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NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
BY ST. LOUIS AMBUSH COMMUNICATIONS
CHIHUNAHUA, Mexico – Different day, same result.
Playing their second game on the road in as many days, the St. Louis Ambush put up a scrappy effort but ultimately fell short in an 11-9 Major Arena Soccer League loss to the Chihuahua Savage Saturday night at the Corner Sport Arena in Chihuahua.
The loss dropped the St. Louis record to 2-6-0 for the season, while Chihuahua improved to 7-1-0.
Chihuahua struck early when Jaime Alejandro Romero scored in the second minute of the match. St. Louis answered less than two minutes later when Julio Varela took a shot that Savage goalkeeper Christian Hernandez got a hand on but was unable to corral the ball, which found the back of the net. Arturo Valle and Jorge Rios scored for Chihuahua and Varela nailed his second for St. Louis in the last minute of the period to give the home side a 3-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Savage wasted no time building on their lead as Cesar Ruiz scored just ten seconds into the second period. Chihuahua made it 5-2 in the third minute when Pedro Castaneda took a shot that inadvertently found its way into the goal off Ambush player James Thomas, who attempted a slide block that backfired. St. Louis answered less than a minute later on a tally by Franck Tayou to make it 5-3. Ruiz scored his second for the Savage, then William Eskay scored for the Ambush, followed by Tayou’s second of the duel, for a 6-5 Chihuahua lead at halftime.
The equalizer for the Ambush came in the eighth minute of the third quarter on a goal credited to Dylan Hundelt that may have deflected off a Savage player. In either event, it counted for the visitors and knotted the score. Chihuahua went on a power play when Ambush player Christian Briggs was sent to the penalty box for handling in the ninth minute. St. Louis responded with stellar defense and killed off the penalty.
The Ambush got a power play of their own in the thirteenth minute when Savage goalkeeper Diego Reynoso – who had replaced Hernandez in the net earlier in the contest – was sent to the box for handling outside the box. The visitors made good on the opportunity when Tayou scored off a pass from Thomas to give the Ambush their first lead of the night (7-6). Chihuahua drew even (7-7) with 14 seconds left when Romero put a shot out of reach of St. Louis goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento.
St. Louis took the lead again in the fourth minute of the fourth quarter when Tayou completed the hat trick when he took a pass from Christian Briggs, got off a shot that hit the goalpost and found the net. Less than a minute later, the Ambush made it a two goal lead (9-7) when Niko Karidis posted his first goal of the season when he tapped in a loose ball near the goal mouth. Chihuahua answered, then then leveled the score once again (9-9) on goals by Roberto Escalante and Martin Lara. The Savage seized the lead (10-9) again in the eighth minute when Romero completed the hat trick with a shot out of a diving Nascimento’s reach. St. Louis went with the sixth attacker with under two minutes left. That strategy resulted in an empty net goal from Romero with 13 seconds remaining, to cement the 11-9 win for Chihuahua.
Next for the Ambush is a trip to the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California to tangle with the Empire Strykers on Monday, Jan. 13 at 8:35 p.m. CT. The next Ambush home game is slated for Saturday, Jan. 18, when the Strykers visit The Family Arena for a 5:05 p.m. CT first kick.
Single-game and group tickets are now on sale for the remainder of the 2024-25 regular season. Call the Ambush office at 636-477-6363 for more information. Fans can stay current on the rescheduled game date and all Ambush news by visiting the team’s official website, www.stlambush.com and on social media outlets.
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(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the National Soccer Network regarding club/youth soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with ties to a particular state or states, contact Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or call 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 32-year veteran of the Michigan and national media circles and recently joined the staff full time at PMG in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/NSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@thepremiermediagrp.com.)
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