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McLain Leads Charge in Saint Louis’ Run

By CHARLIE CORR - charlie.corr@uslsoccer.com, 04/24/16, 1:45AM EDT

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Loanee helps STL FC extend unbeaten streak to four


Photo courtesy of Sacramento Republic FC

Saint Louis FC’s defense had a daunting task, going up against Sacramento Republic FC in its fortress of Bonney Field and a sellout crowd of 11,569. Thanks to goalkeeper Patrick McLain, who stepped in for regular starter Mark Pais, Saint Louis maintained a clean sheet and extended its unbeaten streak.

The Chicago Fire loanee turned away four shots and manned a defense that faced a whopping 18 strikes as Saint Louis topped Sacramento 1-0 on Saturday.

“It’s good to get Mark rested, and whenever you do that, you hope the guy who steps in really does the job,” Saint Louis Head Coach Dale Schilly said. “I thought Patrick was phenomenal. He did everything we wanted him to do.”

Collectively, the team also defended corner kicks with precision, as well, with Sacramento earning 11 chances on such occasions but failing to break through.

Following one of those corner kick sequences, Saint Louis countered with its lone goal from Mike Ambersley off of an Irvin Herrera assist.

“We defended corner kicks extremely well tonight,” Schilly said. “Irvin held up the ball well and allowed Ambo to get ahead of him, which is a key part of developing a counter attack, and we got it – great goal.”

Saint Louis’ run of form has been strong this month with a four-game unbeaten streak and a 2-0-2 record. STL FC had opened the season with back-to-back losses.

Sacramento’s story remained the same – plenty of scoring chances but nothing to show for its efforts. Republic FC, after opening the season with a pair of 1-0 victories, has not scored a goal in its past three matches, resulting in a draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 and back-to-back 1-0 losses to the Portland Timbers 2 and Saint Louis.

“We have to keep working at it,” Republic FC Head Coach and Technical Director Paul Buckle said. “Goals are the hardest thing to get in the game of football. It’s a common theme for us. It’s been a common theme since I’ve been at the football club, actually, where we dominate games.”