Chihuahua, Mexico – The St. Louis Ambush lost 9-3 to the Chihuahua Savage Friday night at the Corner Sport Arena in Chihuahua, Mexico. The loss dropped the Ambush to 2-5-0 on the season, while the Savage tightened their grip on first place with a 6-1-0 record.
St. Louis got on the board first when Franck Tayou scored, assisted by Axel Chakounte, in the third minute of the opening period. Chihuahua answered in the eighth minute on a restart when Carlos Hernandez sent a corner kick into the back of the net to knot the score. The Savage took a 2-1 lead in the tenth minute when Ambush goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento was drawn out of the goal mouth to make a save and couldn’t get back in time to stop a shot by Miguel Angel Diaz. In the final minute, Jorge Rios put a shot out of Nascimento’s reach, giving the home side a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Chihuahua struck 21 seconds into the second stanza, when an upper ninety shot by Cesar Ruiz made it a 4-1 affair. The Ambush scored in the thirteenth minute when Chakounte and Tayou reversed their roles from the previous period with Axel scoring and Franck assisting. The Savage enjoyed a 4-2 lead at halftime.
The Ambush whittled away at the deficit in the second minute of the third quarter when Mohamed Ndiaye sent a long pass to Julio Varela, who was able to get a shot by Savage goalkeeper Diego Reynoso, making it 4-3. Unfortunately for St. Louis, their offense went dormant after Varela’s goal, with Chihuahua scoring the next five. Hugo Puentes and Jose Gilberto Lopez made it 6-3 at the end of the third quarter and Erick Tovar scored in the final frame, followed by two from Jorge Rios, to give the Savage a 9-3 win.
The two teams face off again at the Corner Sport Arena tomorrow, Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. CT. Following Saturday’s game, the Ambush trek to the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California to tangle with the Empire Strykers on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 8:35 p.m. CT. The next Ambush home game is slated for Saturday, January 18, 2025, when the Empire Strykers visit The Family Arena for a 5:05 p.m. CT first kick.
