St. Louis Louis Ambush defeated the Dallas Sidekicks 4-3 in a thrilling preseason exhibition game Saturday night at the Family Arena.
The visitors drew first blood when Raul De La Gala found the back of the net. The Ambush drew even with just over three minutes remaining in the opening stanza on a goal by Pepe. The first quarter elapsed with the score knotted at one apiece.
The Ambush took their first lead of the contest when Axel Duarte fired a rocket into the net at 1:30 of the second quarter. The equalizer came for Dallas when Lipe was able to beat Ambush goalkeeper Paulo with just under nine minutes remaining in the period. Former Ambush player Freddy Moojen gave the Sidekicks a 3-2 lead with a soft but accurate shot that found its mark in the eighth minute of the quarter. Dallas went on a power play when Diego Bobadilla was sent to the penalty box for a two-footed tackle with just over two minutes remaining in the period. The Ambush defense held strong and killed penalty just before the buzzer signaled the start of haltime.
In the closing seconds of the second quarter, officials assessed the Sidekicks a two-minute penalty for too many men on the field, giving the Ambush a power play to begin the third period. Moojen served the time in the box and the visitors killed the penalty. Neither team was able to post a goal for the remainder of the quarter, which elapsed with Dallas still holding a 3-2 advantage.
Dallas got an early advantage in the fourth quarter when Magui earned a trip to the sin bin for accumulating four fouls in the half. The Ambush killed the penalty, then tied the game 3-3 when Stefan St. Louis beat Dallas goalkeeper Juan Gamboa. Regulation time expired with no further scoring, sending the contest into overtime.
With under six minutes remaining, Magui earned another trip to the penalty box for tripping, giving the Sidekicks another power play. The Ambush defense held strong, killing off another man-down situation. The Ambush went on a power play with under a minute remaining in overtime when Rau Aguayo earned a seat in the penalty box for holding. Neither team was able to score in overtime, leaving the fate of the game hanging on a shootout.
The shootout period went five rounds before Tony Walls, playing in his first game as a member of the Ambush, finally nailed the game winner, giving the Ambush a 3-2 shootout advantage and resulting in a 4-3 final score, much to the delight of the 2,601 fans in attendance.
The Ambush kick off their 2019-20 season when they welcome the defending MASL Champion Milwaukee Wave to the Family Arena on Black Friday, November 29, 2019 at 7:05 p.m. CT.
Single game tickets for the 2019-20 campaign are now on sale and can be purchased at the Family Arena box office or at ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more can purchase their discounted tickets now and season tickets are also on sale. For group or season ticket sales, call the Ambush office at 636-477-6363. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
