After Unfortunate Own Goal, Saint Louis FC Rallies For Draw With Orange County SC

On Saturday night, Saint Louis FC faced Orange County SC on the road in Irvine, California. The Chupacabras were out to prove that a 6-3 defeat at the hands of LA Galaxy II days earlier wasn’t an accurate representation of the team’s quality.

After an unfortunate own goal late in the second half, STLFC rallied to tie the game and earn a 1-1 draw.

Saint Louis FC improved to 3-2-5 on the 2018 USL season and sits at 14 points after ten games.

Anthony Pulis and company are off next weekend and return to action on Saturday, May 26 in Colorado Springs against Switchbacks FC.

STLFC returns to St. Louis and Toyota Stadium on Wednesday, May 30 for a matchup with Phoenix Rising FC.

The match Saturday night was scoreless in the 78th minute when Orange County set up for a free kick several yards outside the STLFC penalty area.  The ball was sent towards the goal and intended for the head of the home side’s Thomas Enevoldson. Phanuel Kavita of STLFC attempted to use his head to send the ball out of bounds, but it instead snuck inside the far post, passed a diving Gomez for the own goal.

In the 82nd minute, an extra pass by Saint Louis FC would bring the teams level.

Kavita chased down a ball on the Orange County end line and knocked down a defender in the process. His pass to Kadeem Dacres at the top of the box was sent on to Lewis Hilton in the penalty arc. Hilton’s first touch sent the ball perfectly into the top corner of the goal.

Watch an animated GIF of Hilton’s goal below.

Two minutes into second half stoppage time, Saint Louis FC was pushing for the game-winner but instead went down a player and a head coach.

As Jonathan Barden raced for a loose ball he lunged with his left  foot to try and block a Orange County player from sending the ball back the other way. His foot connected with the lower leg of the opponent and led to a straight red card ejection by center referee Adrian Gonzalez.

As the injured player was being attended to, Saint Louis FC head coach Anthony Pulis appeared to inform Gonzalez that Barden was incorrectly shown the red card. Pulis was then sent off the pitch for his efforts.

Barden is expected to miss STLFC’s next USL match, on May 24th on the road against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. The league has not made an official announcement on any further discipline of Pulis.

In his postgame comments, Pulis noted how proud he was of his team for coming from behind to earn the draw.

“I thought the first half was the best we’ve performed on the road this year and we were unlucky not to go into the locker room ahead,” said STLFC Head Coach Anthony Pulis.  “The second half fatigue set in but I’m extremely proud of the players for the character they showed to bounce back from going a goal down and earning an important road point against one of the so-called better teams in the league.”

Check out highlights of Saturday’s USL match between Saint Louis FC and Orange County SC below. The full match will be available on YouTube this Saturday.

Saint Louis FC Begins Open Cup Wednesday

Saint Louis FC will open play in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup this Wednesday in Minnesota. St. Louis has a storied history in the tournament and STLFC hosted Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire in fourth round of last year’s tournament at World Wide Technology Soccer Park.

Wednesday’s second roundup matchup with Duluth FC of the National Premier Soccer League will take place at Public Schools Stadium in Duluth, Minnesota.

Should STLFC win on Wednesay, they will take on the winner of the match between fellow USL club Louisville City FC and the Long Island Rough Riders of the Premier Development League. The Rough Riders are the PDL affiliate of MLS’s New York City FC.

Check back to RealLIfeSTL on Wednesday for a preview of that night’s Open Cup match.

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