March 10, 2024 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – St. Louis Ambush News Release
St. Louis Ambush battle the Milwaukee Wave
(St. Louis Ambush, Credit: Milwaukee Wave)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin – The St. Louis Ambush dropped an 8-7 game to the Milwaukee Wave Sunday afternoon at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. In a back-and-forth battle that was tied six different times, the match was decided in a shootout that included a controversial video review that ultimately didn’t go in St. Louis’ favor. The victory improved the Wave’s season record to 14-5-2 (wins-losses-overtime losses), while the Ambush dropped to 4-10-6.
The opening stanza was devoid of scoring until the final minute when Milwaukee’s Cesar Correa poked a high shot into the upper net with 23 seconds left in the period.
St. Louis drew even in the fourth minute of the second quarter when William Eskay took a shot that came off the glass and found the foot of James Thomas, who had maneuvered into position and found his mark. The Ambush took a 2-1 lead in the sixth minute when Eskay’s speed propelled him through the Wave defense and he put the ball in the back of the net. Milwaukee knotted things up again in the seventh minute on a restart when Marcio Leite tapped the ball to Ricardo Carvalho who beat St. Louis goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento. Less than a minute later, the Wave regained the lead when the Ambush defense faltered, allowing Salvador Nunez to score. At halftime, the home team enjoyed a 3-2 lead.
Nearly six minutes into the third period, a shoving match between St. Louis’ Richard Schmermund and Milwaukee’s Derek Huffman resulted in simultaneous blue cards to each player for unsportsmanlike contact. Huffman would get a second blue card in the eleventh minute after he elbowed John A. Eskay in the head directly in front of the Ambush bench. The penalty wasn’t called initially, resulting in a challenge from St. Louis. After a video review by the referees, the blue card came out and Huffman was sent to the sin bin, resulting in a St. Louis power play. The Ambush made good on the advantage with a power play goal from Thomas. That lead lasted only 16 seconds, however, as Ricardo Carvalho answered for Milwaukee to make it a 4-3 game. Thomas made it a hat trick in the final minute of the quarter when Wave goalkeeper William Banahene stopped a shot but didn’t get control of the ball, which careened to Thomas, who pounded it into the net, resulting in the fourth tie of the match.
St. Louis regained the lead…