Team Set For Third Round Showdown With LA Galaxy Tonight

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.

Galaxy head coach, and former United States manager, Bruce Arena stated to the Galaxy’s website that tonight’s match will afford him the chance to try some new player combinations, but added, “We’re not in this competition to lose.”

New AC St. Louis head coach Dale Schilly will be at the helm for his second game. Schilly replaced Claude Anelka, brother of France international Nicolas Anelka, last week. Schilly’s debut on Saturday night resulted in an impressive 0-0 draw against the league leading Vancouver Whitecaps. Tonight Schilly will lead a relatively healthy St. Louis squad onto the pitch. The only notable absence due to injury will be defender Zach Bauer, who is still recovering from a fractured foot. St. Louis will also be without holding midfielder Manuel Kante. Kante, as well as defender Christian Nzinga, mutually agreed to part ways with the club on Monday.

Dale Schilly is expected to field largely the same eleven that drew Vancouver 0-0 on Saturday night, and will probably use the same formation as he continues to evaluate the strength and weaknesses of his team.

“I am still looking at what we have and just getting a handle on everyone,” said Schilly. “I need to see who has what abilities and how best to use them. This will be a growing process, but Saturday night showed what this team can do.”

Schilly has already made a slight tactical change, one that helped establish more St. Louis ball possession during Saturday night’s match.

“We use to play a 4-5-1, and now we are more 4-4-2 with our wingers now in play. We stay a little higher and talk more, so when we win the ball we can utilize Gauchinho more, and set up Mike Ambersley better,” explained goalkeeper Alec Dufty. “Before Saturday night the other teams were in our half almost 60 minutes of every game. We were coming together, but against Vancouver we showed how organized and how good we can be defensively.”

Another good defensive performance will be needed tonight if AC St. Louis is to advance to the quarter-final round where they would meet either the Seattle Sounders or Portland Timbers on July 6.

Following their match in Los Angeles on Tuesday AC St. Louis returns home next Saturday night for a July 3 match against the Carolina Railhawks. Tickets are still available and can be obtained by calling 1-888-STL-GOAL, or by visiting www.ac-stlouis.com.

ABOUT AC ST. LOUIS
AC St. Louis will play its first year of professional soccer in the USSF Division 2 Pro League in 2010. The team was formally launched in November of 2009. AC St. Louis will play their home games at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in suburban St. Louis. Season tickets and group tickets for AC St. Louis are currently on sale. For information call 1-888-STL-GOAL.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Article One:

Team Prepares For Third Round Showdown With Galaxy

ST. LOUIS, MO (June 26, 2010) – AC St. Louis set off for Los Angeles on Monday afternoon as they get set for a third round matchup in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against the Los Angeles Galaxy. The match will kick-off at 9:30 p.m. CT tomorrow night at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Monday morning saw the club go through a 90-minute training session at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park where the club worked on physical and tactical training. Dale Schilly and his staff put the club through their paces before the team departed for their mid-afternoon flight to Los Angeles.

Schilly made his debut as head coach for AC St. Louis on Saturday night. The match produced a 0-0 draw for St. Louis against the first place Vancouver Whitecaps, which runs their unbeaten streak to four games. The shutout was also the fourth clean sheet in a row for AC St. Louis and goalkeeper Alec Dufty. Head Coach Dale Schilly and his team have had a chance to reflect on their first game together and Schilly likes what he has seen from the club, but more importantly he likes what he is hearing.

“When we got together on Sunday morning to discuss the game I asked the players how they thought they did,” said Schilly. “And the sentiment in the locker room was that they were happy they posted a shutout, happy that they earned a point, but upset that they did not take advantage of their chances and earn all three points. You like to hear that as coach.”

The players are also responding to what Schilly is trying to instill; namely an environment people want to be a part of and feel comfortable in.

“I think everyone is happy. Things are different now, and it will probably be a short adjustment period,” said midfielder Luke Kreamalmeyer. “I think Dale Schilly is a coach who is very detail oriented. He explains to everyone what they need to do, and gets everyone very well prepared.”

A better environment is just one aspect of what Schilly and his staff of John Vanbuskirk, Tim Leonard, and Blake Decker are trying to instill. They are also tasked with changing the approach and tactical style of the club, which will be a work in progress. That work got a jumpstart on Saturday night.

“We use to play a 4-5-1, and now we are more 4-4-2 with our wingers are now in play. We stay a little higher and talk more, so when we win the ball we can utilize Gauchinho more, and set up Mike Ambersley better,” explained goalkeeper Alec Dufty. “Before Saturday night the other teams where in our half almost 60 minutes of every game. We were coming together, but against Vancouver we showed how organized and how good we can be defensively.”

Following their match in Los Angeles on Tuesday AC St. Louis returns home next Saturday night for a July 3 match against the Carolina Railhawks. Tickets are still available and can be obtained by calling 1-888-STL-GOAL, or by visiting www.ac-stlouis.com.

AC St. Louis also announced on Monday that midfielder Manuel Kante and defender Christian Nzinga have reached a mutual agreement with the club to forego the remainder of their contracts.