The St. Louis Ambush pulled off their first win of the season in dramatic fashion, staging a come-from-behind 8-6 win over the Florida Tropics Friday night at the Family Arena.
Former Ambush forward forward Freddy Moojen put the Tropics on the board first when he scored an unassisted tally against his former team 4:14 into the first quarter. Lucas Teixeira and Jowayne Laidley added two more for the visitors before Stefan St. Louis answered for the Ambush at 12:26 to make the score 3-1 Florida at the end of the first quarter. Ricardo De Queiroz Diegues put Florida up 4-1 when he beat Ambush goalkeeper Casey Clark at 6:21 of the second period. Florida’s Lucas Montelares was sent to the penalty box for a two-footed tackle at 9:23, giving the Ambush a two-minute power play that they failed to capitalize on. Just seconds after the power play expired, Ambush forward Corey Adamson scored his fourth goal of the season at 11:32 to make the score 4-2. Florida. Twenty seconds later, Moojen answered with his second tally of the night to give the Tropics a 5-2 lead at halftime.
Whatever Head Coach Tony Glavin said to the team between halves seems to have worked because the Ambush stormed out of the locker room for the second half breathing fire and snorting smoke. Mitchell Garcia scored his first goal as a member of the Ambush at 4:45 to start the scoring in the third stanza. The Ambush closed the gap to a goal (5-4) when Lucas Almeida found the back of the net at 9:20. Just over a minute would pass before the home team thrilled the home crowd with the equalizer as Greg Kranz buried the ball in the net at 10:29.
The final period kicked off with the score knotted at five and the Ambush wasted no time taking the lead as Daniel Berko’s unassisted tally put the home team up 6-5 at 1:09. Richard Schmermund increased the Ambush lead to two (7-5) at 7:33. Florida Head Coach Clay Roberts inserted Victor Parreiras as the sixth attacker and he made good on the move, closing the gap to 7-6 with a goal at 12:52. In the waning seconds of the match, Stefan St. Louis scored an empty-netter at 14:36 to give the Ambush an insurance goal that would stick until the clock hit zero and the first win of the season was in the books.
The difference in the Ambush squad that took the pitch in the first half and the one that came out for the second half was dramatic. What happened in the locker room during the halftime break? “Tony had some loud words of wisdom,” said goalkeeper Casey Clark, who posted his first professional win in goal. “I wish I could take the credit,” Glavin said, “but I asked the players to believe in themselves and play like I knew they could and I’m proud of their effort.” Team Captain and the MASL leader in blocks Chris Mattingly also spoke to his teammates at halftime. “It was a moment of reckoning for us,” Mattingly said. “I’m proud how everyone responded.”
Ambush forward Stefan St. Louis, who registered two goals and an assist said “We needed a wake-up call and coach gave us that at halftime. We also wanted to reward our fans who stick with us and play like we knew we could and it showed in the second half.” Midfielder Lucas Almeida who played his second game of the season after being sidelined with a pre-season injury said it feels good to be back and even better to win. “Tony turned us around and we came back in the second half and stayed disciplined and executed well.” Almeida contributed a goal and an assist in Friday’s effort.
The Ambush will need to keep the momentum from Friday’s impressive win going as they hit the road to square off with the Dallas Sidekicks Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas. Following Saturday’s duel with Dallas, the Ambush return home to the Family Arena on Sunday, December 18, when they host the Central Division rival Cedar Rapids Rampage in a rare 3:05 p.m. afternoon tilt.
