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NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
BY ST. LOUIS AMBUSH COMMUNICATIONS
ONTARIO, Calif. – The Empire Strykers took an early lead and maintained the advantage enroute to an 8-6 victory over the visiting St. Louis Ambush Monday night at Toyota Arena in Major Arena Soccer League play.
The 8-6 win improved the Strykers’ record to 4-5-0, while the Ambush slipped to 2-7-0 after competing three times in a four-day period.
The Strykers drew first blood in the eighth minute when it appeared that Abdul Mansaray was setting up a wall pass but fate was on his side as the ball came off the board, high out of the reach of Ambush goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento, and into the net. Empire maintained possession through most of the first quarter, but Mansaray’s goal would be the lone tally of the period.
Empire went up 2-0 in the fourth minute of the second quarter when Justin Stinson nailed an upper ninety shot out of Nascimento’s reach. St. Louis got on the board just over two minutes later when Raphael Araujo scored off a long pass from James Thomas to shave the lead to 2-1. The home side enjoyed a one-goal lead at the halfway mark.
The Strykers increased their lead to 3-1 in the third minute of the third period on a goal from Jorge DeLeon. The Ambush got a man advantage in the eleventh minute when Empire’s Brian Orozco was sent to the penalty box for boarding. St. Louis went on another power play in the twelfth minute when Alan Perez was sent off for kicking.
Between the time Orozco was released from the penalty box and the time he could get into position, Duduca Carvalho scored for the Ambush to again make it a one-goal (3-2) contest. Another blue card was pulled in the 14th minute, this one on St. Louis when Mohamed Ndiaye was sent to the sin bin for boarding. Empire made good on the man advantage when Robert Palmer found the back of the net to make it a 4-2 duel.
Empire pulled away in the second minute of the final frame when rookie Cyro Oliveira scored his first goal after a Stinson shot went wide, hit the board and careened to Oliveira who put the ball on target for a 5-2 score. With the sixth attacker in play for the Ambush, James Thomas scored in the eighth minute to reduce the deficit to two goals (5-3).
The Strykers wasted little time getting one back as Justin Stinson stung his former team with a goal just under a minute later. Uzi Tayou earned a blue card at an inopportune time for St. Louis, giving Empire a power play and shootout with under six minutes left in the match. Stinson took the shootout, completed the hat trick, and gave Empire a 7-3 lead. In an effort to get back into the game, the Ambush again pulled the goalkeeper with Will Eskay donning the sixth attacker jersey.
The extra man strategy would pay off when Thomas scored his second of the night in the twelfth minute of the fourth quarter for a 7-4 score. In the fourteenth minute, Franck Tayou caught Strykers goalkeeper Brandon Gomez too far out of position and pounded the ball into the net to give the Ambush give goals to Empire’s seven. With less than a minute left, Mansaray got his second of the match, then Dylan Hundelt scored for St. Louis 13 seconds later, making it an 8-6 game. Despite a tooth-and-nail effort from St. Louis, the clock ran out and Empire escaped with the victory.
Monday’s game against the Strykers completed a road trip that saw St. Louis play three games in two countries over a four-day period. Home turf will provide a welcome respite for the road-weary Ambush when they host the Strykers in a rematch at The Family Arena in St. Charles this Saturday, January 18 at 5:05 p.m. CT.
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, 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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