The St. Louis Ambush were defeated by the Dallas Sidekicks in an 8-2 contest Saturday night at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas. The loss gives the Ambush a split in the weekend’s two games and sends them into next weekend’s action with a 1-6 record, while Dallas improved to 4-4.
The first quarter saw neither team scored until the final minute, when Ambush Defender Mitchell Garcia lobbed a shot from beyond the halfway line that sailed out of reach of Dallas goalkeeper Juan Gamboa and into the goal at 14:03.
The equalizer for Dallas came at 4:07 of the second period, when forward Cameron Brown scored in his nineteenth straight game. Dallas posted the go ahead goal when a shot by VcMor Eligwe missed went wide and rebounded off the board to Gabe Arredondo, who was able to chip the ball over the head of Ambush goalkeeper Casey Clark. With no further scoring by either team, the clock elapsed on the first half, giving the Sidekicks a 2-1 advantage at halftime.
Dallas got the first tally of the second half on Eligwe’s goal at 2:45 of the third quarter to go up 3-1. Ambush forward Stefan St. Louis was sent to the penalty box for tripping at 3:10, giving the Sidekicks a power play opportunity that they would make good on when Brown scored his second of the match at 3:41. Corey Adamson answered for the Ambush at 6:53to cut the Sidekicks lead to 4-2.
At 10:34 of the fourth quarter, Ambush defender Chris Mattingly earned a visit to the penalty box for tripping and it would prove to be untimely for the Ambush. As he did in the previous quarter, Cameron Brown scored a power play goal at 11:12 , completing the hat trick and giving Dallas a 5-2 lead. Following Brown’s tally, the Ambush employed the sixth attacker strategy, resulting in open net goals from Ricardinho Cavalcante, Jamie Lovegrove and Eligwe’s second of the night to give Dallas an 8-2 victory.
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.
