Ambush Battle in Baltimore on Sunday

St. Charles, MO (January 26, 2017) – The St. Louis Ambush journey to Baltimore to challenge the Blast at the Royal Farms Arena this Sunday, January 29 at 3:05 p.m. CT.

The Blast currently sit atop the MASL Eastern Division with an 8-5 record. Although they are the presumed favorite to win the division and seize one of two playoff berths, there are only three games separating first and last place in the division, so nothing is guaranteed. With seven games remaining in the regular season and three competitive teams behind them in the standings, every game has increased importance for the Baltimore squad. The Ambush are sitting in the basement of the MASL Central Division with a 1-13 record. Although their playoff hopes are all but gone for this season, they can still play spoiler against the other division contenders, while at the same time using the final six games to give Head Coach Tony Glavin the chance to evaluate who he wants to bring back next season and who may be finding another place to play.

Baltimore’s offense is led by forward Tony Donatalli, the team leader in points (30), goals (16) and assists (14). Forward Vini Dantas is also having a superb season with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists). Baltimore’s defensive unit is led by Adriano Dos Santos, who leads the team in blocks with 15. Second on the Blast with 10 blocks is Donatelli, whose two-way ability make him double trouble on the pitch. In goal, Baltimore has one of the league’s best in William Vanzela, who has the league’s best goals against average (3.52), is seventh in save percentage (.692), third in wins with eight, and has posted one of the two shutouts thus far in the MASL this season. 

The offensive leaders for St. Louis are Richard Schmermund and Kentaro Takada with nine points each. Schmermund leads the team in goals (seven), while Takada leads in assists (seven). The defensive leader for the Ambush is Chris Mattingly, who leads the team and the league in blocks with 37. Goalkeeper Casey Clark has appeared in 11 games, while Nikola Marojevic has appeared in five. Marojevic holds a slight edge over Clark in both goals against average (6.44 for Marojevic and 7.12 for Clark) and in save percentage (.696 versus .679). 

Following Sunday’s battle with the Blast, the Ambush play on the road and at home on back-to-back days the following weekend. On Friday, February 3, the Ambush visit the Cedar Rapids Rampage at 7:05 p.m., then come home to host the Kansas City Comets on Saturday, February 4 at 7:05 p.m. at the Family Arena. Prior to the February 4 contest, alumni players from the Kansas City Comets and Kansas City Attack will face alumni players from the Steamers, Storm and Ambush in a special alumni match from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Tickets for the February 4 Ambush-Comets game includes admission to the Alumni Game. The Alumni Game is presented in partnership with the St. Louis Steamers Soccer Club.

Fans can catch all Ambush games this season live on the MASLtv YouTube channel. Single game and group tickets are available for all remaining home games. For more information, call the Ambush office at 636-477-6363. Keep up to date with Ambush news by visiting the official website, stlambush.com, the team’s Facebook page and on Twitter and Instagram.