It literally was a game of two halves for Saint Louis FC as they lost their second preseason game 2-0 to Indy 11.
On a beautiful afternoon for a game, it was a cohesive Indy 11 who looked the more composed throughout the game, however in the first half especially they were frustrated by a solid Saint Louis performance. With this only being STLFC’s second game the players seemed to be gelling particularly well despite being overran in some areas by the experienced NASL team. New signing Jamiel Hardware looked sharp on the left wing as he tried to channel passes upto forwards Bryan Gaul and former Indy 11 player Mike Ambersley.
New signing Jamiel Hardware in action for STLFC
It wasn’t until the second half however until the game opened up. With coach Dale Schilly ringing the changes and putting more squad players on the field, they continued to struggle however made the two best scoring chances of the game as Mike Roach hit his shot right at the keeper and Jeremie Lynch shot wide after being afforded ample space in the box.
Eventually Indy 11 made their pressure tell and on the 76th minute, University of Pennsylvania trialist Duke Lacroix broke the deadlock. He made and finished the move himself after getting around Saint Louis midfielder Kentaro Takada and struck past the goalkeeper from an acute angle.
Dylan Mares for Indy made is 2-0 a few minutes later as he poked home a low cross to seal the victory for the visitors.
“Playing a team like Indy Eleven really showed us where we’re at in our preseason training,” STL FC Head Coach Dale Schilly said. “We have a quick turnaround before our next match, so it was good to identify some things we need to work on going forward.”
Saint Louis FC are 1-1 in their initial preseason. The next game is against fellow USL expansion rivals Tulsa Roughnecks. The game is at Soccer Park in Fenton 7:30pm on Saturday and tickets are free via the clubs website.
