Aug. 15 (1972)

The St. Louis Stars, who surprised the experts by finishing first in the NASL’s Southern Division during the regular season, reach the NASL championship game by opening the playoffs with a solid 2-0 victory over the Rochester Lancers at Busch Stadium. The Lancers, who won the NASL title in 1970 and lost in the 1971 semifinals, split two regular-season matches with the Stars in 1972, with each game decided by a single goal. The playoff match figures to be a tight battle, and the scoreless first half plays out that way. But English defender John Sewell, in his first season with the Stars and called “the premier fullback in the league” by Lancers general manager Charley Schiano, puts the Stars ahead in the 49th minute. The St. Louis connection of Gene Geimer and future U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Pat McBride combine for the clincher. McBride sets up Geimer for the goal exactly 72 minutes into the match. Stars player-coach Casey Frankiewicz and future U.S Soccer Hall of Famer Willy Roy nearly score, but hit the crossbar. Goalkeeper Mike Winter comes up with nine saves, including a key stop in each half on Rochester’s Carlos Metidieri, the NASL’s 1971 scoring champion. The result means the Stars either will play on the road against the New York Cosmos or at home against the Dallas Tornado in the final, depending on the outcome of the Cosmos-Tornado playoff on Aug. 19.