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.
