AMBUSH PREVAIL IN SCOREFEST AGAINST LANCERS

Henrietta, NY (February 1, 2020) – The St. Louis Ambush and Rochester Lancers put on a scorefest of an indoor soccer game Saturday night at the ROC Dome that saw the Ambush come away with a 16-8 victory. The win improved the Ambush to 7-8 on the season, while Rochester is still seeking their first win at 0-13.

The Ambush got on the board with the first two tallies of the game in the first six minutes of the match, courtesy of Mike Scharf and Oitomeia. Frankie Ciliberto answered for Rochester with a highlight reel maneuver, executing a bicycle kick with his back to the goal at 8:36 of the first quarter. The Ambush increased the lead to 3-1 when Diego Bobadilla, parked near the far post, took a pass from Oitomeia and tapped it in at 12:53. With three seconds remaining in the period, Pablo Da Silva fired a bullet into the upper net, giving the Ambush a 4-1 lead.

Michael Cunningham scored for Rochester at 3:37 of the second frame to make the score 4-2. The Lancers continued to chip away at the lead when a shot by Ciliberto came off the board and found Jeremy Ortiz, who was able to put it into the net at 9:37. Oitomeia answered 25 seconds later to give the Ambush a 5-3 lead. Vadim Cojocov made it a 6-3 contest when he was able to beat Lancers goalkeeper Brian Wilkin at 12:00. In the closing seconds of the half, Duduca found the back of the net to make it 7-3 Ambush at halftime.

The Ambush started scoring in the second half when Oitomeia, shooting from outside the arc, completed the hat trick at 2:56 of the third quarter. Ado Jahic scored his first Ambush goal at 4:38 to make the score 9-3. The Ambush went on a power play when Anthony Rozzano was sent to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct at 6:04 and Tony Walls made good on the opportunity with a power play goal at 7:06 to increase the lead to 10-3. The Ambush would score three more as Cojocov got his second of the match, JT Thomas got his first, and Jahic scored his second of the night for a 13-3 Ambush lead at the end of the third quarter.

With Jason Norsic replacing Paulo in goal for the Ambush, Rochester got three back early in the fourth quarter as Ciliberto and Ortiz each got their second of the night, followed by a goal from Jeremy Loncao to make it a 13-6 match. With Paulo back in the net, Cunningham posted his second goal of the game to make it 13-7. The Ambush answered 16 seconds later when Jahic completed his own hat trick. Oitomeia made it 15-7 when his fourth goal of the match snuck in just under the crossbar at 6:46. Axel Duarte scored for St. Louis to increase the lead to 16-7. The Lancers weren’t finished yet, as Ortiz completed the hat trick when he was able to place a shot out of Paulo’s reach. That would be the last tally from either team as the Ambush held on for the 16-8 win.

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 25^th 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.