The Harrisburg Heat left the St. Louis Ambush still seeking their first win of the season as the Heat edged the Ambush 4-3 in overtime Sunday afternoon at the Family Arena. The win improved the Heat’s record to 2-1, while the Ambush fell to 0-3.
After a scoreless first quarter, Ambush goalkeeper Paulo was assessed a two minute penalty for reckless tripping at 5:53 of the second. Harrisburg wasted no time making good on the power play opportunity, as Val Texeira scored at 5:54. With no further scoring in the quarter, the visitors held a 1-0 lead at halftime.
The Ambush drew even when Lucas Almeida fired a shot at the glass and the rebound sailed to Victor France, who was positioned near the top of the arc and who buried the ball in the back of the net at 5:00 of the third period. The score remained knotted heading into the final quarter.
Harrisburg took the lead at 1:38 of the fourth quarter when a low shot by Texeira beat Paulo. The Ambush scored the equalizer less than two minutes later (3:29) when Pepe, stationed at the top of the arc, took a pass from Hewerton and fired it into the net to make the score 2-2. Lucas Almeida scored the go-ahead goal for the Ambush when he was able to tap in a shot by Stefan St. Louis near the goal mouth at 13:12. Harrisburg sent the game into overtime on David Mellor’s tally with five seconds remaining on the clock.
Harrisburg wasted little time nailing down the win as Ricardo Carvalho put the ball in the back of the net on a restart just 22 seconds into sudden death overtime.
Despite the loss, Ambush goalkeeper Paulo turned in a solid performance, posting 11 saves on 15 attempts, for a .733 save percentage. Harrisburg goalkeeper Hugo Silva saved 12 on 15 chances (.800) in earning the win.
The Ambush now face three consecutive matches on the road. They visit the Cedar Rapids Rampage on November 26, the Heat on December 1 and the Baltimore Blast on December 2, before returning home to the Family Arena to host the Milwaukee Wave on Friday, December 8 at 7:35 p.m. CT.
