The St. Louis Ambush fell 4-3 to the Dallas Sidekicks Thursday night at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas. The loss dropped the Ambush to 2-3 on the season, while Dallas improved to 1-3.
St. Louis got on the board first when Tony Walls got off a hard shot from outside the arc at 4:08 of the opening period. The Ambush struck again when Pepe Junqueira went on a breakaway and sent a pass across the penalty area to Vadim Cojocov, who shot a rocket into the net at 10:12 giving the visitors a 2-0 lead that would hold until the end of the first quarter.
Dallas scored when a shot by Luiz Morales hit a St. Louis defender on its way into the net at 11:50 of the second quarter to make it a 2-1 contest, a score that remained until the halftime break.
St. Louis returned to a two-goal cushion (3-1) when Duduca scored off a pass from Christian Briggs at the five minute mark of the third frame. Dallas answered when they were awarded a penalty kick due to a handball called against Sam Guernsey. Jamie Lovegrove took the kick and was able to beat Ambush goalkeeper Sway Mazon at 7:33 to make it a 3-2 game. Former Ambush player Felipe Silva stung his former team when his shot came off the foot of an Ambush defender and into the goal to knot the score at 13:24 of the third period.
At 1:20 of the final stanza, Dallas gained a man advantage when Lucas Almeida was sent off for two minutes for contact above the shoulders. The penalty would prove to be a costly one for St. Louis, as Silva scored his second of the match at 2:27 to give the Sidekicks their first lead of the night (4-3). The remainder of the period saw numerous chances for each side, but neither found the back of the net and the Sidekicks held on until the final buzzer to post their first win of the season.
The game was physical and intense from start to finish. Referees handed out five blue cards (two to Dallas and three to St. Louis) and one yellow card (to Dallas). The teams collected 32 fouls in the match, 18 to Dallas and 14 to St. Louis. With a rematch slated for less than 18 hours after the conclusion of tonight’s battle, the teams will have little time to cool off, so another explosive battle could await fans tomorrow afternoon at The Family Arena.
The Ambush and Sidekicks clash again in St. Charles in a New Year’s Eve matinee duel Friday at 3:05 p.m. at The Family Arena. The New Year’s Eve game includes the popular annual Kid’s Bash, a New Year’s celebration for the youngsters that includes a balloon drop on the field after the game. Following the New Year’s Eve game, the Ambush won’t see action again until they visit the Tacoma Stars on January 7.
Tickets for all remaining Ambush home games are available at the Family Arena box office and at ticketmaster.com. Fans can stay current on all Ambush news by visiting the team’s official website, stlambush.com and on social media outlets.
