BY TOM TIMMERMANN • St Louis Today
FENTON • AC St. Louis and the visiting Puerto Rico Islanders played to a 1-1 draw Friday night at Anheuser-Busch Center in a USSF Division-2 pro league soccer match cut short by the weather.
AC St. Louis is 5-11-7; the Islanders are 7-7-8.
The game was suspended in the 82nd minute and called 70 minutes later because of lightning storms in the region.
The Islanders took advantage of a turnover deep in AC St. Louis territory to take the lead in the 18th minute as Nicholas Addlery scored the goal with a shot to the short side.
«They had a chance to put us away in the first 20 or 30 minutes,» AC St. Louis coach Dale Schilly said. «We have a tough time adjusting to the speed of the game, especially against the better teams we play. It’s one of those things you cannot replicate in practice.
«But once we got ourselves acclimated, I thought we did pretty well. In fact, I really thought we should’ve been up 2-1 at the end.»
AC St. Louis pulled even just before halftime, thanks to a penalty-kick goal from Mike Ambersley (DeSmet) in the 42nd minute. The penalty was awarded when AC St. Louis defender John Lesko was dragged down while attempting to get to a corner kick from Luke Kreamalmeyer (Edwardsville).
The home team, with a crowd of 2,241 on hand, created another quality chance in the 59th minute as Chris Salvaggione set up Ambersley. His shot was kicked out by Puerto Rico goalkeeper Bill Gaudette. Following a scramble for the rebound, Kreamalmeyer laid off a pass for teammate Brad Stisser, but his shot sailed over the goal.
Not long after AC St. Louis keeper Alec Dufty made a point-blank stop to rob the Islanders’ Joshua Hansen, Kreamalmeyer broke in on the right side, but his shot was pushed wide by Gaudette.
«We’re playing better, but we need wins,» Schilly said, referring to the team’s battle for a playoff spot. «I’m not sure how to feel about this (tie). Puerto Rico is a quality team and I like the way we were coming on. But with our position in the standings, we really need the three points.»
AC St. Louis plays Aug. 29 in Tampa Bay before returning to A-B Center on Sept. 5 to take on Miami FC to begin a stretch of three consecutive home matches.
