July 9 (1994)

A standing-room-only crowd of 6,900 jams the St. Louis Soccer Park to watch the men’s gold and bronze medal soccer matches at the U.S. Olympic Festival. The festival is an annual competition held in various Olympic sports during Olympic off-years. The festival started in 1978, when it was called the National Sports Festival, and will end in 1995. The 1994 festival is held at various locations throughout the St. Louis area. All of the men’s and women’s soccer games are played at the Soccer Park. In the men’s gold medal match, the sellout crowd sees the East team, replete with six players and head coach Bruce Arena from the University of Virginia, defeat the North, 3-0. All three goals are scored, and assisted, by the Cavaliers, winners of the last three NCAA Division 1 men’s championships. Nate Friends nets two of the goals. The West wins the bronze in a match that ends, 2-2, and is decided on penalty kicks. The West wins the round of PKs, 4-2.  The South’s first goal is set up by St. Louisan and future U.S. National Teamer Steve Ralston, whose long pass leads to Sergio Jaramillo’s goal in the eighth minute. In the women’s medal games on July 8, the East beats the West, 2-1, in the gold medal match. Kelly Walbert scores four goals, an Olympic Festival record, in the bronze medal match as the South defeats the North, 5-3. Festival soccer features seven St. Louis players. In addition to Ralston for the South, Matt McKeon, Jamie Posnanski and Harry Weiss plays for the North. In women’s soccer, Jackie Billet, Melissa Kittner and Michelle McCarthy, teammates on the J.B. Marine 1991 AAU U-19 national champions, play for the North along with another J.B. Marine teammate, Ann Cook, a native of Springfield, Mo.