AMBUSH FALL SHORT IN SEMIFINAL GAME ONE

Saint Charles, Missouri (April 17, 2026) – The St. Louis Ambush mounted a fierce effort, but fell short to the San Diego Sockers in game one of their semifinal playoff match Friday night at The Family Arena. The Sockers posted a 6-5 win, giving them a 1-0 lead in the series.

San Diego got on the board first in the sixth minute of the game when Cesar Cerda beat Ambush goalkeeper Eduardo “Pollo” Cortes. The Ambush offense faltered in the eleventh minute when San Diego’s Nick Perera was left open and made it 2-0. St. Louis answered with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter when Robert Williamson sent a pass to Daniel Torrealba, who went a long breakaway and shot from outside the yellow line to beat Sockers goalkeeper Chris Toth and make it a 2-1 game at the end of the opening period.

St. Louis went on a power play in the eleventh minute of the second quarter when San Diego’s Stefan Mijatovic was sent off for boarding. They made good on the opportunity when Torrealba scored his second of the night, assisted by Jeff Michaud, to knot the score 2-2 at halftime. With just under four minutes left on the clock, Will Eskay donned the sixth attacker jersey for the Ambush.

The Ambush took the lead for the first time in the sixth minute of the third quarter when Torrealba sent a long pass to John Gates, who tapped it to Christian Briggs, who put it in the net to make it a 3-2 game. San Diego drew even in the eighth minute when Perera notched his second of the match on a restart. The Ambush regained the lead in the tenth minute when Briggs sent a bouncing ball into the goal. Less than a minute later, the Sockers countered on a goal from Luiz Morales to tie the game 4-4. The lead changed hands again in the thirteenth minute when San Diego’s Charlie Gonzalez was left open and beat Cortes with a long shot to make it a 5-4 game.

St. Louis fell behind by two in the fifth minute of the final frame when San Diego’s Leonardo De Oliveira scored to make it 6-4. The Ambush got one back in the thirteenth minute when Torrealba sent a long pass to Briggs, who completed the hat trick for a 6-5 scored with just over two minutes left on the clock. For St. Louis, the comeback was too little, too late and San Diego leaves town with the win and 1-0 lead in the semifinal series.

Action now shifts to the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California, where the Sockers will host the Ambush in game two on Sunday, April 19 at 7:00 p.m. CDT. If the series is tied after that game, a decisive 15-minute knockout game will be played after a brief intermission to decide the ultimate winner. The winner of this series will go on to the finals, where they will square off with the Milwaukee Wave for the 2026 Ron Newman Cup.

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