Club Atletico Saint Louis

Club Atletico Saint Louis is an American soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. It plays within the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South Region's Heartland Conference.

Club Atletico Saint Louis
Full nameClub Atletico Saint Louis
Nickname(s)The Bluebirds
Founded2016; 8 years ago (2016)
StadiumSLUH Soccer Stadium
St. Louis, Missouri
PresidentLisa Garza
Head coachRicardo Garza
LeagueNational Premier Soccer League
2019Heartland Conference: 6th
Playoffs: DNQ
Websitehttps://www.gobluebirds.com/
Current season

History

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Originally founded as a youth clinic in 2016, Saint Louis Club Atletico was announced as the National Premier Soccer League's newest expansion team on January 3, 2018, with plans to begin play in the league's upcoming 2018 season in the Heartland Conference.[1][2] The team announced it would be playing home matches at St. Mary's Stadium in South St. Louis.

Saint Louis played its inaugural game on May 12 on the road against NPSL powerhouse FC Wichita.[3] Despite taking an early lead, the team lost, 4–2, with Chevaughn Walsh scoring the first two goals in team history in the 3rd and 21st minutes respectively.[4][5][6] One week later Atletico played its first home match on May 19 against Ozark FC, drawing the visitors 1–1 at St. Mary's High School with Walsh scoring his third goal of the season.[1][7][8]

Saint Louis finished the regular season fourth in the Heartland Conference with a record of 5-1-4 (16 pts), enough to earn the team a spot in the conference's playoff tournament.[9] On July 11, Atletico lost, 4–0, on the road in a rematch of the season opener to top seed and defending conference champion FC Wichita.[10][11]

Ahead of its sophomore season, the team underwent a minor re-branding and began to play under the name Club Atletico Saint Louis.

Record

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Year-by-year

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Year League Regular Season Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Notes
2018 NPSL 4th, Heartland Conference Conference Semifinal Ineligible Lost in Conference Semifinal to FC Wichita
2019 6th, Heartland Conference did not qualify did not qualify
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[12]

Logo history

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Notable players

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Hamza Elias
Kaleb Jackson
Chevaughn Walsh
Anthony Brown
Jair Hernandez

References

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  1. ^ "Saint Louis Club Atletico Joins the NPSL". National Premier Soccer League. January 3, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  2. ^ Khan, Ayesha (January 30, 2018). "St. Louis lands semi-pro soccer club to groom young players". FOX 2. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  3. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "FC Wichita v. St. Louis". YouTube. May 12, 2018.
  4. ^ "Post-Match Report: Franck Tayou Nets Two As FC Wichita Beats Saint Louis". FC Wichita. May 12, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  5. ^ "Game Report - FC Wichita vs Saint Louis Club Atletico". npsl.bonzidev.com. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  6. ^ FC, Tulsa Roughnecks (May 14, 2018). "Roughnecks Host F.C. Wichita in Open Cup Match Wednesday". FC Tulsa: Oklahoma's Premier Professional Soccer Club located in Tulsa. F.C. Wichita enters the game with a perfect 2-0-0 record during the NPSL season. The results include a pair of home victories, 5-0 over Ozark F.C. and 4-2 over St. Louis Club Atletico.
  7. ^ "Game Report - Saint Louis Club Atletico vs Ozark FC". npsl.bonzidev.com.
  8. ^ "Ozark FC Draws Against St. Louis Club Athletico". Ozark FC. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "Saint Louis Club Atletico Defeats Ozark FC 2-1, Meet FC Wichita in Playoffs on Wednesday". National Premier Soccer League. July 10, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  10. ^ "FC Wichita advances to Conference Championship". FC Wichita. July 12, 2018. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  11. ^ "Playoff Game Report - FC Wichita vs Saint Louis Club Atletico". npsl.bonzidev.com.
  12. ^ Prince-Wright, Joe (March 26, 2020). "2020 NPSL season cancelled". ProSoccerTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved June 24, 2020.