April 10 (2010)

The AC St. Louis men’s professional team plays its first game and loses, 2-0, to the Carolina RailHawks in Cary, N.C., before 2,013 fans. AC starts the game with 10 men because AC neglected to bring the player identification card for the 11th starter, Manuel Kante. A frantic trip to the team’s hotel yields the missing card in time for Kante to enter the match in the 30th minute with AC already losing, 2-0. AC’s rocky start will be a taste of things to come for the team, which plays in the USSF Division 2 Pro League (the forefunner of today’s USL Championship). Club investors in England will yank their funds in May, cost-savings measures will prove futile, and the team will go out of business after the season. On the field, the team will win just seven games, lose 15 and tie eight, finishing second-to-last in its six-team conference. AC’s most notable personality is player-assistant coach, midfielder and St. Louis native Steve Ralston, a former National Team player who appeared in 378 MLS matches for the Tampa Bay Mutiny and New England Revolution. One of AC’s cost-cutting moves will see Ralston agree in June to return to New England. An injury in his first game back with the Revs will lead to his retirement as a player. He will leave as the MLS all-time assists leader. Ralston will transition to coaching. He is an assistant coach with the MLS San Jose Earthquakes.