AMBUSH DROP A CLOSE ONE IN UTICA

by Jim Fossell

Utica, NY (January 31, 2020) – The St. Louis Ambush lost a see-saw battle to Utica City FC Friday night at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica. The loss dropped the Ambush to 6-8 on the season, while Utica improved to 8-3.

Utica took an early lead when Cristhian Segura  and Nate Bourdeau each scored in the first ten minutes of the match. The Ambush answered on a restart when JT Thomas took a shot that threaded the needle of Utica players and found the back of the net, shaving Utica’s lead to 2-1 at the end of the first frame.

Utica took a 3-1 lead when a Uros Momic shot bounced around the Ambush defense before finally finding its mark at 9:23 of the second quarter. St. Louis wasn’t done, as the player bearing the city’s name, Stefan St. Louis, executed a beautiful shot from the corner that Utica goalkeeper Andrew Coughlin was unable to corral, making the score 3-2 at 12:57 and heading into halftime.

Ricardo De Queiroz Diegues gave UCFC a 4-2 lead at 7:57 of the third period when Ambush goalkeeper Paulo came out of the goal to make a save and Diegues was able to gain control of the ball and put it into open goal.  The Ambush answered when Vadim Cojocov fired a bullet into the top of the net from just outside the arc at 11:24 to make it a one-goal game (4-3) heading into the final stanza.

Despite a plethora of close calls on both sides, neither team scored in the fourth quarter, giving the home team the 4-3 final score. The victory puts Utica in a tie for second place with the Milwaukee Wave in the MASL Eastern Conference.

The Ambush continue their two-game trip in New York when they visit the Rochester Lancers Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. CST. The Ambush return home to the Family Arena on Saturday, February 8, when the Harrisburg Heat come to town for a 7:05 p.m. CST matchup. The February 8 game will also honor the 25th Anniversary of the 1995 NPSL Champion Ambush team with alumni players on hand to sign autographs and will include a tribute banner being raised inside the Family Arena.

Single game tickets for the rest of the 2019-20 season are on sale and can be purchased at the Family Arena box office or at ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more can purchase their discounted tickets by calling the Ambush office at 636-477-6363.