SGF Soccer

Southwest Missouri's Soccer Resource

NASL

AC St Louis Draw 5695, Fall 1-2 to Austin Aztex

Fans Celebrate At AC St Louis home opener
Fans Celebrate At AC St Louis home opener
I had an excellent time at the AC St Louis home opener on Saturday night as Athletic Club of St Louis pulled out all the stops to put on a professional event for the fans. With over five thousand fans in attendance, including the Knights fan club featured in the photo above, the atmosphere was what St Louis deserves as home to one of the strongest soccer traditions in the country. I had the great fortune to see Hall-of-Fame member Harry Keough with his son Ty in advance of the game and they were kind enough to give me a short interview. As Harry noted, it’s been much too long since we’ve had professional soccer.

The game featured a new team (AC St Louis) and a second year team (Austin) and as such was a bit rough around the edges, especially for the local boys. There are game reviews from the Post-Dispatch and the AC Fanatic, a new fan site, that offer more details. I’ve got a few photos from the game but as we’ve experienced before at the High School tournament, the lighting limited my opportunities. I haven’t found any other photos so I’m not the only one who experienced that problem.

I did have some good luck capturing the first ever goal scored by AC St Louis on video, check it out below:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj3VZEHVqnY]

All-in-all, I’d say that I think you and your family would enjoy an AC St Louis game. I know I plan on attending several this year, especially since it’s easier for me to visit St Louis than it is Kansas City. The schedule is available on my overall soccer calendar so you can stay up-to-date.

[smugmug url=”http://sgfsoccer.smugmug.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=11893203_23ryS&format=rss200″ title=”Support%20this%20site%20-%20purchase%20pictures%20of%20your%20favorite%20player%21″ description=”Click%20on%20any%20photo%20or%20the%20link%20at%20the%20bottom%20to%20be%20taken%20to%20purchasing%20site” imagecount=”24″ start=”1″ num=”12″ thumbsize=”Th” link=”smugmug” captions=”true” sort=”true” window=”false” smugmug=”true” size=”M”]dubai babes

AC St Louis Loses At Carolina

AC St Louis logoWell, I don’t think this bodes well for the team, not when you open your first game like this. The idea that one player is valuable enough to play short a man for almost an entire half? Hmmm

From the St Louis Post-Dispatch – A.C. St Louis Drops Opener 2-0

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a game where a team started with 10 men and then finished with 11, but that’s what AC St. Louis did in its first-ever game. Midfielder Manuel Kante didn’t have his ID with him — he’s registered with the U.S. Soccer Federation, but still had to prove who he was — and had to go back to the team hotel to get it. Since he was on the roster that coach Claude Anelka had given to the officials, if someone had gone in in his place, Kante wouldn’t be able to return and it would cost AC one of its subs.

The team might want to consider a hotel closer to the stadium next time. Kante missed the first 37 minutes or so and by the time he got back, AC was down 2-0. It was a pretty rough start for AC, which could barely get the ball past midfield. Once the game got back to 11 v. 11, it wasn’t quite as lopsided, though I’d say Carolina still had the better of the run of play.

australia escorts

AC St Louis Preview By Inside Minnesota Soccer

AC St Louis logoThe website Inside Minnesota Soccer is the go-to source for USSF Division II soccer news, the category directly below Major League Soccer. Site operator Brian Quarstad has compiled team previews for each of the 12 teams competing this year including AC St Louis. The league includes the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps, both of whom will be joining MLS in 2011.

This new USSF Division-2 Pro League will see the addition of 4 new teams this season. Crystal Palace Baltimore moves up from Division III to Division II. Also joining the league are the NSC Minnesota Stars, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who return to outdoor soccer after 17 years and AC St. Louis, the first outdoor pro team in over 30 years for the St. Louis area.

This year’s table will find 12 teams broken into 2 conferences: The NASL and USL.

The NASL conference includes: AC St. Louis, Carolina Railhawks, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Miami FC, Montreal Impact and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Here is Brian’s preview of AC St Louis and the other 11 teams

AC ST. LOUIS
Founded 2010
Stadium: Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park: SSS – Grass (capacity: 6,200)
Conference: NASL
Last season’s record: NASL Expansion Team
Head coach: Claude Anelka (1st Year)
Key players: Steve Ralston, Luke Kreamalmeyer, Jack Traynor
Team Website
Roster

by Dave Lange – St. Louis Globe Democrat

If one person could be the face of AC St. Louis, it would be midfielder Steve Ralston.

He’s a St. Louisan, the first player signed by the team, and he’s a question mark.

Question marks abound in any discussion of AC St. Louis. They’re a new team, led by a coach with questionable credentials that is trying to assimilate players with widely varying experience.

Ralston, a 14-year MLS veteran, is coming back from a knee injury and he’s 36 years old. Whether or not he can take the field when the season opens April 10 is anybody’s guess.

Ralston has a dual role as player-assistant coach, a considerable asset for head coach Claude Anelka. Anelka, the brother of Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka, coached Scotland’s Raith Rovers to only one of a potential 24 points before stepping aside as coach in 2004. His only other coaching experience was with France’s FC Trappes and with youth soccer in Florida.

