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Lance Parker Signs With FC Edmonton in NASL

Former Missouri State Bear goalkeeper Lance Parker is trading in his flip flops and shorts for the cooler environs of Edmonton, Canada. Parker has signed with FC Edmonton, one of eight teams in the North American Soccer League (NASL) that has been provisionally-add

Parker moves to Edmonton from NASL team Miami FC, soon to be renamed the Strikers.

The 25-year old goalie started his career at Missouri State University, where he was twice named All Missouri Valley Conference second team and posted a goal-against average of below one. While with the Missouri State Bears he also played with the Colorado Rapids U-23 team. Parker was signed to Chivas USA in 2008.The American goalkeeper played in the 2008 North American Superliga for Chivas. He was with Miami for two years.high class escorts dubai

RIP – AC St Louis

AC St Louis logoAs first reported on the Inside Minnesota soccer website, AC St Louis is no longer in business. The remaining employees were let go this week according to the story. The story also offers information on the AB Soccer Complex:

Cooper is believed to still be looking for a buyer of A-B Park, which was given to him by Anheuser-Busch in 2009 to help Cooper’s bid to bring an MLS team to St. Louis. There were conditions placed on the special warranty deed by Anheuser-Busch that would have required Cooper to have an MLS or D1 team playing in the stadium and that he’d need to add an additional 4,000 seats to the stadium. If Cooper did not meet those conditions Anheuser-Busch could reclaim the property and sell it to a public entity or not-for-profit charitable entity. But Cooper told IMS last fall that he was able to remove those special conditions this past summer which would allow him to sell the park to whomever he wanted.

The story has received broad coverage in the St Louis press since the story broke on Monday.

St Louis Business Journal AC St Louis Shuts Down

St Louis Post-Dispatch AC St Louis Goes Out of Business

St Louis Post-Dispatch Pro Team May Be Dead But Soccer Park Isn’t For Sale

Today, Anheuser-Busch released a brief statement noting that the company has “no continuing claim” to the property. Cooper told Timmermann that he won’t make any public comments about the folding of the team until later this week.

When asked via e-mail whether the soccer park is for sale or if youth league play scheduled there will be affected, team spokesman Tony Hubert said that there is “no news” about the facility and that “the status of the Soccer Park remains unchanged.”

I’d dispute the article headline based upon the quote offered. Cooper has withdrawn his support from St Louis Scott Gallagher in addition to cutting his losses with the shutdown of the women’s team and now the NASL team. There is no reason for him to maintain what appears to be a money-losing facility prone to flooding. Hey Lake Country Soccer, I’d say it’s time to bid for the State High School tournament now!

Again, from the Inside MN Soccer website:

Their first home game was April 17, 2010 with an attendance of 5,695. It was played against the Austin Aztex in which St. Louis lost 2-1. The team’s last home game was October 2 with an attendance of 3,447. They played the Rhinos and lost 2-1.

Average attendance for AC St. Louis was 2,750 which was 7th highest in the league. The team’s highest attendance was 5,695, which was their home opener mentioned above. Total attendance for 2010 season was 41,252.

AC St. Louis finished up their first and only season going 7-15-8 and ended up in 11th place in the 12 team league.

I was on hand for that inaugural game and captured the first ever goal scored by the team on video

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Chris Shuler Joins AC St Louis

Chris Shuler, Real Salt Lake
Chris Shuler, Real Salt Lake
From the St Louis Globe Democrat: Chris Schuler, a 22-year-old former All-America defender at Creighton University, has been loaned to AC St. Louis by Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer. Schuler will be with AC for at least four games, starting with Wednesday night’s match in Montreal.

The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Schuler was born in St. Louis and grew up in Aurora, Ill. He red-shirted his freshman season at Indiana University before transferring to Creighton, where he played for former Saint Louis University coach Bob Warming. Schuler made the All-Missouri Valley Conference team three times. A third-round selection in the 2010 MLS draft, Schuler has not appeared in any of Real Salt Lake’s games.

Note: Shuler’s father Chris is a Springfield referee and his cousin’s include Michael (Kickapoo/Missouri State) and Tyler Bennett (Kickapoo/Oglethorpe), both Springfield SC players.

