FC ST. LOUIS JOURNEYS TO SHOW-ME

LOSES IN BRONZE

For the 3rd year in a row, the FC St. Louis side traveled to beautiful, & normally scorching hot, Columbia, Missouri, to participate in the Over-50 Mens bracket of the annual Show-Me Games fesitval last month. Under the guidence of the Vitale brothers, Nick & Steve, the previous two years found the FC STL side playing well but losing in the finals, taking the silver medal. This year, with a re-vamped line-up they hoped would get them over the hump, they aspired to take the gold. However, fate & the soccer gods worked against them, & it was not to be.

Before ever leaving St. Louis, two of their valuable defenders, Ed Dwyer & Mike Hogan, went down with injuries & didn't make the trip. These two injuries happened so late, they were unable to make any roster additions. This greatly hampered their effort & depth in the tourney. Additionally, they lost yet another player, Jim Ahearn in the first match & Nick Vitale in the 3rd match, to injuries. It just was not their year.

However, things started well. In their first match @ 10am on a beautiful, 75 degree, overcast day, versus a team from Maryville Illinois, they faced many players from the Granite City indoor soccer facility, Soccer For Fun. It wasn't fun for that side, as they absorbed a 7-2 defeat. FC STL was off to a good start. However, that all changed the next match.

Facing a team comprised mostly of players from south St. Louis & captained by John Brensic, FC STL suffered a 5-1 loss in the afternoon match. In the match, short-handed from the start, & facing a fully stacked southsider squad, they just didn't have a deep enough bench to counteract the wave upon wave of fresh substites the southsiders continued to throw at them. At the half it was 1-1, but in the 2nd, the southsiders ran past FC STL for another 4 goals, posting a convincing 5-1 win. Some of the southsiders were Bob Pollihan, Ike Bibas & Jake Heilich.

The 3rd match on Sunday morning, again featured unlikely Missouri August weather, somewhere in the high 70's & low 80's. The opponent this day for FC STL was a familiar foe, U City. Two years ago, FC STL faced U City in the championship match, only to lose 2-1 in penalty shots. Losing that match 1-0 late, they scored the tying goal with only a minute or two left in regulation. However, in the Show-Me, they don't play overtime, they go directly to penalty kicks. They were outscored 3-1, resulting in a 2-1 loss, taking the silver medal.

On this day, however, each team, having one loss apiece, would be playing for the bronze. Once again, FC STL fell to U City 1-0, this time in regulation. Unfortunately for FC STL, late in the first half they lost yet another player, Steve Vitale, to an injury, hampering their substitution even further & they just didn't have enough left in the tank to pull back even from the U City first half tally. They'd have to settle for fourth.

However, a great time was had by all & hopefully next year, they'll have a full roster to take to the Show-Me. It might make a difference.

In the thrilling championship match, featuring the Southsiders versus a north side team lead by Ed Cody, the north side team prevailed 2-1 in exciting fashion.

Much like FC STL's championship match two years ago where they lost in penalty kicks, this match would end much the same way. The Southsiders scored in the first half, but couldn't get any add-on tallys. Late in the match, after applying heavy offensive pressure the whole 2nd half, the Northsiders scored late in the match, knotting the game at one & forcing penalty kicks. In the exciting penalty sequence, the Northsiders outlasted the Southsiders, 3-1, taking a 2-1 decision & the goal medal.

But it was a fun weekend for everyone with beautiful weather, great camaradie & excellent soccer. Everyone looks forward to next year, every year. Thanks for reading.

First Row: Rich Dierkes; Steve Vitale; Dave Braun; Nick Vitale & Paul Cummins.

Second Row: Dave Zanaboni: John Muehlhauser; Joe Baer; Ed Muehlhauser; Chris Coyle; Wally Stokes; Jim Ahearn & Jack Coleman.