(Photo Credit: Mark Guthrel Photography)

4,502 St. Louis sports fans saw a late comeback effort fall short, Saint Louis FC falls to FC Cincinnati 2-1 at home. This marks the first loss at home for STL FC in league play.

It was a rough start for Saint Louis, giving up a goal in the 8th minute. Cincinnati’s Okoli played Cummings through and the ball snuck passed Thompson, earning them the first goal of the game. This was the third consecutive early goal Saint Louis has had in their most recent games.

“We can’t continue to have these slow starts, we have to get acclimated to the speed of the game earlier.  Once you give up an early goal, then the game turns into a scramble and then we have to start doing things we aren’t comfortable doing,” said coach Schilly

The home side had a hard time putting together chances, making three shots to FCC’s six.

Ambersley was the first in the referee’s book, earning a yellow card in the 25th minute.

There was more action during the second half, with each team earning a goal. In the 78th minute, a save by Thompson was pushed out to the front to FC Cincinnati’s Stevenson allowing him to tuck the ball in the back of the net.

Saint Louis gained intensity in the last few minutes to find a goal in the 85th minute. After just entering the game, a fresh Jordan Robertscrossed to Schillo Tshuma to find a goal. This is Tshuma’s second goal of the season. STL FC continued to pile on the pressure, making a few plays with nothing connecting.

“We’ve been letting early goals in which isn’t good- and we’ve been chasing games which isn’t easy. It feels good to score again, that’s going to help me with my confidence. Overall, it’s not the result we wanted at home in front of the fans” said Tshuma.

In added time, goal-keeper Ryan Thompson came up for a long-throw and won a header. His attempt was pushed over the crossbar.

Tonight was landmark game for Sam Fink and Parker Maher‘s making their 50th game appearance with Saint Louis FC. They are first players to reach this mark in franchise history.

When asked about his 50th game Maher said, “Saint Louis has been good for me, it was a good rookie year and so far so good this year. I love the experience, learning, and love getting better everyday and perfecting my craft.”

The STL FC squad will be back at the park on Saturday, July 23rd when they face the Colorado Springs Switchbacks who are coached by St. Louisian Steve Trittschuh. Go to SaintLouisFC.com or call 636-680-0997 to secure your tickets!