Although with a record of 3-9-4 and in last place in the NASL Conference of the Division 2 Pro League, AC is still in the running for a playoff berth with 14 matches to go. The team lost to Montreal last Wednesday night, 0-3 with Shuler starting and playing the whole game. The team followed that up with a 1-0 win over Baltimore on Saturday with Shuler playing the entire match. AC St Louis is hosting the Portland Timbers this evening.what are female escorts

AC St Louis Face LA Galaxy Tonight In US Open Cup

Dale Schilly, AC St Louis debut (on left)
Dale Schilly, AC St Louis debut (on left)

ST. LOUIS, MO (June 29, 2010) – AC St. Louis of the U.S.S.F. Division II Pro League will face the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer tonight in a third-round match in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Kick-of is set for 9:30 p.m. CT from The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Fans can follow the action on Match Commentary this evening at www.ac-stlouis.com and at lagalaxy.com.

AC St. Louis has advanced to tonight’s game by registering back-to-back 1-0 road wins over the Des Moines Menace and the NSC Minnesota Stars. Tonight will be the first game this season for the Galaxy in this competition. Major League Soccer teams enter the U.S. Open Cup in the third-round, just as English Premier League teams enter the FA Cup in the third round. Los Angeles has previously won the U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and 2005. The Galaxy have an all-time record of 4-1 in third-round matches.

Tonight’s matchup is one of polar opposites in the standings of professional soccer in the United States. The Los Angeles Galaxy enter tonight’s game with the best record in Major League Soccer, 10-1-3, plus the Galaxy have allowed only four goals throughout their MLS season. Meanwhile, AC St. Louis is at the foot of the U.S.S.F. Division II table with a mark of 2-7-2. However, AC St. Louis has turned their slow start around by recording a 4-3-2 record in all competitions since May 1. Furthermore, St. Louis is unbeaten and un-scored upon in their last four outings.

Jeremy Alumbaugh with Dale Schilly, State Semifinals, Nov 2009
Jeremy Alumbaugh with Dale Schilly, State Semifinals, Nov 2009
On a related note, AC St Louis has a new head coach in Dale Schilly who is the man that lured Jeremy Alumbaugh to St Louis. Schilly previously has overseen the club formerly known as Metro United, now St. Louis Scott Gallagher Illinois, for the past 15 years. Schilly has 14 years of experience as a head coach with the Region II Olympic Development program, and has over 25 years of coaching experience at the youth and collegiate levels. This is his first head coaching role with a professional team.

“I was excited about the opportunity to work here in St. Louis, my hometown,” said Schilly. “I want to help develop the pro game in this area. It is something that this community has been starving for quite a while. I am looking forward to helping out.”

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AC St Louis And Athletica In Trouble?

AC St Louis logoWebsite MLS Talk is reporting that there is financial trouble within the AC St Louis family that may lead to the NASL men’s team and WPS women’s team folding. From their story:

Athletic Club of Saint Louis is on the verge of folding its North American Soccer League and Women’s Professional Soccer clubs, sources have confirmed. The club’s weakened cash reserves may not allow them to make their next payroll obligations, and despite ongoing conversations amongst the United States Soccer Federation, NASL, and WPS, no plan is currently in place which will allow the teams to complete their 2010 seasons.

The situation came to light when AC St. Louis failed to make a regular payment to the NASL league office. Each club within NASL periodically sends money to the league office to cover the owner-operated league’s operating costs. Upon investigation, the NASL learned the Jeff Cooper-led group did not have the cash reserves to meet the obligation or its future operating expenses.

This would be a blow to St Louis soccer should the pro teams fold. It may have an impact on the St Louis Scott Gallagher programs in Missouri and Illinois as well.

The Post-Dispatch dug into the details a bit further in their story Athletica, AC St. Louis rumors

But something is going on. WPS has released a statement that says:

“We’re aware of the situation in St. Louis. The League’s Owners continue to review and monitor the situation in conjunction with the US Soccer Federation.”

Asked what the situation is, the response was that there would be no further comment. U.S. Soccer says pretty much the same thing, that they “are aware of some challenges that are currently going on and we are diligently working through the situation.” The NASL is referring all inquiries to U.S. Soccer, since they run the league.

So there’s “a situation” of some sort. The team has had no comment, and all most people over there know seem to know are the rumors that they’ve read online.

Finally, Inside Minnesota Soccer, which has distinguished itself in it’s coverage of the NASL/USSF 2nd Division soccer including the season preview I pointed to last month, offers some additional information on both AC St Louis and Crystal Palace Baltimore:

Several sources are saying that Cooper has indeed left his post of the two troubled teams and “has distanced himself from the club.” One source believed that operating expenses of the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, which was given to Cooper’s group last summer, was the main culprit of cost overruns.

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