Anelka and Ralston have a few players that USL soccer followers may recognize: defenders Tim Velten (Charleston, Rochester, Harrisburg) and Jack Traynor (Miami), and midfielder Luke Kreamalmeyer (Carolina, Portland, Rochester). All three are natives of the St. Louis area. AC St. Louis made a conscious effort to sign local players from St. Louis, a city rich in soccer heritage. The team started training camp with seven St. Louis natives, including 23-year-old goalkeeper Chad Becker.

Goalkeeper Alex Duffy (one game with New York Red Bulls of MLS last season) signed just before camp opened.

St. Louis’ most experienced international player is Brazilian right winger Gauchinho, who played four seasons in Denmark’s second division.

A good indication of the team’s potential figured to be a friendly in Kansas City March 19 against the MLS Wizards. The Wiz won 2-0, but a stiff wind and sub-freezing temperatures made conditions far from ideal. AC gets a second chance when the Wizards come to St. Louis for a preseason rematch April 3.
oriental dubai escorts

AC St Louis Opens NASL Season At Carolina Saturday

https://www.google.com/calendar/images/calendar_plus_en.gifThe 2010 USSF Division-2 Pro League season will kick off this weekend with eight teams in action. The Carolina RailHawks will host the first of two opening-day matches when first-year club AC St. Louis visits WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., on Saturday, April 10 at 7 p.m. ET. That match will be closely followed by the contest between the Rochester Rhinos and Miami FC at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Two more matches round out the weekend on April 11 when the Montreal Impact visits the Austin Aztex at House Park in Austin, Texas, at 7 p.m. ET and the NSC Minnesota Stars head to Swangard Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, to take on Vancouver Whitecaps FC, also at 7 p.m. ET.

U.S. Soccer, in conjunction with Ooyala, a leading provider of end-to-end video platform applications and services, has announced that all 180 D-2 Pro League matches will be available to watch via streaming video free of charge. The live match video will be broadcast via the club websites, giving fans access to watch every game of the season at no cost. For local television coverage, fans and media should visit the participating team websites for a broadcast schedule.

Each of the 12 teams participating in the league will play 30 regular season games. The 12 teams are divided into two conferences – the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. The USL Conference includes Austin Aztex, NSC Minnesota, Portland Timbers, Puerto Rico Islanders, Rochester Rhinos and Tampa Bay Rowdies. The NASL Conference will consist of Crystal Palace Baltimore, Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC, Montreal Impact, AC St. Louis and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

The season will come to an end on Oct. 3, with the playoffs beginning the following week. Eight teams will advance to the postseason, with the winners of each conference earning the top two seeds. The next six teams with the most points during the regular season from either conference will also move on to the playoffs.

The first round, semifinal round and championship will be home-and-away series determined by aggregate goals. The final details for the playoff dates and location of the championship match will be announced at a later date.

Opening Weekend Matches (all times ET)

April 10, 2010
AC St. Louis at Carolina RailHawks; 7 p.m.
WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, N.C.
Rochester Rhinos at Miami FC; 7:30 p.m.
Lockhart Stadium; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

April 11, 2010
Montreal Impact at Austin Aztex; 7 p.m.
House Park; Austin, Texas

NSC Minnesota Stars at Vancouver Whitecaps; 7 p.m.
Swangard Stadium; Vancouver, British Columbia

For more information, please visit the websites of the participating D-2 Pro League clubs:

AC St. Louis: ac-stlouis.com
Austin Aztex: austinaztex.com
Carolina RailHawks: carolinarailhawks.com
Crystal Palace Baltimore: palacebaltimore.com
Miami FC: miamifc.com
Montreal Impact: montrealimpact.com
NSC Minnesota Stars: nscminnesota.org
Portland Timbers: portlandtimbers.com
Puerto Rico Islanders: prislandersfc.com
Rochester Rhinos: rhinossoccer.com
Tampa Bay Rowdies: fctampabay.com
Vancouver Whitecaps: whitecapsfc.combeautiful escorts

St Louis Double Header Saturday – Wizards vs AC St Louis, SLU vs SIUE

AC St Louis logoHere’s some good news. It’s only a Spring exhibition game but it’s a good start – the renewal of the SLU vs SIU-Edwardsville Bronze Boot game that used to draw 20,000 fans to Busch Stadium in the 80’s and was played into the 90’s.

AC St. Louis, playing in the USSF Division 2 Pro League, announced that the classic rivalry between St. Louis University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is back. The teams will play at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park for a special spring edition. The game will take place prior to AC St. Louis facing the Kansas City Wizards from Major League Soccer on Saturday night April 3.

SLU Billikens vs SIU-Edwardsville Cougars – 5 p.m.
AC St. Louis vs Kansas City – 7 p.m.
AB Soccer Park, Fenton, MO

SIUE and SLU met in the Bronze Boot Classic for many years when both schools were NCAA Division I, but the series was stopped when the Cougars dropped to D-II status. SIUE recently returned tio NCAA Division I.
Tickets for the match can be obtained by calling the AC St. Louis box office at 1-888-STL-GOAL.dubai escort me