ST. LOUIS, MO – AC St. Louis, playing in the USSF Division 2 Pro League, will face the Austin Aztex on Saturday night in Austin, Texas. The match can be view live at www.ac-stlouis.com at 7:30 p.m. CDT Saturday night. The game is the second in a four-game road trip for AC St. Louis that began on Wednesday night in Minnesota. St. Louis held a 2-0 lead late in the game, and withstood a furious Minnesota rally to hold on for a 2-2 draw and a valuable road point. St. Louis will conclude their road trip next week with matches in Montreal and Baltimore.

On paper Saturday night’s match in Austin may look like a mismatch since it pits the league’s best record against the league’s worst. The reality is AC St. Louis is a team playing completely different soccer from their first two months of the season. St. Louis has climbed back into playoff contention, and depending on other results could possibly catapult themselves into a playoff spot with a win on Saturday night.

The recent form table shows that both these clubs have been tough to beat lately. Austin is 2-1-2 in their last five matches, while AC St. Louis is 1-1-2. A tight game can be expected since each team has only lost once in their last five outings. St. Louis will also have a degree of revenge on their mind since it was the Austin Aztex’s that spoiled their home opener back on April 17. A second half goal by Leonard Griffin that night broke a 1-1 deadlock to give Austin the victory.

The St. Louis offense has come together in the past few matches. St. Louis has scored the first goal of the game for three matches running, and they have carried a lead past the 80th minute in all three. Only some late goals by Vancouver and Minnesota have prevented St. Louis from being on a three-game winning streak versus a three-game unbeaten streak.

The St. Louis defense will need to be sharp Saturday evening because Austin brings the best attack in the league with 28 goals in just 16 matches. Their nearly two-goals per game scoring clip is by the far the highest in the league. The flip side of that coin is that the Aztex have allowed slightly more than a goal per game. St. Louis’ goals for and goals against are slightly misleading due to the expansion teams slow start. Over the past six league matches AC St. Louis has registered a positive goal differential of +2, scoring seven times while conceding five.

Head Coach Dale Schilly will have 17 players to select from as his squad plays their second game in just four days. Chris Salvaggione, Luke Kreamalmeyer, and Jeff Cosgriff have supplied the offensive production of late. Salvaggione and Cosgriff have scored in back-to-back games, becoming the first duo for AC St. Louis to ever accomplish that feat. Mike Amberlsey will be looking to get in on the offensive action as well. AC’s leading goal scorer with four has not tallied a strike since June 22 in Minnesota.

Saturday night’s forecast calls for some goals, and for a close match with the outcome decided late. A win for AC St. Louis would move them to 16 points after 16 games, which would be the best indicator that this club is headed in the right direction.

AC St. Louis next returns home on Saturday July 28 match against the Portland Timbers. Tickets are still available and can be obtained by calling 1-888-STL-GOAL, or by visiting www.ac-stlouis.com.