Third Quarter Rally Propels Syracuse to 4-3 Win over St. Louis
February 18, 2018 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Syracuse Silver Knights News Release
SYRACUSE, N.Y.- The Syracuse Silver Knights (12-7) took down the St. Louis Ambush (3-18) 4-3 on Sunday at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena.
After a slow offensive start for both teams, the Ambush got on the board first. Dylan Hundelt found the back of the net off a takeaway of Syracuse to put St. Louis up 1-0 with 5:29 left in the opening period.
That remained the score entering the second quarter, and the pace of play remained stagnant. With just a minute into the period, Patrick Thompson was charged with a blue card for holding. St. Louis was unable to capitalize on the power play, but just five seconds after the playing field evened, Cody Costakis netted another goal for the Ambush.
Syracuse remained down by two goals, for the ensuing seven minutes before Joey Tavernese headed one in to cut the deficit to one with four minutes to go before half.
"I just try to get the scrappy goals," said Tavernese following the win. "It's indoor. There are a lot of rebounds, the boards are there. We always say, 'the boards are your friend.'"
The Ambush took a 2-1 lead into the locker room.
"I think we came out a little complacent," said Head Coach Ryan Hall. "A little lackadaisical in terms of thinking St. Louis, having nothing to play for, was just going to roll over. That was just not the case. They came out and flew at us."
In the second half, the tempo picked up for Syracuse. Off a free kick attempt, Kenardo Forbes found Nate Bourdeau patrolling to the left of the box to tie the game at two apiece.
With momentum in the favor of the Silver Knights, Ben Ramin found Slavisa Ubiparipovic streaking down the right sideline for a goal.
And, with the lead, Syracuse didn't look back. A man-up chance allowed Kenardo Forbes to shoot one through to extend the lead to 4-2.
The Silver Knights took their two-score lead into the final period. After Logan Roberts was given a blue card for holding, the Ambush got one back on the power play from Pepe.
The four goals proved to be enough for the Silver Knights, fighting off a sixth attackman late in the contest.
"It's a game of swings, a game of momentum," said Hall. "This team last year would've folded. But this team has battled through a lot of adversity and they come out and dig in, and to their credit they battled in the second half and pulled out a win."
Andrew Coughlin finished the day with 12 saves in the victory. Tavernese and Forbes each tallied one goal and one assist.
The next time the Silver Knights take the field is Saturday, February 24 in Harrisburg. The next Syracuse home game is the following day when the Silver Knights host the Milwaukee Wave at 4:05. For information on tickets and more, call 315-303-7261 or log on to syracusesilverknights.com.
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from February 18, 2018
- Tropics erase three-goal deficit but late goal breaks hearts as San Diego wins, 5-4 - Florida Tropics SC
- Incomplete Rampage Hang Tough in 9-6 Loss in Monterrey - Cedar Rapids Rampage
- Third Quarter Rally Propels Syracuse to 4-3 Win over St. Louis - Syracuse Silver Knights
- Ambush Get Swept by Syracuse - St. Louis Ambush
- Barracudas conclude home schedule - Cedar Rapids Rampage
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