ST. LOUIS, MO (August 3, 2010) – AC St. Louis, playing in the USSF Division 2 Pro League, find themselves in a good news, bad news situation as the last third of the season begins. The bad news is the club are just four points out of a playoff position with ten matches remaining, the good news is seven of those final ten matches will be played at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park.

Eight teams from the 12-member U.S.S.F. Division II Pro League will make the playoffs. The teams are simply determined by the best eight point totals at the end of the season. For AC St. Louis to be one of those eight means there is still some work to be done. St. Louis, with a record of 5-10-5, has three more home games left on their current five-game home stand. Friday night AC St. Louis will host the Vancouver Whitecaps in what could be a critical game for the expansion side. AC St. Louis has begun their current home stand in good fashion with a win and a draw, but the time for getting three points from each match has come. So, what will it take for AC St. Louis to get over the hump?

“The first thing that has to happen is our mentality in training has to get better,” stated head coach Dale Schilly. “We have to be more competitive in practice. Training sessions have to be more intense. This has to happen so when we are in our games and competing to try and hold onto leads we’ll be able to finish games off.”

“It is about consistency at this point, finding a way to get results,” said defender Zach Bauer. “We have a good chance because of our schedule. There are points there to be taken. If we can get wins here at home, and stay out of the losing column we’ll be right there.”

Finishing games off will be critical, and it is that area of the game that has given St. Louis problems, most notably against Minnesota. Last Sunday night’s game encapsulated why St. Louis find themselves outside a playoff position. Up 1-0 late AC St. Louis allowed an equalizer, retook the lead, and then allowed a stoppage time equalizer. AC St. Louis has been just a few minutes away from claiming a win in all three league games with Minnesota. Instead, the club has dropped seven of nine potential points because of late goals allowed. Those seven points loom large here in August. Points can’t be made up, but AC St. Louis has to earn every point they can here in the next few weeks.

“We are going to have to earn some draws as well as keep some wins,” said Schilly. “With our current fitness level I am concerned about us drawing games because we give it away at the end. I don’t see prepared to earn points when we are behind in the game.”

Playing with the lead will be critical for AC St. Louis. The first goal scored sets the tone for the whole match. When AC St. Louis scores first the club is 5-1-3, when the opposition scores first they are 0-9-1. Further good news for St. Louis is that they look to have found their scoring touch early in this home stand. Mike Ambersley and Luke Kreamalmeyer each paced St. Louis with multi-goal games over the past week. Plus, Chris Salvaggione and Jeff Cosgriff have struck the back of the net in the past month.

“We will continue to raise the bar in practice and make sure guys are competing for the full extent of the training session,” declared Schilly. “Doing that should help us finish games.”

“It is about consistency at this point, finding a way to get results,” said defender Zach Bauer. “We have a good chance because of our schedule. There are points there to be taken. If we can get wins here at home, and stay out of the losing column we’ll be right there.”