ST. LOUIS, MO (June 25, 2010) – AC St. Louis will host the Vancouver Whitecaps for a 7:10 kick-off on Saturday night at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park. The game will be the first for new Head Coach Dale Schilly and his staff. The match can be viewed at www.ac-stlouis.com.

Schilly inherits a squad that is looking for their fourth straight win in all competitions. AC St. Louis has won back-to-back games in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup to advance to the third round of the competition where they will face the LA Galaxy in California on Tuesday night, June 29. The team is also coming off their first road win in U.S.S.F Division 2 Professional League play courtesy of their 1-0 win over Puerto Rico on June 12.

Dale Schilly and his staff; consisting of John Vanbuskirk, Tim Leonard, and Blake Decker, have put the team through two practice sessions leading into Saturday night’s match.

“Practice was great. The guys were very eager and motivated,” stated Schilly. “They are looking forward to taking the next step, and I am looking forward to taking it with them.”

The club is perhaps as healthy as it has been all year with just three players, Gilbert Pogosyan, Anthony O”Garro, and James McCarthy, sidelined through injury. Defender Zach Bauer has returned to practice after recovering from a broken foot, his status remains questionable.

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.”

As for Saturday’s night match fans can expect a tight affair. The last time these two clubs met produced a 1-0 win for Vancouver, but since that road game in April AC St. Louis is 4-3-1 in all competitions. St. Louis has scored in seven of their last eight games while posting four shutouts in that same stretch. Meanwhile, Vancouver scores just a goal per game, but allows even less. So far the Whitecaps have conceded just seven times in their 12 matches this year, meaning goals may be at a premium this Saturday night.