WHO:

St. Louis FC

WHAT:

A 3rd Round U.S. Open Cup match

WHEN:

Wednesday, May 23, 2018, 7:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Lynn Stadium

WATCH:

No stream again this week, folks. There are still tickets available for the game, and really, you should go. Lynn is really nice. It’s got a real soccer field and everything! Check out Louisville City’s website for ticket info – you can still go for $12, $15 on the non-sunbaked sideline. Do it. Otherwise, keep an eye out for the Coopers Twitter account for a dodgy Periscope stream, complete with historical references from the early 20th Century and probably further back in time.

MARCH:

The Tailgaters are starting again in the Bronze Lot by Cardinal Stadium (the pizza one, not the fairgrounds one) at around 2:00. St. Louis is bringing a small but probably very entertaining contingent over, so get down there and have some fun. March starts at about 6:30.

WHO, AGAIN?

Our dear friends from St. Louis. No one has said “Meet me in St. Louis” since the Dust Bowl, but they keep on keepin’ on in the [insert city nickname] City. St. Louis is on their fourth manager in four seasons. This time, Anthony Pulis has the reins and has done a pretty good job. Granted, that means STL is still out of a playoff spot, but it’s way too early in the season for people to start showing up at the soccer park in Fenton with bags on their heads.

Pulis was actually a pretty smart hire for St. Louis in my view. He did some pretty good things in a, shall we say, tenuous situation with Orlando City B and their halfassed attempt at a 2 team. Pulis obviously comes from a notable coaching family, and has a philosophy and style of play that is solid but generally effective. His Orlando teams were streaky, but when they were on, they were red hot.

His St. Louis sides haven’t quite hit that stride yet. They’ve managed to score in all but one of their matches so far, and have five draws in their ten league games. That’s a lot of draws. They’ve lost twice in six road games, winning just once. That’s not too bad. They’ve only scored more than once in one league game, a 6-3 defeat to a painfully bad Los Dos team. That’s kind of funny.

These guys are okay. They haven’t played since their Open Cup game in Duluth, Minnesota last week. They aren’t an offensive juggernaut, but they aren’t too bad defensively, either. It’d be nice for City to get a clean sheet again. Maybe this is the team to do it against. Then again, tired legs.

Players to watch for: Christian Volesky moved on recently, but Kyle Grieg is still there, and he’s still pretty good. Also, former Riverhound Corey Hertzog, and Wal Fall. Fall hasn’t played that much for STL, which kind of boggles my mind. Watch out for that guy for sure if he plays.

I don’t know what to make of this game. I’ll be super glad to see Sean Reynolds and Kadeem Dacres again, even if they’re on the other sideline. I hope Ownby’s ankle is okay, because we’re in a world of hurt if he isn’t available to play. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Pat McMahon. Most importantly, I’m hoping for a game that doesn’t go to extra time and that doesn’t end with another one of our players injured. This is a Kings’ Cup/Athletic Supporter Cup match, so I want to win, of course. So let’s go do that.

VAMOS MORADOS, VAMOS A GANAR!