St. Louis Lions drop U.S. Open Cup Match 4-1 in Minnesota

Colin Pennington
colin.pennington@brightonusa.com

St. Louis, Mo. (June 11, 2008) – The St. Louis Lions lost their first ever U.S. Open Cup match 4-1 to the Minnesota Thunder (USL-1) on Tuesday night in Blaine, Minn.

The first half played very even with both sides getting equal chances but Minnesota struck first when Melvin Tarley scored in the 45th minute to give the Thunder a 1-0 halftime lead.

“That goal was really a heartbreaker,” said Lions head coach Tony Glavin. “It’s a totally different match if we go into halftime at 0-0.”

The second half began in the same fashion as the first ended with both sides trading chances. However, it didn’t take long for Minnesota to strike again with a goal in the 57th minute from Ricardo Sanchez to make it 2-0.

Minnesota ’s second goal seemed to awaken the Lions and they began getting more chances deep in the Minnesota end when finally they got on the board in the 79th minute with a Tommy Heinemann goal setup by Kyle Patterson to pull St. Louis to within one.

St. Louis looked to be pressing again just minutes later when Minnesota intercepted a St. Louis pass form the back line and earned a three on one break that led to Tarley’s second goal of the match for Minnesota assisted by Dayton O’Brien, pushing their lead to 3-1.

The Thunder would add a fourth goal in the 89th minute from Aaron Paye resulting in a 4-1 final.

“I really felt the guys played hard and were in the game for 80 minutes,” said Glavin. “Unfortunately there are 90 minutes in a match and we just couldn’t keep the momentum going after our goal.”

Both sides have had trouble finishing on the offensive end in 2008 and it was just a matter of time before one or both clubs fixed that problem.

“Neither of us had been able to put a lot of balls in the net this year and they were able to make the better improvements for this match,” said Glavin.

“The bottom line is that we played a professional side and got outplayed,” explained Glavin. “Playing in the Cup was a great experience for our guys and I’m proud of the effort I got from each of them.”

The Lions will return to PDL divisional play on Saturday when they take their 4-0-1 record on the road to Des Moines for a 6:30 p.m. match against the Menace at Valley Stadium. The match with be the second of three between the two clubs in 2008 with St. Louis defeating Des Moines on the road 2-1 in the season opener back on May 10.

For more information about the St. Louis Lions visit www.stllions.com.

St. Louis Lions defeat Colorado 2-1, remain unbeaten in 2008

Colin Pennington
colin.pennington@brightonusa.com

St. Louis. Mo. (June 9, 2008) – The St. Louis Lions defeated the Colorado Rapids U-23 2-1 on Sunday night at the Tony Glavin Soccer Complex, improving their team record to 4-0-1 and 3-0-0 at home.

Despite St. Louis resting most of its starters in preparation for Tuesday’s opening round match in the U.S. Open Cup and Colorado having just played less than 24 hours earlier both sides had plenty of chances in the first half. The biggest chance came late in the half when St. Louis forward Kyle Patterson was able to stop his dribble just inside the box and blast a shot on goal that was saved by a diving Joe Willis in goal for Colorado.

“I thought their keeper (Willis) did a fantastic job of keeping them in the game,” said Lions head coach Tony Glavin. “There were two or three bids in the first half I though were sure goals for us that he was able to make great saves on.”

St. Louis made four substitutions at halftime that seemed to pay off when one of those subs, Juice Holmes, setup midfielder Olly Dyson for the Lions first goal in the 70th minute.

“The subs I made were the ones I planned to make from the beginning,” said Glavin. “I wanted to keep the guys as fresh as I could going into Tuesday’s Open Cup match but at the same time didn’t want to take away from the importance of tonight’s match.”

The Lions struck again just 11 minutes later when Holmes and forward Tommy Heinemann had a two on one break that beat the last Colorado defender giving Heinemann his fourth goal of the season and the Lions a 2-0 lead in the 81st minute.

Zach Prince gave Colorado their only tally of the match late in stoppage time of the second half but the whistle blew shortly after giving St. Louis the 2-1 victory.

“I have to give Colorado a lot of credit for the physical condition they were in,” said Glavin. “Playing two matches in 24 hours is not an easy thing to do but never once did they look tired.”

With the victory, St. Louis remains unbeaten on the season and will take a break from divisional play to face the Minnesota Thunder of USL-1 on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. in Blaine , Minn.

The next home match for St. Louis will be June 28 when the Lions host the Thunder Bay Chill in the first of a pair of weekend matches at 5:00 p.m. at the Tony Glavin Soccer Complex.

For tickets and more information about the St. Louis Lions visit www.stllions.com

Photo By Charlie Mueller: Jarius ‘Juice’ Holmes (right) recorded an assist on both Lions goals Sunday.

COLLEGE RECRUITING AND ADMISSIONS SEMINAR

TO BE HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH NATIONAL CUP FINALS AND NATIONAL COLLEGIATE SHOWCASE
THIS PRESENTATION AN ABSOLUTE MUST SEE FOR ALL PARENTS AND ANY SERIOUS PLAYER INTERESTED IN GETTING INTO THE COLLEGE OF THEIR CHOICE!



June 5, 2008 – US Club Soccer announced today that nationally renowned college recruiting and admissions expert Rick Singer, CEO of The Edge College and Career Network, will conduct a free interactive seminar Sunday, July 27th (time and location TBD). US Club Soccer is making this opportunity available to all players, coaches and families of U15, U16 and U17 teams participating in the National Collegiate Showcase and the National Cup Finals held in Virginia Beach, VA, from July 26-29.

"Getting into the “right fit” college is so competitive that having the right coaching through the college application and recruiting process is essential to a student-athletes opportunity to achieve success," stated Rick Singer.

This one of a kind opportunity will provide parents and student-athletes valuable information that will assist anyone who aspires to attend college. Coaches and team managers of National Cup Finals and National Collegiate Showcase participating teams are encouraged to share this information with all players and parents.

“Rick Singer is an expert in the college admissions process and also has an extensive background successfully advising families of aspiring college student athletes. His seminar is a must see for parents and athletes who aspire to play at the collegiate level,” said Curt Johnson, Senior Vice-President of Marketing – US Club Soccer.

Learn more about the 2008 National Cup VII Finals and the US Club Soccer National Collegiate Showcase. For more information visit Official National Collegiate Showcase Page and Official National Cup VII Finals Page or contact one of our regional representatives. You can find their contact information on the US Club Soccer website at Contact Us.