Soccer in St. Louis
In 1913, the St. Louis Soccer League came to national attention when St. Leo's tied the Paterson True Blues, winners of the American Cup.
[7] In 1981–82, the Steamers won their second straight division title, and reached the MISL Championship finals, where they lost to New York in a five-game series.
The Ambush won one National Professional Soccer League championship (1994–95 season), defeating the Harrisburg Heat.
The Steamers were granted a World Indoor Soccer League expansion franchise in December 1998 but did not begin play until the 2000 season.
Athletica initially played its home matches on the campus of Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, and later moved to Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in the suburb of Fenton, Missouri.
Cooper also founded the AC St. Louis, which played its only season in 2010 in the NASL Conference of the temporary Division II Pro League.
Wearing green, white, and yellow, A.C. St. Louis also played its home games at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park.
The club planned to join the new North American Soccer League in the 2011 season, but folded in January 2011[10] after USSF stopped backing the team's finances and new owners were not found.
[13] In 2008, efforts to establish an expansion team in the St. Louis suburb of Collinsville, Illinois, floundered when MLS awarded its 16th franchise to Philadelphia, which opened play in 2010.
St. Louis was considered one of the early front runners,[14] due in part to the city's soccer history and a stadium plan.
[15] But the St. Louis bid lacked an ownership group with deep pockets, and MLS awarded the expansion slots to Portland and Vancouver.
[16] The wealthy people who would own the team sought public funds to help build a $200 million soccer-specific stadium next to Union Station in downtown St. Louis.
[19] St. Louis's MLS bid was effectively re-launched on October 9 of that year, with Carolyn Kindle Betz and other heirs to the Enterprise Rent-a-Car fortune as the primary investors.
[20] On November 28, 2018, the Board of Aldermen's Housing, Urban Development, and Zoning Committee unanimously voted 8–0 to approve the stadium plan.
[21] On August 20, 2019, Major League Soccer announced that St. Louis had been granted an expansion team, to start play in 2022.
The Saint Louis University Billikens men's soccer team competes in NCAA Division I in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and play at Hermann Stadium.
The SIUE Cougars men's soccer team competes in the NCAA Division I in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), and play their home matches on Bob Guelker Field at Ralph Korte Stadium.
[31] St. Louis hosted a number of strong amateur teams and leagues that were prominent before the modern professional era.
[5] St. Louis Kutis was one of the best soccer clubs in the country during the 1950s, winning six consecutive National Amateur Cup titles from 1956 to 1961.
Kutis included prominent players Harry Keough, Bob Kehoe, and Bill Looby — each of whom landed in the Hall of Fame.
The entire Kutis squad was selected for the roster for the U.S. national team in two qualifying matches for the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
[32] On August 10, 2013, Real Madrid and Inter Milan played a friendly at the Edward Jones Dome in front of 54,184 fans, a record attendance for a soccer match in St.
[39][40] The stadium will host the United States against Jamaica on November 18, 2024 for their home leg in the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League.
The United States women's national team have played six matches in the St. Louis area from 1996 to 2023, including friendlies at the Edward Jones Dome and Busch Stadium.
Several current or former Major League Soccer players are from St. Louis, including: Mike Sorber, Chris Klein, Pat Noonan, Jack Jewsbury, Matt Pickens, Brad Davis (#5 in MLS career assists), Steve Ralston (#2 in MLS career assists), Taylor Twellman (MLS MVP 2005), Tim Ream, Matt McKeon, Patrick Schulte, Joe Willis, Brian Kamler, Steve Trittschuh, Bobby Rhine and Will Bruin.
