2023 Memorial Day Weekend Soccer

It was pleasant Memorial Day weekend, with sunny skies. Saturday afternoon (27 May), I drove to Julie's house in Florissant. After picking her up, we headed to Schlafly Tap Room for the pre-match party. After parking on Washington Avenue, Julie and I walked to the party area.

The St. Louligans, St. Louis City Punks, Fleur de Noise, and No Nap City Ultras were there having fun before St. Louis CITY SC played Vancouver Whitecaps FC at CITYPARK that night. Julie and I mingled among the partygoers, had Schlafly beer, and dinner from the Dutchess Rose Royal Street Food truck. Julie and I chatted with friends who were there.

About an hour before kickoff, STL Santos led a drum-filled warm up chant session on the side street. This was followed a few minutes later by the march around CITYPARK and into the stadium itself.

It was another full house for the match. The crowd was in good spirits and ready to pull for CITY in the match. Julie and I were ready.

It didn't take long for CITY to take the lead, as Eduard Lowen scored off a free kick in the 10th minute. His shot found the upper corner of the net just past the Vancouver goalkeeper. Just before halftime, an own goal made it 2-0 CITY at the interval.

The Whitecaps pulled one back in the 83rd minute, but CITY's Miguel Perez--who graduated from high school just two days before--scored in second half stoppage time to make it 3-1 CITY at Full Time. We supporters were just so happy about the result. It wasn't a pretty match, but the result was what matters. After the match, the CITY players and coaches walked around the pitch to salute their supporters. When they came to the supporter section, the players and coaches joined hands to do a running salute to us.

After the celebration, Julie and I walked out of CITYPARK and headed for my car. We then headed back to her house, where she invited me in for a beverage and a chat. I had a cup of coffee and Julie had iced tea as we sat on her patio. She lit a fire in a brazier before we sat down to talk for a while. Just before 1:00 am Sunday, I left with a hug and a kiss with Julie and drove home.

After a short bit of sleep, I was up and getting ready for soccer refereeing. The Gateway Memorial Classic youth tournament was taking place and I had three matches at World Wide Technology Soccer Park: an under 12 boys group match, and two under 11 finals. My crew and I had a good set of matches, with no lingering incidents.

Off work today, but conscious of the meaning of Memorial Day. Let's not forget the sacrifices of our service people throughout this country's history.

Later.

Websites of Entiries Mentioned in this Post:

Schlafly Tap Room: Tap Room Brewpub - Schlafly Beer

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

Fleur de Noise: Fleur De Noise

No Nap City Ultras: HOME (nonapcityultras.com)

STL Santos: Home | Home | STL Saints (stlsantos.com)

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

CITYPARK: CITYPARK | St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

Dutchess Rose Royal Street Food: (1) Duchess Rose Royal Treats | St. Louis MO | Facebook

Gateway Memorial Classic: St. Louis Scott Gallagher — Club Soccer in Saint Louis (slsgsoccer.com)

World Wide Technology Soccer Park: St. Louis Scott Gallagher — Club Soccer in Saint Louis (slsgsoccer.com)