AMBUSH FALL IN FLORIDA

Lakeland, Florida (January 3, 2021) – The St. Louis Ambush lost 7-5 to the Florida Tropics Sunday afternoon at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida. It was the second meeting between the two teams less than 24 hours apart. Despite some tired legs, both teams played an intense game that saw the Ambush come back from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game in the third quarter, but ultimately falling short at the final buzzer. The loss puts the Ambush at 0-2 on the young season, while Florida improves to 2-0.

Florida scored the lone goal of the opening period when Lucas Montelares nailed a long shot that ricocheted off the post and into the net at 10:07 into the game. The Tropics scored twice in the second quarter when Lucas Teixeira and Ricardinho Sobreira both found the back of the net less than two minutes apart, giving the home squad a 3-0 lead at halftime.

The Ambush lost a player five minutes into the second half when Sam Guernsey received a red card from referee Rich Grady for abusive language, giving the Tropics a power play. Ian Bennett made good on the opportunity when he scored 55 seconds later. St. Louis answered 11 seconds later on Ado Jahic’s second goal of the game to make the score 4-2. The Ambush shaved the lead further when Howard Miller Jr. was able to beat Florida goalkeeper Hugo Silva at 9:34 of the third quarter. Florida’s Guilherme Dos Santos earned a blue card for a dangerous play at 13:18, giving St. Louis a power play. The Ambush drew even (4-4) when Duduca sent a pass across the box to Tony Walls, who scored at 13:36.

Florida regained the lead at 1:46 of the fourth quarter when Drew Ruggles was able to get a shot by Ambush goalkeeper Paulo to make the score 5-4. St. Louis scored the equalizer when Magui Souza took a pass from Paulo and got off a good shot from the top of the arc at 9:55.

Florida answered when the always-dangerous Ian Bennett put away his second of the game to give the Tropics a one-goal lead with 1:23 left on the clock. With the sixth attacker in play for St. Louis, Ian Bennett completed the hat trick at 14:07 to give Florida a 7-5 lead that would   prove to be the final tally.

Florida outshot St. Louis 21-19 in the duel. Hugo Silva saved 11 shots in 16 chances (.699 SV%) in taking the win for the Tropics. Between the pipes for the Ambush, Paulo saved 12 in 19 chances (.632 SV%). Officials handed out three blue cards, (two to St. Louis and one to Florida), one red card (to St. Louis) and one yellow card (to Florida).

Next for the Ambush is a trip to Dallas to clash with the Sidekicks next Saturday, January 9 at 7:00 p.m. CST at the Allen Events Center. After that contest, the Ambush home opener is slated for Saturday, January 16 when the Kansas City Comets invade the Family Arena for a 7:05 p.m. match. Tickets for the home opener are available at the Family Arena box office or online at ticketmaster.com. All Ambush games can be viewed online at Facebook Live PPV.

Fans can stay current on all Ambush news by visiting the team’s official website, stlambush.com or on social media outlets.