Ambush Play Home and Away This Weekend

by Jim Fossell

St.Charles, MO (December 8, 2016) – The St. Louis Ambush play at home and on the road in back-to-back games this weekend. The Ambush face the Florida Tropics for the first time ever Friday night at 7:35 p.m.at the Family Arena. Whether they win or lose Friday’s match, the Ambush won’t have long to ponder the results as they head south to battle the Dallas Sidekicks for the first time ever on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas.

The Tropics are an expansion team in the Major Arena Soccer League for the 2016-17 season, but there are several connections between the two teams. Florida forward Freddy Moojen, midfielder Anthony Arico and goalkeeper Piotr Sliwa all played for the Ambush last season. Tropics CEO/Owner Andrew Haines and President Leah Haines held those same roles for the Ambush the past three seasons.

The Tropics come to town with a 2-3 record and having lost two of their last three matches, the most recent being a 5-1 loss to the Baltimore Blast last Saturday. The Ambush (0-5) are still searching for their first victory on the season after falling 14-6 to the Milwaukee Wave in their most recent outing last Saturday.

Friday’s clash is the sixth of the season for both teams and the first of three head-to-head meetings slated for the 2016-17 regular season.

Dallas has a 3-4 record and won their most recent contest 12-5 over the El Paso Coyotes after losing the previous four. Their leading scorers are Cameron Brown with 16 points (12 goals and four assists), Jamie Lovegrove with 15 points (10 goals and five assists) and Ricardinho Cavalcante, who has posted 12 points (four goals and eight assists). The Sidekicks’ potent offense isn’t limited to those three players, though. Thirteen different players have scored thus far this season and four different players have registered in the double digits in points. Minding the nets for Dallas is Juan Gamboa, who ranks sixth the league in goals against average (5.26) and fifth in save percentage (.708). For the Ambush to come away with a win, they will have to stop the Sidekicks’ scoring threats, which could come from multiple players, and at the same time get to goalkeeper Gamboa, who has proven to be adept at keeping shots from crossing the goal line.

Saturday’s duel in Dallas will be the seventh regular season game for the Ambush and the eighth for the Sidekicks and it is the only meeting between these two teams slated for this season.

Following this weekend’s pair of matches, the Ambush return home to the Family Arena on Sunday, December 18, when they host the Central Division rival Cedar Rapids Rampage in a rare 3:05 p.m. afternoon tilt.

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.