AFC Columbia fell on the road 1-0 in a tightly contested matchup against Club Atletico St. Louis.
Club Atletico struck with the first goal at the 29th minute mark. After a strong push, the home team finished a corner with a header to open the scoring.
AFC Columbia caught a break as the Atletico goalkeeper touched the ball outside the box, resulting in an immediate red card. Columbia played the final half with a man advantage.
During stoppage time in the second half midfielder Drew Schlimme appeared to tie the game, coming from the second line to bury a rebound. However the play was deemed to be ruled offside, taking the goal away from AFC.
Columbia was unable to push a goal through at final time, falling 1-0 on the road.
AFC picked up the pace in the second half, dominating in terms of possession and scoring opportunities. Another great chance came on a free kick from center mid Carter Redford, where he hooked the shot just to the right of the net.
Fellow center mid Clever Sibomana saw several key scoring opportunities, leading the attack with a strong combination of speed and agility. Chances from both forward Elliot Goodwin and center mid Ilhan Dervisevic both sailed over the net on various opportunities in the second half.
Despite allowing a goal, John Amoah was rock solid in goal with several key saves all night. The Ghanaian goalkeeper made an incredible diving save in the second half to keep his team in the match.
Next up AFC is back at home at R. Marvins Owens Field at Columbia College for a friendly against the Santa Fe Wanderers on Saturday, June 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Single match tickets are $5 for youth and $10 for adults.