Ambush Hand Wave First Road Loss in Back-to-Back Weekend Opener

St. Louis, Missouri — The seven-time champion Milwaukee Wave dropped the opening match of a back-to-back weekend, falling 5–3 on the road to the St. Louis Ambush at Family Arena.

FINAL SCORE: St. Louis Ambush 5, Milwaukee Wave 3
BOXSCORE | GAMESHEET | REPLAY

Milwaukee traveled to St. Louis on Saturday for the first leg of a home-and-home series, with both clubs set to host one another over the weekend.

The opening quarter was measured, with limited chances on both sides. The Wave struck first off a corner set piece, as Mario Alvarez delivered a perfect ball to Alex “Saucy” Sanchez, who finished with a driven right-footed shot. Nearly six minutes later, Daniel Torrealba answered for the Ambush to level the match at 1–1, a score that held through the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Jerry Perez made his fifth career Major Arena Soccer League appearance after William Banahene exited with an apparent minor injury. Despite increased physicality, neither side found the back of the net during the entire 15-minute period, sending the match into halftime deadlocked.

“It was too many turnovers and St. Louis got the best of us,” said Head Coach Marcio Leite. “We struggled to find our identity and limit mistakes.”

Those mistakes proved costly in the third quarter. Torrealba netted his second of the night with a high near-post finish, and Urie extended the Ambush lead with a breakaway goal just before the end of the quarter. A pair of Wave miscues allowed St. Louis to seize momentum against Milwaukee’s young roster on the road.

The Ambush wasted no time in the fourth quarter, as Torrealba completed his hat trick within the opening minute. Julio Varela followed with a header to give St. Louis its largest lead of the night at 5–1 with just over ten minutes remaining.

“The standard is always higher for Milwaukee,” Leite said. “Today, we didn’t play our brand of soccer.”

Milwaukee responded late. Alvarez delivered a highlight-reel goal directly from the corner, and rookie Oscar Flores added a volley off the boards from a Perez assist. The Wave also survived a late penalty kill, cutting the deficit to two, but the rally came too late as Milwaukee dropped the first game of the weekend.

“Tomorrow is going to be more about our mentality and our pride than our legs,” Leite said. “We can’t lose at home.”

The Milwaukee Wave will host the St. Louis Ambush in the rematch on Sunday, January 25, at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena, with kickoff set for 3:05 p.m. CST.