Saint Louis FC

Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wide Technology Soccer Park.

For the women's team, see FC St. Louis. For the MLS expansion team, see St. Louis City SC.

Saint Louis FC
Full nameSaint Louis Football Club
FoundedMay 1, 2014 (2014-05-01)
DissolvedOctober 17, 2020 (2020-10-17)
StadiumWest Community Stadium
Fenton, Missouri
Capacity5,500[1]
OwnerSLSG Pro LLC
CEOJim Kavanaugh
Head coachSteve Trittschuh
LeagueUSL Championship
20208th, Eastern Conference
Playoffs: Semifinals
WebsiteClub website

History

SLSG Pro LLC (affiliated with St. Louis area youth club St. Louis Scott Gallagher) was awarded the USL Pro franchise on May 1, 2014.[2] That same day, the club announced that they would play their home games at the 5,500 seat World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton, Missouri. Dale Schilly, the youth club director of SLSG, was named head coach.[3]

On June 2, 2014, it was announced that the team's name was Saint Louis Football Club.[4]

Former AC St. Louis player Mike Ambersley was the first player signed to the team on January 13, 2015.[5]

On January 16, 2015, the team announced their affiliation with the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer.[6]

St. Louis FC played their inaugural game on March 28, 2015, losing to Louisville City 2–0.[7] Their first victory was against the Tulsa Roughnecks on April 2, 2015, winning 2–0. Jeremie Lynch scored the team's first ever goal in the 42nd minute.[8] Their home debut was a 1–1 draw against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on April 11, 2015, before of a sellout crowd of 5,280.[9] The team's first home win came against the Wilmington Hammerheads on May 9, 2015, with the winning goal by Sam Fink.[10]

On May 16, 2016, Saint Louis FC announced that they had acquired the PDL team Springfield Synergy FC and renamed the team as Saint Louis FC U-23.[11] On August 15, 2016, Saint Louis FC announced that Dale Schilly had been relieved of coaching duties; Tim Leonard was named as interim head coach.[12] On October 12, 2016, Saint Louis FC introduced Preki as the new head coach.[13]

On February 15, 2017, Saint Louis FC and the Chicago Fire did not renew their affiliation for the 2017 season.[14] On November 19, 2017, the club announced that Preki and the club were parting ways by mutual agreement.[15] Anthony Pulis joined the team from Orlando City B to take over the role of head coach the next day.[16]

On August 25, 2020, citing the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020, it was announced that the 2020 season would be the final season of operation for the club.[17]

Supporters

The official supporters group of Saint Louis FC was the St. Louligans. The St. Louligans were founded in 2010 when several local soccer fan groups joined forces at AC St. Louis home games. These small groups eventually decided to create a new group to unite them all, and the St. Louligans were born. They have provided strong support for a number of St. Louis area soccer teams, including AC St. Louis, Saint Louis Athletica, St. Louis Lions, and Illinois Piasa.[18]

Saint Louis FC worked closely with the St. Louligans to encourage their support, and on July 9, 2014, the club awarded the Louligans with the first Saint Louis FC season ticket. The group promised that for each home game, they would give a new fan the ticket as a way to encourage new fans to join the St. Louligans and support Saint Louis FC.[19]

Ahead of the inaugural 2015 season, the Louligans coordinated with the Coopers, supporters for Louisville City FC, to create the Kings' Cup rivalry competition between the two expansion teams. The rivalry was incredibly one-sided on the field in Louisville's favor, but the two SGs enjoy interacting with each other and traveling to each other's matches.[20]

The club conducted a fan vote to decide the team's crest.[4] The logo chosen includes a fleur-de-lis, which acts as the focal point of the logo and pays tribute to Saint Louis' French heritage. Also included in the logo is a reference to the year the city was founded, 1764, and five lines to represent the club's five core values: unity, humility, passion, respect, and tradition.[21]

