The St. Louis Ambush closed out 2019 with their third consecutive victory by beating the Kansas City Comets 7-6 Tuesday afternoon at the Family Arena. The victory improved the Ambush to 3-3 on the season while the Comets dropped to 3-4.
Kansas City took an early 2-0 lead thanks to tallies from Ray Saari and Leo Gibson within the first four minutes of the game. Tony Walls answered for the Ambush at when his shot hit the wall, then he managed to nail the rebound into the back of the net at 4:41. Walls did it again when he scored the equalizer at 12:56. The Comets would regain the lead (3-2) when Robert Palmer chipped the ball over the head of Ambush goalkeeper Paulo in the last minute of the first period.
The Ambush drew even (3-3) at 3:41 of the second quarter on a goal by Pablo Da Silva. Douglas Dos Santos scored the go-ahead goal (4-3) for the Ambush on a power play when he took a pass from Duduca and beat Comets goalkeeper Lou Misner at 7:39. The Ambush took a one goal lead into the halftime break.
The Ambush took a 5-3 lead on the lone goal of the third stanza. Walls completed the hat trick when he positioned himself at the goal mouth and tapped in a masterful pass from Stefan St. Louis at 5:48.
The Comets closed the gap to a goal (5-4) when Gibson scored his second of the match on a restart at 3:36 of the fourth quarter. The Ambush increased the lead to 6-4 when Andre Braithwaite fired a high shot into the upper corner of the net at 9:06. With the sixth attacker in play for Kansas City, Douglas Dos Santos took a long shot, from beyond the midfield line, that found its target to make the score 7-4. The visitors quickly scored two goals thirty seconds apart to once again make it a one-goal game. Gibson completed his own hat trick at 12:22, followed by Ignacio Flores at 12:52. That would be the end of the Comets comeback, as the Ambush held on until the final buzzer for the 7-6 win.
Kansas City outshot the Ambush 36-20. Paulo saved 17 on 23 attempts in goal for the Ambush, while Lou Misner made nine saves in 15 chances for the Comets.
The Ambush kick off 2020 on the road for their next three games, starting with two south of the border. The Ambush duel the Sonora Soles on January 3 and the Monterrey Flash on January 5, followed by a trip to Milwaukee to battle the Wave on January 12. The next Ambush home game is slated for January 17, when Utica City FC visits the Family Arena.
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 by calling the Ambush office at 636-477-6363.
