June 21 (1981)

St. Louis teams score a national championship double. Busch wins the U.S. Amateur Cup with 3-2 victory over Philadelphia Bayern in Philadelphia and Scott Gallagher captures the U.S. Junior Cup with a 4-2 win over the Miami Knights in Omaha, Neb. Busch, the defending Amateur Cup champion, rallies from a 2-0 deficit after 30 minutes on late first-half goals from Steve Ladi and Danny O’Keefe. Ladi’s goal is a spectacular drive from 35 yards out. O’Keefe scores on a header with less than a minute left in the half. Joe Mihaljevic nets the winner in the 70th minute in a scramble in front of the goal. “This team has a lot of character,” says Busch coach Tim Rooney, who was married two days earlier and delayed his honeymoon to coach Busch in the final. “I knew we’d come back.” The victory lifts Busch’s record to 22-1-1 for the season and 110-4-2 over the last four years. Meanwhile, Scott Gallahger dominates in the Junior Cup final, opening a 3-0 lead after 41 minutes on goals by Leo Bourneuf, Bill Stallings and Matt Malloy. Tom Hayes accounts for Scott Gallagher’s fourth goal early in the second half before 3,366 fans. The Junior Cup is the 15th in the last 20 years for a St. Louis team. Scott Gallagher coach Dan Gaffney attributes that dominance to the high quality of competition in St. Louis youth soccer. “I think all the teams in the tournament were equal in ability, but we play teams of this caliber every time we take field,” Gaffney says. The victory improves Scott Gallagher’s record to 21-0-3.