This isn’t the start to the new year the St. Louis Ambush envisioned. The team fell 8-2 to the Milwaukee Wave Saturday night at The Family Arena. The win improved Milwaukee’s record to 4-0-1, while St. Louis falls to 2-4-1.
Ian Bennett put Milwaukee on the board first when he caught a rebound off the post and put it in on target in the fourth minute of the game. The goal stretched Bennett’s scoring streak to 35 games (31 regular season and four postseason) and gave the Wave a 1-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Milwaukee went up 2-0 in the second minute of the second period on a goal from Derek Huffman. Neither team found the back of the net for the remainder of the quarter, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead at halftime.
St. Louis finally scored in the first minute of the third quarter when Sam Guernsey got a shot by Milwaukee goalkeeper William Banahene. The celebration was short-lived, however, as the Wave answered less than a minute later on a tally from Troy Morrison. Momentum was clearly on Milwaukee’s side at this point, as they upped the tally to 6-1 on consecutive goals from Shawn Azcueta and two from former Ambush player Andre Hayne.
The final stanza would see Milwaukee continue the onslaught, with Bennett scoring his second of the night in the second minute to make it 7-1. St. Louis got one back when Marcel Berry a top shelf shot in the fifth minute for a 7-2 score. Milwaukee wasted little time answering as Javier Steinwascher increase the gap to 8-2.
Milwaukee outshot St. Louis 32-19 on their way to the lopsided win. Ambush goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento turned in a .619 save percentage, while Wave keeper William Banahene produced .857.
The Ambush head east for their next contest when they visit Utica City FC on Sunday, January 15 at 1:05 p.m. CST. The next Ambush home game is Friday, January 20, 2023 when the cross-state rival Kansas City Comets invade The Family Arena for a 7:35 p.m. CST affair. All Ambush games are available for webcast at twitch.com.
