MATCH INFO:
Birmingham Legion FC vs. Saint Louis FC
Friday, September 13 – 7:00 PM Kickoff – BBVA Field, Birmingham, AL
Watch – ESPN+, Tape Delayed on CW21

Legion FC looks to continue riding the momentum from its nine-game unbeaten run into a home contest versus Saint Louis FC.

BHM has now posted seven shutouts and outscored their opponents 17-3 during the nine-game run. Looking ahead to St. Louis, defender Akeem Ward said, “We’re going to worry about ourselves, but we know we also have to recognize and respect Saint Louis because they’re close behind us. They’ve hit a stride and we’ve hit a stride, so it comes down on the day to who’s willing to execute, and I think on the day we can get them.”

Saint Louis FC currently sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, just one point behind Legion FC. The Charleston Battery are in 11th, just two points back of BHM, so this contest is vital for staying in the playoff positions (top-10). The first time these two teams met, Birmingham won 3-2 in Missouri in April behind two goals from forward JJ Williams and one from defender Mathieu Laurent.

STL have hit their stride recently, having won three matches in the last ten days after only winning once in the previous four months. The team has still just won twice on the road, in part due to being bottom third in USL in goals with 32. The defense has been stout and is top ten in the league in shutouts, tied with Legion FC with 10. The backline is anchored by centerback pairing Sam Fink and Phanuel Kavita who have started all 26 matches together, and the attack is led by Kyle Greig who leads in goals (7) and shots (41) and Lewis Hilton who is tops in assists (4) and chances created (45).

According to midfielder Eric Avila, “We’ve been playing a lot of good games and I think this game coming up on Friday is going to be tough. If we want to go somewhere with this team [in the postseason], we need these games and we need to show how we can perform in these situations.”

#9 Chandler Hoffman (ruptured PCL), #13 Tyler Savitsky (groin), #16 Daigo Kobayashi (knee), #27 Eddie Opoku (ankle), and #88 Femi Hollinger-Janzen (concussion) are out, per the VIVA Health injury report. #21 Zach Herivaux is available for selection after returning from an international call-up where he represented the Haitian National Team in the CONCACAF Nations League competition.  

The next Legion FC match takes place in Nashville on Tuesday, September 17 at First Tennessee Park versus Nashville SC at 7:00PM. Follow @bhmlegion on Twitter for live game updates, and watch live on My68 and ESPN+.

The boys return home to take on Indy Eleven at BBVA Field next Friday, September 20 at 7:00PM. Tickets are available at bhmlegion.com/tickets or by calling the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-600-4635.