St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 29

SI LOUIS POST-DISPATCH FRIDAY. JUNE 24, 1977 SECTION 14C 0 a SZ HI) 7 VT r- if- V' ii i 'uftwrye111- I ssr By Rick Hummed Of ht Post-Dispatch Staff Of nine amateur soccer championships contestable in the last year, St. Louis-area teams won only one, when Meramec Community College captured the national junior college title. It wasn't so long ago that St. Louis-bred teams were winning five and six national crowns a year.

Under those given conditions, is it still realistic to call St. Louis the "amateur soccer capital" of the United States? A consensus of soccer people across the country is that St. Louis still provides more top-notch talent to colleges than any other area but that the day is gone when area teams will dominate collegiate play. The consensus also is that other cities and regions have caught up with St Louis in the stature of and participation in its youth programs. For instance, in the Dallas and north Texas area, there are 43,000 soccer players paying dues to the United States Soccer Federation.

There are 45,000 registered players in northern California, compared to 27,000 soccer players in the metropolitan area here. Joe Carenza, chairman of the Missouri Soccer Federation and executive secretary and sports director of the St. Louis Catholic Youth Council, says one should not judge purely by numbers because the St. Louis metropolitan area doesn't have the population of northern California or probably even Dallas. He said he feels St.

Louis amateur soccer still is the best but he voices some concern about the decline in dominance. "It seems the rest of the county is catching up with us or we're taking the rest of the country very lightly," Carenza said. Former Aquinas High and Southern Illinois Univer-sity-Edwardsville standout Tim Holstein thinks "St. Louis has been caught up with" on the amateur level, mostly in collegiate terms. "In years gone by, whoever won the SlU-St.

Louis University game you could just about count on them being the NCAA champion." St. Louis University has not won the NCAA since 1973. Granted, four years without a championship is not exactly a drouth, but. Holstein cites the improvement of youth programs in other cities and the recruiting of foreign players by other major universities as equalizers to St. Louis's head start.

Coach Jim Lennox of Hartwick College, the Oneonta, N.Y., school which reached the NCAA semifinals last year, said he was reluctant to go any farther than to say that "St. Louis ranks with the best" as an amateur soccer haven. "It's purely subjective," said Lennox. "At one time, it unquestionably was in the top spot. The change is not because St.

Louis is not as good as it was, but that the game is growing all over." Lennox, in fact, said he thought St. Louis amateur soccer was better than it ever had been. "I don't think St. Louis people should get upset," said Lennox, "if you lose once or twice. I talked to some St.

Louisans at the NCAA tournament and they were wondering what's happened. It's tough to accept that you're not the top dog every match, I know, but you cant question yourself." Steve Negoesco, coach of the University of San Francisco team which has won the last two NCAA titles with predominantly foreign talent, says there was no question that St. Louis college teams "had been caught and surpassed," but that St. Louis still was the leader among United States areas in producing amateur talent. For now.

"They will be passed soon by sheer numbers," Negoesco said. "We have 7,000,000 people in northern California alone. The game has started to catch on in suburbia and we have suburbia all over northern California." Negoesco's idea of developing amateur soccer is to "bring in foreign players with just one purpose to expose the young kids to the foreign game. We could be in trouble unless we implement foreign methods of training. If we don't do it here, how are we going to catch up with them?" Then he went on to twit what he considered the Midwest and specifically St.

Louis ideal of "trying to start American soccer in America. There's no such thing," said Negoesco. "There's something about the Midwest. They probably are the cockiest people in the world. It reminds of the Prussia Germans thinking they were the most superior people in the world.

"I think you do have to have a little humility. You have to say, 'Hey, I want to learn from these guys (foreign Look at pro soccer. St. Louis is not drawing as well with mostly American players as teams that don't have American players." Carenza doesn't particularly agree with Negoesco, though, and neither does Lennox. "I get aggravated listening to that.

It's like a broken record. Steve is just trying to justify an all-foreign team," Lennox said. "When you're on top like St. Louis, everybody is looking for the slightest thing to knock you down. When a St.

Louis team didn't reach the finals, my God, you should have heard the uproar. We were hearing the talk that the St. Louis area doesn't put out the players it used to. What a bunch of crap." 4 Even Negoesco, in a postscript, admitted that "St. Louis does a helluva job." But it's obvious that St.

Louis soccer no longer is the 1927 Yankees. Blues' Top Pick Signs With Houston HOUSTON, June 24 (UPI) Scott Campbell, the' Blues' No. 1 selection in the National Hockey League draft of amateur players, signed with the Houston Ae-ros of the World Hockey Association today. mi I HliA KEEPING PELE AWAY: Stars defender Gary Rensing (16) stays with superstar Pele as both scramble for a loose ball near the Stars goal last night at Busch Stadium. The Stars kept Pele in check all night as they shut out the Cosmos before the largest crowd to ever see a professional soccer game in St.

