Baltimore Defeats Ambush 10-1

Baltimore, MD (January 29, 2017) – The Baltimore Blast defeated the St. Louis Ambush 10-1 Sunday afternoon at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The win improved Baltimore’s record to 9-5 and helped solidify their perch atop the competitive Eastern Division while St. Louis dropped to 1-14.

The Ambush struck first on a restart when Richard Schmermund fired a high shot into the upper ninety at 7:41 of the first quarter. The equalizer came quickly, as Vini Dantas scored for Baltimore at 8:02. Dantas got his second of the contest at 11:54. The clock counted down with a flurry of activity in front of the Ambush goal, but no further scoring occurred and the Blast held a 2-1 lead at the end of the opening stanza. 

Baltimore came out with all cylinders firing in the second quarter. Rookie defender Josh Huges, playing in just his fourth game of the season, scored at 2:25. Seconds later (3:15), Andrew Hoxie beat Ambush goalkeeper Casey Clark with a shot from just outside the arc to give the Blast a 4-1 lead. The home team would increase their lead to four when Tony Donatelli passed to Lucas Roque, who scored with a high shot at 10:10. With no further scoring by either team, Baltimore enjoyed a 5-1 lead at the halftime break.

Baltimore kept on rolling as the second half got underway, scoring two goals in 20 seconds. Dantas completed the hat trick on a header off a pass from Pat Healey at 4:27, then Adriano Dos Santos made it 7-1 with his goal at 4:47. Dos Santos scored his second of the match at 13:41 to give the Blast an 8-1 lead. 

The Blast increased their lead to 9-1 when Ambush goalkeeper Casey Clark came out of the goalkeeper’s area and couldn’t get back in time to stop Jonatas Melo’s shot at 3:45. Late in the fourth quarter, when it was obvious there wasn’t enough time for St. Louis to catch up, Jereme Raley put the last nail in the coffin for the Ambush with the final goal of the match at 13:30 to secure the 10-1 win for the Blast. 

Ambush Head Coach Tony Glavin said the outcome of the game was “frustrating”. “We had a game plan and we didn’t stick to it.” Glavin said. “We were undisciplined and when you play a good team like Baltimore and are undisciplined, they will punish you.”

The schedule won’t be kind to the Ambush next weekend as they play on the road, then at home, on consecutive days. 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.

HOME PAGE PHOTO BY DAVID RIPETTO