AMBUSH FACE SAVAGE OPPONENT IN QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFF MATCH

Saint Charles, Missouri (April 2, 2025) – The St. Louis Ambush face the number one seed Chihuahua Savage Friday, April 4 at 6:00 p.m. CDT in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 Major Arena Soccer League Ron Newman Cup Playoffs. This year’s quarterfinal and semifinal rounds are played at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside California and each round is single-elimination.

In the first half of the regular season, few people thought the Ambush would be alive in the postseason. The first 12 games saw them compile a 3-9-0 (wins-losses-overtime losses) record. A series of trades, combined with outstanding performances by several veteran players, saw the team rebound with a record of 8-3-1 in their last 12 games, giving them a regular season final record of 11-12-1 and the eighth of eight playoff berths. As the eighth seed in the playoffs, St. Louis faces the daunting task of squaring off with the defending champion Chihuahua Savage, who posted an impressive regular season record of 20-4-0.

The Ambush and Savage met twice during the regular season, both times on Chihuahua’s home turf, where they were undefeated. Those meetings, however, were in the first half of the season. If the revitalized Ambush side continues to play in the postseason like they did in the second half of the regular season, they could pull off what would arguably be the upset of the year in the MASL.

The Ambush are led offensively by Duduca Carvalho, the team leader in points (34) and William Eskay, the team leader in goals (25). The team’s playmaker is Lucas Almeida, who led the team and the league in assists with 24. Chihuahua’s offense is lead by powerhouse Jorge Rios, who lead the team and the league in both points (52) and goals (33). Rios and two other players posted 20 or more goals and a total of eight Chihuahua players were in double digits in goal scoring. For St. Louis, four different players were in double-digits in goals scored and two (Eskay and Carvalho) were good for 20 or more.

Between the pipes, Eduardo “Pollo” Cortes had a .708 save percentage with a 5.47 goals against average. Paulo Nascimento, the team’s longtime starting keeper, turned in a .664 save percentage, combined with a 6.63 goals against average. For Chihuahua, primary starter Diego Reynoso had a .707 save percentage and his 4.46 goals against average was good for second in the MASL. Christian Hernandez the backup goalkeeper for the Savage, had a .681 save percentage with a 5.02 goals against average. Both teams have impressive talent in the nets and that will be necessary if they are to stop the opposition from finding the back of the net.

Friday"s game is available to view via the CBS Sports Golazo network.

Season tickets for the 2025-26 Ambush season are now on sale. Call the Ambush office at 636-477-6363 for more information. Fans can stay current on all Ambush news by visiting the team’s official website, stlambush.com and on social media outlets.