ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Saint Louis FC drew 0-0 against Rio Grande Valley FC in front of 4,284 fans at Toyota Stadium in Match 17 of the USL Regular Season.
The draw sees Saint Louis FC move to 5-5-7 with 22 points while Rio Grande Valley FC moves to 1-6-9 with 11 points in the USL Western Conference. Saint Louis FC travels to face Las Vegas Lights FC in their next game on Saturday, July 7th with kickoff at 10:00 p.m. CT and aired live on KPLR 11.
The first half saw both teams struggle to put a cohesive attack together with kickoff temperatures nearing 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The first chance fell to RGVFC in the 18th minute when Aldo Quintanilla’s shot from outside the box sailed over the crossbar. STLFC would respond with an effort from Lewis Hilton just inside the box which went narrowly wide in the 19th minute. STLFC goalkeeper Tomas Gomez then made a good save on a header from Omar Ontiveros after a corner kick in the 25th minute to preserve his third clean sheet of the season heading into the halftime break.
The second half saw the first chance arrive in the 64th minute as Kadeem Dacres created some space on the left side and tried to chip RGVFC goalkeeper Nico Corti which almost nestled in the top right corner of the net. Lewis Hilton then had a free kick from about 30 yards out that went high in the 64th minute as Saint Louis FC looked to break the deadlock. Both teams made a number of substitutions to bring fresh legs into the heated battle but neither could find the back of the net and would have to settle for a draw.
“It was a disappointing performance and frustrating night but I’ll take full responsibility for that,” said STLFC Head Coach Anthony Pulis. “It’s my job to make sure the players are prepared physically, mentally, tactically and they weren’t so that’s on me and I have to do a better job of making sure they are ready for the games that are in front of us.”