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Volesky’s ‘Homecoming’ Thrills STLFC Fans

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 04/02/17, 8:51AM EDT

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New signing sent 5,566 home happy after leading charge for late winner


Photo courtesy Mark Guthrel / Saint Louis FC

FENTON, Mo. – Christian Volesky hadn’t had a debut to write home about for Saint Louis FC on the opening weekend of the 2017 USL season, as he was held without a shot against Louisville City FC.

Less than 10 minutes into STLFC’s home opener against USL newcomer Ottawa Fury FC in front of a sellout crowd of 5,566 fans at Toyota Stadium – Saint Louis, he was quickly back to the form that had made him one of the leading scorers in the USL over the past two seasons.

A deft opening finish to open his account for the club in the fifth minute, and then a calm assist to set up Mats Bjurman for Saint Louis’ second four minutes later, brought the home fans to their feet, and set the stage for a dramatic 3-2 victory against a valiant Fury FC effort.

“This is like a homecoming for me, coming from SIUE, it’s just massive for me,” said Volesky. “I love this environment, great fans obviously, shout-out to the Louligans, I hope we can get the same support at each game.”

As evidenced by the final score, the game didn’t go nearly as smoothly for Saint Louis for the remaining 80 minutes. Ottawa quickly hit back as Eddie Edward knocked home a corner kick by Gerardo Bruna, and the visitors had the hosts under pressure for much of the second half before notching an equalizer through Onua Obasi with seven minutes to go.

As time wound down, though, Volesky had one final card to play. After the ball was scrambled forward by Saint Louis’ defense, it found the forward inside the center circle in his own half. Turning his man well, Volesky surged forward on a 50-yard run before he played Max Alvarez into the right side of the penalty area. Alvarez’s flicked finish was redirected into his own net by Fury FC defender Sergio Manesio, giving the hosts a stunning victory.

“I’m very happy to open up with a win at home,” said Volesky. “3-2 is a big result. It was massive for us, and to carry that forward, we’re so excited for this season.”

The own goal capped a first win in charge of Saint Louis FC for new Head Coach Preki, for whom Volesky was a number of new additions as the club rebuilt its squad this offseason. Having presided over some remarkable victories while with Sacramento Republic FC, the former U.S. international was still left shaking his head at the game he’d witnessed.

“Regardless of the result, I was saying to the staff that this was one of the weirdest games I have ever been a part of,” said Preki. “I felt really proud of our guys and the way we played.”

As the players celebrated what proved to be the winning goal, the passion that was shown in the stands helped push the side on for another memorable night at the World Wide Technology Soccer Park.  

“It is special playing in front of these fans,” said Bjurman. “They pushed us to get that last goal, they kept going and chanting all night. We kept going as hard as we could to make them happy, and they really willed us to that third goal.”

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