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USL Birmingham Legion FC

Match Preview: Birmingham Legion FC at Saint Louis FC

April 12, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release


MATCH INFO:

Birmingham Legion FC at Saint Louis FC

Saturday, April 13 - 7:30PM Kickoff - World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Saint Louis, MO

Stream - My68, ESPN+

Legion FC hits the road for the second away match of the inaugural season at Saint Louis FC, the current first place team in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings, on Saturday, April 13. With the postponement of the April 6 match against New York Red Bulls II, Legion FC seek to maintain momentum gained two weeks ago in its first win of the season at Louisville City FC.

The Legion FC attack, led by goal scorers Prosper Kasim, Chandler Hoffman, and Brian Wright, hope to match play that resulted in an impressive three goal performance at LouCity. After serving up 21 and then 24 crosses from open play in the first two games, Legion FC played more direct in Louisville, sending in just nine open-play crosses. That approach may need to be adjusted again to face St. Louis.

"When you watch Saint Louis, I give them a lot of credit," said Legion FC Head Coach Tom Soehn. "They are disciplined, and they have ten guys who can defend and attack together. They have a block of eight that's hard to penetrate, and every one of those guys is committed to doing the dirty work."

Facing a team who has only given up two goals through five matches, being patient on the ball and trying to shift the defense with switches or by creative attacking play by guys like Kasim, Daniel Johnson, and Eddie Opoku will prove vital in breaking down Saint Louis. Newcomer JJ Williams joined Legion FC this week ahead of the road trip and could be another dangerous option up top.

Everyone in the Legion FC roster is available for selection for match three, except for defender Marcel Appiah, who is out for the third game in a row with a calf strain.

Led by Head Coach Anthony Pulis, STLFC was one of the tougher teams to beat in the Western Conference a season ago, falling just nine times in the regular season as it clinched a playoff spot before the final game of the season.

If Saint Louis is to take the next step and contend in the East this season, though, it will likely need to be-come more prolific in front of goal. Only one team to reach the postseason - Nashville SC - scored fewer goals than STLFC's 44 tallies, with Kyle Greig carrying the attack for much of the season as he neared 50 reg-ular-season goals for his career. The side has looked to address that with another batch of newcomers that includes former Colorado Rapids forward Caleb Calvert and Tulsa Roughnecks FC attacking midfielder Joaquin Rivas. Should youngster Albert Dikwa take an-other step forward and Kadeem Dacres produce more consistently, Saint Louis could be far more dangerous in 2019.

On the flipside, the side looks set to be as solid defen-sively as it was a season ago with goalkeepers Tomas Gomez and Jake Fenlason both returning behind a back line that was led effectively by Sam Fink and Sean Reynolds. New arrivals Paris Gee and Bradley Kamdem Fewo should be solid additions, as should defensive midfielder Guy Abend as he joins Lewis Hilton in the middle of the park. (via USL Championship)

Through five games, Saint Louis FC is currently undefeated with a 4-0-1 record. The team is unbeaten at home for 12 games dating back to June of the 2018 USL season with a 1-0 loss to Real Monarchs SLC in Match 15. So far this season, standout performers include keeper Jake Fenlason, who has three clean sheets, forward Russell Cicerone, a new signing from FC Cincinnati who has scored two goals this season including a nice solo run against Atlanta United 2 last week to seal a 2-0 win, and defender Sam Fink who has contributed offensively as well with the winning goal against Charlotte Independence and the penalty shot conversion to open the scoring against Atlanta United 2 last week.

Follow @bhmlegion on Twitter for more info and live game updates from Saint Louis.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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