Ambush Outlast Comets in Shootout, Earn 7–6 Road Win
- Jonathan Turner
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
Independence, Missouri (January 4, 2026) — The St. Louis Ambush went toe-to-toe with first-place Kansas City on the road Sunday night and skated out of Cable Dahmer Arena with a dramatic 7–6 shootout victory over the Comets. The win moved St. Louis to 4-3-1 on the season, while Kansas City slipped to 6-2-2.
St. Louis opened the scoring early, as Robert Williamson marked his 100th career MASL match with a goal in the third minute of the first quarter, finishing a feed from Robert Kristo. Just over a minute later, John Gates sent a pass from the wall to Mario Falsone, who converted from inside the arc to make it 2–0.
Kansas City responded quickly, cutting the deficit to one on a Zach Reget goal just over a minute later. The Ambush answered again in the seventh minute when Lucas Almeida set up Daniel Torrealba on a restart, and Torrealba buried a top-shelf finish to restore a two-goal cushion.
St. Louis faced adversity late in the opening frame when Axel Chakounte was issued a blue card for kicking, followed moments later by starting goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento receiving a five-minute yellow card for dissent. Backup keeper Jose Ogaz entered cold off the bench as the Ambush defended the power play. Although St. Louis successfully killed the advantage, Kansas City’s Ignacio Flores scored as time expired in the quarter, trimming the lead to 3–2.
The Comets tied the match midway through the second quarter when Jacob Garza struck from long range between the arc and yellow line. Neither team scored the rest of the half, sending the match into intermission deadlocked at 3–3.
Kansas City grabbed its first lead of the night in the fifth minute of the third quarter. After Nascimento stepped out to make a save, Rian Marques pounced on the loose ball and tapped it home before the goalkeeper could recover. The goal proved to be the only tally of the period, giving the Comets a 4–3 advantage heading into the fourth.
St. Louis pulled even early in the final quarter as Christian Briggs scored on a restart, blasting a Lucas Almeida pass to the far post. Kansas City answered in the fifth minute with an unassisted goal from Michael Lenis, but the Ambush responded again less than a minute later when Gates beat Comets goalkeeper Phillip Ejimadu high to knot the score at 5–5.
The Comets regained the lead moments later on an unassisted goal from Lesia Thetsane. With two minutes remaining, St. Louis pulled Nascimento and sent Randy Martinez on as the sixth attacker. The gamble paid off, as Kristo scored with 37 seconds left in regulation to force overtime for the second straight game between the rivals.
Both teams tightened defensively in overtime, and strong goalkeeping from Nascimento and Ejimadu kept the match scoreless, setting up a shootout.
Kansas City’s Dominic Francis, Reget, and Marques were all turned away, while St. Louis missed on attempts by Torrealba and William Eskay. Kristo stepped up third for the Ambush and delivered the decisive strike, blasting home the shootout winner to secure the road victory.
The Ambush return to action next Sunday, January 11, when they visit the Tacoma Stars at 7:05 p.m. CST at accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. St. Louis returns home on Friday, January 16, hosting the Empire Strykers at 7:05 p.m. at The Family Arena.
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