FENTON, Mo. – After a third consecutive season without reaching the USL Cup Playoffs, Saint Louis FC again entered the offseason looking for fixes that will boost the side after a season that began with major promise but ended with the side sitting eight points out of a postseason berth in the USL’s Eastern Conference.

The club isn’t expecting to see too many new faces at Toyota Stadium – Saint Louis next season, however, after the major overhaul of the roster last year after the introduction of Preki as the club’s new Head Coach.

“We’re not looking at a complete overhaul, but we will make upgrades where they’re needed,” STLFC General Manager Jeremy Alumbaugh told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Joe Lyons. “The guys we bring in will hopefully be guys who can help bring out the best in the players we already have in place. Adding another forward who can work with Christian [Volesky] up top would help, as would a dynamic player on the wing and a midfielder who can be more of a scoring threat. It’s not about just adding pieces, it’s about adding pieces that can complement the guys we have.”

Improvement in an attack that recorded just 35 goals in 32 games during the regular season will be a major priority, with Saint Louis’ numbers from the past season seeing a lack of creativity in the attacking third potentially being at the root of the problem. Saint Louis finished 28th out of 30 teams in the USL in chance creation in then 2017 regular season, averaging only 7.1 chances created per game as a side.

The side also struggled to put chances away, converting only 16 of the 30 ‘big chances’ it created during the regular season. Adding to the fans’ frustration has been the success of Jose Angulo since his loan move to OKC Energy FC, with the Colombian having scored 11 goals since the switch for the Western Conference Finalist and earning USL October Player of the Month honors.

While there were some bright spots, including the emergence of Seth Rudolph as a secondary scoring threat alongside Christian Volesky. After a year that featured numerous letdowns, however, Alumbaugh is looking for the players that will return, and arrive this offseason, to provide the consistency needed to earn a place in the postseason.

“We have plenty of excuses, but that’s all they are — excuses,” Alumbaugh told Lyons. “Every team deals with injuries and good teams find ways to adapt and overcome. Our problem this season came down to inconsistency, plain and simple. Part of that was due to the injuries, but honestly, even after we had the majority of the guys back and playing, we still lacked the consistency we needed to have in order to make a run at the playoffs.”