The St. Louis Ambush posted a nail-biter of a win Friday night when they scored the game winning goal with just 5.7 seconds left in the match to defeat the Orlando SeaWolves 7-6 at the Silver Spurs Arena. The win improved the Ambush to 6-6 on the season, while Florida dropped to 3-4. It also pushed the Ambush to second place in the MASL South Central Division.
The SeaWolves drew first blood when Thiago Freitas scored on a restart just before the seven minute mark in the game. Freitas then played a role in Orlando’s second tally when he shot just wide of the goal, but Jonathan Mendoza was nearby to tap it in for the goal. The opening stanza expired with Orlando leading 2-0.
The Ambush got on the board when Axel Duarte scored in the third minute of the second quarter to make the score 2-1. The SeaWolves went up 3-1 when Osvaldo Rojas scored from the top of the arc. The Ambush answered 10 seconds later when Magui found himself open, went on a breakaway, and was able to beat Orlando goalkeeper Rainer Hauss. Neither team scored for the remainder of the second period, giving the SeaWolves a 3-1 lead at halftime.
The Ambush gained a man advantage when Rojas earned a trip to the penalty box in the first minute of the third quarter. It would take Ambush midfielder Clayton just 21 seconds into the power play to score and knot the game 3-3. The SeaWolves gained a one-man advantage, then a two-man advantage, when JT Thomas and Justin Stinson were sent to the penalty box just over a minute apart. Amazingly, the Ambush killed both penalties and kept a frustrated Orlando team from scoring. The Ambush took their first lead of the contest when Rapha Tobias accidentally headed the ball into the Orlando goal, giving St. Louis a 4-3 lead. Justin Stinson grew the lead for his team when he scored on another power play, giving the Ambush a 5-3 advantage at the end of the third frame.
With under eight minutes remaining in the game, Rojas scored his second of the night to make it a one-goal game (5-4). Less than a minute later, Zach Reget scored from a spot near the board. To say it was a difficult angle would be an understatement. The Ambush wouldn’t enjoy their two goal lead for long, as Gordy Gurson answered for Orlando to make the score 6-5 with just over six minutes remaining. Less than a minute later, Orlando drew even (6-6) when Freitas scored again with six minutes left in the contest. The finishing touch came on a restart, when Lucas Almeida sent the ball to Reget, who fired the ball by three Orlando players and goalkeeper Hauss, for what would be the game-winner with 5.7 seconds left on the clock.
The Ambush now embark on the second leg of their two-game road trip in the Sunshine State as they travel to Lakeland to face the Florida Tropics Saturday night at 6:15 p.m. CT. That game, like all MASL games this season, will be available live at masl.tv.
The Ambush welcome both Florida rivals to the Family Arena next weekend, hosting the Tropics on Friday, February 1 at 7:35 p.m. CT, then the SeaWolves on Saturday, February 2 at 7:05 p.m. CT.
