BLAST DEFEAT AMBUSH 9-4 IN HOME FINALE

February 26, 2016

St. Charles, MO – The Baltimore Blast tuned up for the playoffs by defeating the St. Louis Ambush 9-4 Friday night at the Family Arena. The win improved Baltimore’s record to 15-3, while St. Louis dropped to 5-14.

The Blast wasted no time taking command of the game, scoring twice within the first minute. Onua Obasi scored at 1:04 and Uzi Tayou at 1:46. Freddy Moojen answered for the Ambush with his goal at 9:33.

The second quarter belonged to the Blast with goals from Adriano Dos Santos (3:07) and Lucas Roque (12:42) to send the teams to the halftime break with the visitors enjoying a 4-1 lead.

The Ambush mounted a comeback in the second half with the first two goals of the third quarter. Dos Santos was sent to the penalty box for charging at 8:16, giving the Ambush a power play. Luiz Mota scored an unassisted tally at 9:46. Less than a minute later (10:01), Ambush midfielder Anthony Arico stole the ball from Juan Pereira and took a long shot that hit the foot of goalkeeper William Vanzella before making its way to the back of the net. Although St. Louis closed the scoring gap to 4-3, Baltimore came back with the last two goals of the third period. Roque scored his second of the contest at 10:34. At 11:14, Ambush midfielder Andre Hayne made a trip to the penalty box for striking and Roque didn’t squander the power play opportunity as he completed the hat trick at 12:34 to give Baltimore a 6-3 lead heading into the final stanza.

Roque wasn’t done yet as he scored his fourth goal of the match on a restart at 1:03 of the fourth period. Obasi scored his second of the night on another restart at 3:25. Tayou got his second of the game at 4:31. The Ambush showed a late sign of life when Daniel Berko found the back of the net at 9:03, but it was too little, too late as Baltimore held on for the 9-4 win.

Blast goalkeeper William Vanzella made 15 saves on 19 save opportunities in improving his record to 15-3 on the season. Ambush goalkeeper Marcelo Moreira saved 20 in 29 chances in seeing his record drop to 1-8. Referees handed out eight fouls to Baltimore and 10 to St. Louis. Baltimore was charged with two penalty minutes, while St. Louis collected four.

Friday’s contest was the final home game of the 2015-16 season for the Ambush, who conclude the season on the road when they visit the Milwaukee Wave at 6:05 p.m. Saturday night.

Keep up with Ambush news anytime by visiting the team’s official web site, stlouisambush.com, the Ambush Facebook page, facebook.com/stlouisambush, or on Twitter, twitter.com/stlouisambush.