The St. Louis Ambush have brought back veteran midfielder Lucas Almeida for the 2026-27 Major Arena Soccer League campaign, the club announced. Almeida enters his 12th season in the league and his 11th with the Ambush, making him the longest-tenured player on the current roster.
The 34-year-old is aiming to bounce back from an injury-shortened 2025-26 season in which he appeared in only six regular-season games. He originally joined the Ambush ahead of the 2015-16 season after a strong rookie year with the Tulsa Revolution in 2014-15 and has been a steady presence ever since. Across 202 career regular-season games, Almeida has recorded 108 goals, 156 assists, and 135 blocked shots.
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Almeida played youth soccer before moving to the United States in 2010. He starred collegiately at Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, earning a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2014. He was a four-year starter and team captain at OKWU and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2020. He also gained outdoor experience at the semi-professional level with Mississippi Brilla FC and Vermont Voltage in the Premier Development League and represented Brazil at the WMF Arena Soccer World Cup.
Off the field, Almeida has built an extensive coaching résumé in the St. Louis area. He currently serves as head coach of the men’s soccer program at Hannibal-LaGrange University and has been the director of the Girls Prospect program (U17-U19) for Lou Fusz Athletics since 2021. He has also been head coach of Maritsa FC since 2020. Previous stops include assistant coach at Fontbonne University, director of coaching for the St. Louis Hawks (2019-22), head coach of Missouri Rush (2017-19), head coach at the Fulton School at St. Albans (2016-17), and assistant coach at Clinton High School in 2015. With the Ambush, he has previously doubled as an assistant coach while serving as team captain.
“Lucas has been an important part of our organization for a dozen years and his contributions are countless,” Ambush head coach Jeff Locker said. “As a talented player and knowledgeable veteran presence, we couldn’t be happier to have this relationship continue.”
The Ambush open their 14th season at The Family Arena on Black Friday, November 27. They will look to build on a 2025-26 campaign that ended in the semifinals as they pursue the Ron Newman Cup.