Louis. (Post-Dispatch Photo by Wayne Crosslin) 'tfoiro tf Yte irdlDetf Ssfeir teir(l WJttfiKKs index 5 A than 5 minutes left in the game when he literally tackled St. Louis's Al Trost from behind, bringing the Stars' midfielder down by locking his arms around Trost's legs. "He should have had a caution for that but I guess because it was Pele the referee decided to let it go," said Trost. "The ref said he thought Pele was falling and he just grabbed me to protect himself." The Stars opened the scoring at 10:16 when Peter Bennett, normally a midfielder but used on the forward line last night, intercepted a Franz Beckenbauer pass 23 yards in front of the Cosmos' net and fired a quick, low shot into the cage past a handcuffed Shep Messing.

"The New York keeper didn't have a chance to move," said Sewell. "He was just caught by surprise." It was unusual that the wayward pass Bennett intercepted should have come off the foot of Beckenbauer, the former captain of Germany's World Cup champions and considered one of the superstars of the game. "I guess we all can make mistakes," said Sewell. Beckenbauer's bad pass wasn't the only mistake made by the New York backline. At 30:48 of the first half, Salvage sped in off the left wing and turned loose a See STARS, Page 5 By Wally Cross Of the Post-Dispatch Staff The largest congregation ever to witness a professional soccer game in St.

Louis showed up at Busch Stadium last night to pay tribute to and bid farewell to Pele, the sport's most celebrated player. And 32,605 delighted spectators left the park cheering the likes of John Jackson, Peter Burnett, Barry Salvage and Bob O'Leary, who turned in superlative efforts as the Stars ground out a 2-0 triumph over the New York Cosmos and ended the visitors' victory streak at five games. The Cosmos, runaway leaders of the North American Soccer League's Eastern Division, entered Jast night's contest with a 10-5 record and 91 points. The Stars, who haven't allowed a goal in their last three starts, improved their record to 7-9 and vaulted back into first place in the Northern Division, seven points ahead of the Rochester Lancers. "That was one of the most fantastic games we've ever played," said a happy John Sewell, the Stars' coach.

"It was a classic victory. The Cosmos are a very strong side, you know. Perhaps one of the strongest in the world. "I think we showed everyone that we now have to be considered contenders." Previously, the largest crowd to watch a soccer game in St. Louis was 20,985 on April 23, 1967, for a Stars encounter with California.

The second-largest crowd was July 22, 1972, when 14,210 watched the Stars play Toronto. Although delighted with the outcome, last night's crowd undoubtedly would have liked to have seen Pele score at least one goal in his final St. Louis appearance. The 37-year-old "Black Pearl" of Brazil will retire at the conclusion of this season, his twenty-second as a professional. Pele has scored 1268 goals, including eight this season, in 1340 games.

But tenacious marking by O'Leary and Roger Verdi and some outstanding goal-keeping by Jackson left him frustrated last night. The closest Pele came on three shots was when he headed a pass from Rildo over the net with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. He later fired wide on a free kick. Pele's frustration showed with less TWIN UPSETS: Two seeded players were upset at Wimbledon yesterday and one was done in by a twin. Page 2 PRESSURE: Mike Duff changed his mind, and is not going to Mizzou.

Was it a mistake? Page 3 MAGIC FINGERS: Lou Adamie calls his 4000th Cardinal game tonight. Page 3 TAKE A POLE and canoe down, or up, the river. A different approach to canoeing. Page 4 CHEESE DOODLES replace Wimbledon's strawberries and cream in St. Louis tennis tourney.

Page 4 FOR THE LOVE OF IT is why local breeders get into the business of quarter-horse racing. Don Poston explores the realities of the sport. Page 5 VAS GOSE HERE? Americans are discovering that you don't have to speak four languages to get into pro soccer. Page 5 SUPER SUMMER CLEARANCE SALE! Men's Suits Regular $110 to $185 Va to y3 off Fashion Sportcoats ii NEW 1977 CUTLASS SUPREME JERRY NELFRKN U1MKMR. onyn.TTB MO, FOR 3dMONTH WAIK-AWAY UASE INCLUDES; Safes fox, rVtcmat Propffy Tax, fnipeclioft fat, License, Factory A Comfifioning, Hydranwttt Transmission, Power Steering, Power Disc Brata, Tint Ctas, Body Sid Molding, Full Wheel Disc, While Wt Tires, pWs AH Factory Equipment.

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