Major Arena Soccer League – Florida Tropics fall to St. Louis Ambush
Ambush by name, ambush by nature. Just don’t ask any Florida Tropics fans how they feel at the moment as they watched their team lose a match they should have won comfortably.
With the Tropics leading 5-2 going into the final quarter, the Ambush whacked an astonishing five goals past the home side in a stunning fifteen minute spell to take only their second league victory this season by a 7-5 scoreline.
It was our first foray into the world of Major Arena Soccer last weekend and it was quite the match to make our debut at. The Tropics play at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland and the evening turned out to be a lot of fun with quite a story-line at the end.
Arena soccer is a fast-paced game with lots of action from end to end. It is very similar to the outdoor game but arena soccer does have a few slight modifications.
Each team plays with 5 field players and a goalkeeper. The goalkeeper can use his hands only inside the penalty box but one of the quirks of the game comes late on when the team that is behind may choose to have a field player substitute in for the goalkeeper to create an attacking advantage. This player is referred to as a 6th Attacker and that player wears a jersey with a different color than his teammates to delineate who he is and the fact that he can use his hands inside his own penalty box. In England, we used to call them “rush back goalies” in playground kickabouts!
The game is played within walls and the ball is live at all times that it is in the field of play. A common sight is for players to bounce the ball off the wall as they pass to teammates or create attacking opportunities. If the ball goes over the wall and into the stands or netting, the ball is considered out of bounds and is then kicked in from the spot nearest where it went out of bounds.
Fouls committed during MASL games are penalized with a direct kick but if the foul is severe enough, the referee may show the player who committed the foul a blue, yellow or red card.
- Blue Card – A Blue Card indicates a two-minute timed penalty. The committing player will have to spend two minutes in the penalty box or sin bin as Ice Hockey followers would call it. His team cannot replace him on the field during those two minutes, resulting in a ‘Power Play ‘ man advantage for the opposing team. If a goalkeeper receives a Blue Card, his team can choose another field player to serve his penalty for him. If his team is scored on before the two minutes expire, the player is excused from the remainder of the timed penalty.
- Yellow Card – A Yellow Card indicates a Misconduct Penalty and results in the committing player spending five minutes in the Penalty Box. A player serving a Misconduct Penalty can be replaced on the field and his team will not be short-handed.
- Red Card – Violent conduct, serious foul play and penalty accumulation are some of the reasons a referee might show a Red Card, resulting in the committing player’s immediate ejection from the game. Following the ejection, the committing team will send a different player to serve a two-minute timed player and his team will not be able to replace him on the field during those two minutes, resulting in a ‘Power Play ‘ man advantage for the opposing team.
So that’s about it, the rules are simple and clear. And then the action begins and it is really fast paced non stop action just like hockey as players come onto and leave the field anytime just as long as they don’t cross the six players on the field barrier.
Back to the game… Florida built a 5-2 lead after three quarters, with two goals each from Victor Parrieras and Anthony Arico. The lead was somewhat overstated as the Ambush had looked a very decent side but no-one saw what was going to come next as the Ambush started the comeback with goals just 13 seconds apart by Jerjer Gibson and Joao Pepe made it 5-4 just 90 seconds into the fourth. The first came when Gibson found himself open near the goal and scored off a pass from Richard Schmermund at 1:08 of the fourth quarter. Seconds later, it became a one goal game when Pepe scored his second of the match at 1:57 to make the score 5-4. Clayton “Pedaleira” Matheus scored the equalizer for St. Louis when he took a restart pass from Pablo Da Silva and fired it into the net at 4:39.
St. Louis then went on a power play when Florida’s JP Reyes was sent to the penalty box with a blue card for contact above the shoulder at 7:58 and the visitors took full advantage of the opportunity as Da Silva gave the Ambush their first lead of the contest (6-5) with his second goal at 7:58. With Ricardinho in as the sixth attacker for Florida, Nestor Hernandez then sealed things as he scored an empty-netter with 11 seconds left on the clock to nail down the 7-5 win.
The win was only the second of the year for St. Louis, now 2-11 while Florida fell to 6-6, and is just 3-4 at home this season.
The Tropics play again this Saturday 20th January when the Kansas City Comets visit. Tickets are available at www.fltropics.com, or by calling 863-240-0101.
Go along with your family and friends… have fun! It’s exciting!
More photos at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