Year-by-year
Season USL Championship Play-offs U.S. Open Cup Top Scorer
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Pos Player Goals
2015 28 8 9 11 30 40 −10 33 9th, Eastern did not qualify 4R United States Bryan Gaul 6
2016 30 8 10 12 42 44 −2 34 14th, Western did not qualify 3R El Salvador Irvin Herrera 14
2017 32 9 9 14 35 48 −13 36 12th, Eastern did not qualify 4R United States Christian Volesky 8
2018 34 14 11 9 44 38 +6 53 8th, Western Conference quarterfinals 3R United States Kyle Greig 13
2019 34 11 9 14 40 41 -1 42 11th, Eastern did not qualify Quarter-Finals England Tyler Blackwood
United States Sam Fink
United States Kyle Greig		 7
2020 16 7 4 5 22 21 +1 25 2nd, Eastern
Group E		 Conference semifinals Cancelled England Tyler Blackwood 6

Head coaches
  • Includes USL Regular season, USL Play-offs and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
CoachNationalityStartEndGamesWinLossDrawWin %
Dale Schilly  United States May 1, 2014 August 15, 2016 56 18 22 16 032.14
Tim Leonard (interim)  United States August 15, 2016 October 12, 2016 7 1 3 3 014.29
Preki  Serbia October 12, 2016 November 19, 2017 35 11 15 9 031.43
Anthony Pulis  Wales November 20, 2017 January 4, 2020 37 15 11 11 040.54
Steve Trittschuh  United States January 4, 2020 October 17, 2020 18 8 6 4 044.44

Player records

Statistics below show the all-time regular-season club leaders. Bold indicates active Saint Louis FC players.

CategoryRecord holderTotal
GamesUnited States Sam Fink (2015–2016, 2018)119
GoalsUnited States Kyle Greig (2018)20
AssistsEngland Lewis Hilton (2018–2019)11
Hat tricksEl Salvador Irvin Herrera (2016)1
ShutoutsUnited States Jake Fenlason (2019)7
WinsUnited States Mark Pais (2015–2016)7
  • All-time regular season record: 39–46–39 (Through 2018 season)

See also

References
  1. "Marshall Wireless Stadium". Saint Louis FC. April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  2. "USL PRO Announces St. Louis Expansion". United Soccer Leagues (USL). May 1, 2014. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  3. "Pro Soccer Returning to St. Louis in 2015". Riverfront Times. May 2, 2014. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  4. "Saint Louis FC to Join USL Pro Next Season". Saint Louis CBS Local. June 4, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  5. "Saint Louis FC Announces Mike Ambersley as First Signing". Jason McAdams. Reckless Challenge. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  6. "Saint Louis FC Announces Fire as MLS Affiliate". January 16, 2015. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  7. "STLFC loses inaugural game 2–0". Tom Timmermann. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 28, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  8. "Saint Louis FC Earns Historic First Win On Road". United Soccer League (USL). April 2, 2015. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  9. "St. Louis FC plays to draw in home debut". Joe Lyons. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 11, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  10. "Fink's Late Goal Leads STL FC to Home Victory". Saint Louis FC. May 9, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  11. "Saint Louis FC acquires PDL side Springfield Synergy FC". Saint Louis FC. May 16, 2016. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  12. "2016 Coaching Change". Saint Loius FC. August 15, 2016. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  13. "Saint Loius FC Names Preki As Head Coach". Saint Louis FC. October 12, 2016. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  14. "STLFC and Chicago Fire MLS Affiliation Announcement". Saint Louis FC. February 15, 2017. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  15. "STLFC PARTS WAYS WITH HEAD COACH PREKI". Saint Louis FC. November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  16. "STLFC Introduces Anthony Pulis as Head Coach". November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  17. "STLFC to Cease Operations after 2020 Season". August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  18. "St. Louligans". Saint Louis FC. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  19. "Saint Louis FC Awards First Season Ticket". Our Sports Central. July 10, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  20. ARLIA, JOHN (May 17, 2019). "Kings' Cup Brings Together Best of Frenemies". USL Championship.
  21. "Pro Soccer in St. Louis". Saint Louis FC. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
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