The opening ceremonies for the first summer Olympics since 1936 include five soccer players from St. Louis in the parade of all Olympic athletes at London’s Wembley Stadium: Bob Annis, Ray Beckman, Bill Bertani, Charley Colombo and Gino Pariani. St. Louisan Justin Keenoy is a referee for the Olympic soccer tournament.

J.B. Marine becomes the first and only St. Louis team to win the U-19 national soccer championship for girls by defeating Fairfax, Va., in the final in Omaha, Neb. The game is decided on penalty kicks after overtime ends in a 2-2 draw.

Mark Filla’s 51st-minute goal propels Scott Gallagher of St. Louis to a 1-0 win in the final of the McGuire U-19 Cup over Philadelphia’s F.C. Delco in Indianapolis.

St. Louisan and future U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Ralph Tracey profoundly influences the destiny of the U.S. team in the semifinals of the first World Cup vs. Argentina. Tracey, a center halfback, suffers a severe knee injury and can’t continue in the second half. The 10-man U.S. team gives up five goals and loses, 6-1. The semifinal appearance in 1930 remains the farthest the United States has advanced in the men’s World Cup.

St. Louis native Jack Mackenzie, one of the winningest coaches in college soccer history, steps down as head coach at Quincy. His Quincy College/Quincy University teams compiled a combined record of 516-258-76 and nine NAIA championships over his 43 seasons as head coach.

The St. Louis Stars shower goals on the Minnesota Kicks on a rainy afternoon at Washington University’s Francis Field. The Stars boot the Kicks, 4-0, before 6,251 soggy fans.

Kutis, perhaps the best soccer team of its time in the United States, coasts to its sixth consecutive U.S. Amateur Cup championship by tying the Hartford (Conn.) Italian-American Stars, 3-3, in Hartford in the second game of a two-game series decided on total goals.

Using an all-St. Louis lineup, the St. Louis Stars defeat West German powerhouse Werder Bremen, 1-0, before 8,228 fans at Busch Stadium. The game’s only goal comes from Mike Seerey (pictured) off Jim Bokern’s corner kick in the 37th minute.

Fire and Ice SC of St. Louis, the defending Women’s Premier Soccer League champion, loses, 1-0, to the Seattle Sounders Women in the WPSL semifinals in Norman, Okla.

Future U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Charley Colombo is born. He will be one of five starters from St. Louis on the U.S. team that upsets England, 1-0, in the 1950 World Cup. Colombo also will play on two U.S. Open Cup championship teams in 1948 and 1950 with Simpkins Ford.

St. Louisan Steve Ralston scores as the United States blasts Cuba, 5-0, in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Foxboro, Mass.

Scott Gallagher loses, 2-1, in U.S. Amateur Cup final to Seattle Murphy’s Pub in Indianapolis. Craig Frederking (pictured), the all-time leading scorer in the history of men’s soccer at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, tallies Scott Gallagher’s only goal.

In the first meeting between two foreign soccer teams in St. Louis, Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers defeat Israel’s Hapoel Petah Tikvah, 3-1, before 8,000 appreciative fans at Public Schools Stadium.

MLS defending champion Atlanta United defeats St. Louis FC, 2-0, in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga. The defeat ends a storybook Open Cup campaign that saw second-division St. Louis FC defeat MLS opponents Chicago Fire and Cincinnati FC in the two previous rounds.

A standing-room-only crowd of 6,900 jams the St. Louis Soccer Park to watch the men’s gold and bronze medal soccer matches at the U.S. Olympic Festival. The festival is an annual competition held in various Olympic sports during Olympic off-years. The festival started in 1978, when it was called the National Sports Festival, and will end in 1995.

Raftery’s of St. Louis fights valiantly, but loses, 1-0, to defending champion Eintracht of New York in the National Amateur Cup championship game at Randall’s Island, N.Y. The 1945 season marks the first time St. Louis teams had entered the 23-year-old Amateur Cup.

The United States successfully defends its Women’s World Cup championship by defeating the Netherlands, 2-0, in Lyon, France. One of the most memorable images of the tournament comes in the final, showing St. Louis native Becky Sauerbrunn bleeding above her right eye after a head-to-head collision with Danielle van de Donk in the 54th minute.

Ruben Mendoza and Jim Murphy score for Kutis, representing the United States, in a 3-2 loss to Canada in a North American Zone World Cup qualifier at Public Schools Stadium.

The USA wins the Women’s World Cup with a 5-2 victory over Japan in Vancouver. St. Louis native Becky Sauerbrunn (pictured at left) plays every minute of every game and St. Louisan Lori Chalupny (right) is a substitute in one game.

The U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame inducts the entire 1950 U.S. World Cup team that defeated England, 1-0 (USA starting lineup pictured). The team includes St. Louisans Bob Annis, Frank Borghi, Charley Colombo, Harry Keough, Gino Pariani and Frank “Pee Wee” Wallace.