Tampa Bay Rowdies Come To St. Louis For Sunday Matchup With Saint Louis FC

Saint Louis FC is back at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton this Sunday for a match with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The United Soccer League match is set to kick off at 7:30 pm Sunday. The game was originally scheduled for 4:30 pm, but was moved to the later start due to heat concerns.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at SaintLouisFC.com or by calling 636-680-0997. Sunday’s contest will be streamed live on YouTube and can be seen on KPLR 11 in the St. Louis area. It can also be heard on 550 KTRS.

Scroll below for a preview of Sunday’s match.

Last Time Out For STLFC

Saint Louis FC got a late own Thursday in Tulsa, but it wasn’t enough as they fell 2-1 to the Tulsa Roughnecks. A blistering shot from Tulsa defender Jorge Luis Corrales beat STLFC goalkeeper Devala Gorrick in the 25th minutes for the game’s first tally. Tulsa would score again in the 70th minute to seemingly put the game out of reach for the local lads.

However, a late Saint Louis push made the game interesting and resulted in an own goal when Ryan Howe’s cross went off a Tulsa defender in the 86th minute. The final flurry from STLFC in stoppage time saw the Tulsa goalkeeper stop an attempt on the goal line.

What To Expect Sunday From STLFC

With 2 games in four days, Thursday’s match saw some alterations to the lineup by Saint Louis FC head coach Preki.

Christian Volesky played the full 90 minutes in Tulsa. Max Alvarez started for just the second time this season and played 66 minutes before being substituted for Seth Rudolph. Daniel Jackson was on the bench for the club, but did not see action.

Look for Jackson and Milan Petosevic, who was not in the 18, to see significant minutes against Tampa Bay.

Austin Ledbetter and 17-year old Aedan Stanley are two players that could see game action Sunday. Both players were available but not used in Tulsa.

Former EPL Star Joe Cole Leads Tampa Bay Rowdies

The Tampa Bay Rowdies bring a 10-5-7 record to St. Louis on Sunday. The Rowdies are 9-1-2 at home, but just 1-4-5 on the road.

The Rowdies are unbeaten in their last five games and have won four of those games. They’ve recorded clean sheets in each of their last three games, all at Al Lang Stadium in Tampa Bay.

Three players lead Tampa Bay in scoring with six goals each, Martin Paterson, Georgi Hristov and former English Premiere League great Joe Cole. Marcel Shafer leads the team in assists with 6 while Cole and Michael Nanchoff have each recorded 4 on the season.

Washington, Missouri native Matt Pickens made his 100th apperance in goal for Tampa Bay last weekend. He’s made 19 appearances for the club this season and recorded 7 clean sheets. Pickens starred at St. Francis Borgia High School in Washington before moving on to Missouri State University. He played in more than 100 games for the Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer.

Dan Caesar Takes Aim At STLFC TV Numbers For Some Odd Reason

Dan Caesar’s media views column takes aim at Saint Louis FC in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today — for some odd reason. Caesar paints the viewership numbers for the club’s broadcasts this season on KPLR 11 as dismal, but are they?

Saint Louis FC pays KPLR 11 for the right to have selected games on its station. (Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.) The feed seen on KPLR is the exact same one seen on the USL’s YouTube channel. KPLR does zero work on the broadcast and zero work to promote the club. In fact, Saint Louis FC has largely been shut out from any coverage by the media outlets in town.

Even the Post-Dispatch has largely ignored STLFC in this supposed “soccer town” save for game wrap-up stories from Joe Lyons and a smattering of other stories this year. Don’t get me started on Jose de Jesus Ortiz either.

That being said, having 7,400 households in the St. Louis area tuned to a match that’s being played in front of 4,433 people in Fenton — as was the case for the August 5 match vs Swope Park — seems pretty good for a second-tier non-profit soccer club that plays in a 5,000-seat stadium.

STLFC Partners With St. Louis Mosaic Project

It was announced today that Saint Louis FC has become a St. Louis Mosaic Project Ambassador Company. The club becomes the 11th area company to join the program and the first athletic team, according to a press release.

By joining the program, STLFC has pledged to expand their Pub 2 Park program with a pickup location on Cherokee Street, hold fundraisers for organizations that help immigrants and broadcast games in Spanish, among other things.

Join The St. Louligans Before In The Parking Lot Before The Match

Tickets are still available for Sunday’s match and can be purchased at SaintLouisFC.com.

Heading to Toyota Stadium? Join the St. Louligans for a tailgate party in the parking lot before the match. They will be raising money for their Charity de Jour organization of the week.

Need more Saint Louis FC? Listen to the latest epsiode of the This Is Silly! podcast. The cast of characters are joined by members of Fire & Ice SC, the local club that recently won the 2017 Women’s Premier Soccer League National Championship. Fire & Ice SC will be honored at Sunday’s match.

Also, remember to tune in to 550 KTRS on Friday night at 7 pm for FC Soccer Weekly.

Get your tickets for Sunday. Tailgate starts at 5:30. We've got Pulled Pork Nachos on the menu. CharityDuJour is Backstoppers. Just Do It. pic.twitter.com/uNKf7c7Y32

— St.Louligans ☠️ (@StLouligans) August 11, 2017

Stream Saint Louis FC v Tampa Bay Rowdies

In addition to being shown on KPLR 11 in the St. Louis area, Sunday’s match can be streamed live on YouTube.

 

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