The St. Andrew's 1st Soccer Saints ventured 1,000 kilometres south for their first-ever trip to the LouCity-Racing College Showcase in Louisville, Kentucky. It was well worth the bus ride, as the Saints went 1-1-1 against some top U19 academy opponents.
SAC opened the event on Saturday morning with a scrappy 1-1 draw against the Ohio Galaxies U19 squad. Despite falling behind early in the second half, the Saints carried the bulk of play and were rewarded with a Dylan Mahoney '27 goal 20 minutes from time. Despite a ton of chances late, SAC settled for the tie.
The Saints' evening match-up was with cross-border neighbours, Buffalo Pro Soccer U19. This brand new professional side will open play in the USL in 2027. After a back and forth opening 20 minutes, which saw Buffalo catch SAC on the counter, the Saints took control. After some sustained pressure, Merek Husack '27 found the head of centre back Michael Madeiros '27 to tie the game and just 12 minutes later, senior Adam Popatia '26 found a streaking Dylan Mahoney '27 on the doorstep, for his second goal of the weekend. The 2-1 victory saw 15 shots on target for SAC, including a post and a crossbar in the second half. An outstanding offensive outing from the Saints.
On Sunday, SAC ran into the tournament hosts and established USL U19-side, LouCity. The LouCity 1st Team have earned back-to-back USL first place finishes, and the Saints held their own in some surprising -10 degree temperatures. In fact, SAC had the match's first big scoring opportunity with senior Jayden Walters '26 sending winger Jah'Zion Taylor '27 in goal, who was denied from pointblank range. Scoreless at the half, the Saints were unlucky to quickly go two down, with a seemingly offside goal and a deflection that eluded goalkeeper Joseph Corsetti '28. While chasing the game, SAC conceded two more late to fall 4-0 to this high-quality opponent.
Up next for 1st Soccer are two indoor tournaments to wrap up the winter at Ontario Tech University (Wed Feb 25) and York University (Tue March 3).
Go Saints!
