ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Saint Louis FC Academy teams recently completed their inaugural season after the merger of the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri and Illinois Academy programs. Both the U18/19 and U17 STLFC Academy teams qualified for the USSDA Playoffs which will take place at the SoCal Sports Complex in Oceanside, California.

The USSDA Playoffs is made of up of the top 32 teams at the U18/19 and U17 age groups with the U15 group focused on player development at a tiered showcase event to be held at the same location. The top 3 finishers in each USSDA division automatically qualify for a playoff spot while the remaining 11 spots are earned via wildcard positions based on points-per-game average. Both the STLFC U18/19 and U17 teams automatically qualified for the Playoffs by finishing in the top 3 of the Mid-America Central Division.

“We are extremely proud of the quality on the field and the quality of character shown by these two groups of young men over the past 10 months. The first year of the Saint Louis FC Academy has not come without its’ challenges, however, these young men showed a tremendous amount of resolve, focus and commitment throughout and have set a standard to which our younger players must now strive. To qualify 1 team for the Academy play-offs is an achievement, but to qualify two is something very special. While the players are most responsible, a big credit is due to Coach Stoll, Coach Grossman and their staff as well as Tim Kelly (Goalkeeper Coach) and Nathan Steinmetz (Performance Coach) who have all played a significant role in developing and leading these players throughout the season.”

The Saint Louis FC U18/U19 Academy team finished the regular season with a 12-4-7 record and a third-place finish led by Coach Kevin Stoll. The team scored 39 goals this season while giving up only 19 goals in 23 games, which was the fewest given up in the Central Division and places them in the top 4 nationally in goals conceded. The dynamic forward duo of Chris Bruch and Jack Lynn generated plenty of offense with Bruch tallying 17 goals and Lynn scoring 15 goals as well. Goalkeepers Seth Stiebel and Grant Abbott also combined for 12 clean sheets during the season to set-up a tough defense to breakdown during the Playoffs with FC Dallas, NYCFC, and Sacramento Republic in their group. The team also includes Jack Maher and Aedan Stanley, both of whom have featured regularly for Saint Louis FC in the 2018-2019 season.

The Saint Louis FC U16/U17 Academy team finished the regular season with a 13-5-5 record and Coach Skip Grossman led the team to a second-place finish in the Mid-America Central Division. After a fall of inconsistent performances, the team went unbeaten in 10 of its final 11 fixtures in the 2017-2018 regular season. Forward Tony Bodul led the attacking side with 12 goals while Camden Starzyk and Dillon Flynn scored 4 goals each. The team has a 7-1-2 record since March 25 which they will look to continue as they face Montreal Impact, PDA, and Carolina Rapids in their Playoff group.