Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte ready for hometown showdown with St. Louis City SC
Crew goaltender Patrick Schulte is a product of the St. Louis area.
He grew up embedded within the local soccer community. He rose through the academy of St. Louis FC, the city’s former USL team, played at Saint Louis University and left when he was eventually drafted by Columbus after three seasons.
So when the Crew learned in late January they would face MLS expansion team St. Louis City SC in Leagues Cup action, Schulte didn’t care what role he would play.
Sunday, the day will be here, and Schulte’s job will look decidedly different than it was projected to be six months ago. When his hometown team comes to Lower.com Field, Schulte figures to be the Crew’s starting goalkeeper after seizing upon the opportunity created when incumbent Eloy Room’s season was sidelined by a work visa issue and then injury.
Either way, Schulte would’ve been geeked for this game.
“Obviously my family and friends live there, so wanted to have the bragging rights over them and that was my biggest thing,” Schulte said. “I’ve got a bunch of little cousins that they like the Crew but they go to St. Louis City games more than they come here. Every time I go home they kind of give me crap about it. Having the family bragging rights is what I want.”
That he’ll even have the opportunity is a testament to both cities that will square off this Sunday. The #SaveTheCrew campaign is well-documented, while St. Louis endured multiple false starts in its efforts to land a club. Growing up, Schulte said he’d make the four-hour drive to watch the closest MLS team, Sporting Kansas City, while also supporting St. Louis FC.
Most of the new St. Louis fans made a seamless migration to the MLS club, Schulte said. As the team’s stadium was being built, the Crew goalkeeper said it was thrilling to jog past the site and see the steady construction progress.
“It’s kind of crazy and special in a way that a lot of my friends weren’t soccer fans and next thing you know they’re going to almost every game that they can,” he said. “It’s a big soccer town, big soccer culture. It’s definitely the soccer capital of the U.S., I would say.”
Columbus, however, will be the site of Sunday's match, which will count only for the Leagues Cup and not MLS standings.
Schulte has started in 20 of the Crew’s 23 games while cementing himself as coach Wilfried Nancy’s first-choice goalkeeper. This week, the Crew formally parted ways with Room, who signed with Dutch club SBV Vitesse Arnhem after starting 96 games with Columbus since the 2019 season.
“With him being gone and solidifying that (starting) role, it’s a little more weight on my shoulders for myself, a lot more responsibilities than what I envisioned in the beginning of the year,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I approach it any differently. I just need to continue to learn, grow, put in good performances and show that I can handle that role.”
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He'll have a few extra-interested observers in the stands this Sunday. Schulte is unsure how many friends and family members will be attending the game because he doesn’t want to fixate on those details, only on trying to hand his hometown team a defeat.
He thing is he certain of, though: He knows which team those who make the trip from St. Louis to see him play will be cheering for.
“If they’re coming up with my family, my parents won’t let them wear anything but Columbus,” he said. “Inside, maybe at heart, they’re for St. Louis but they’ll be wearing Black and Gold for sure.”
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Crew vs. St, Louis City SC
When: 7:30 p.m. SundayWatch: Apple TV
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hometown showdown: Crew's Patrick Schulte ready for St. Louis City SC
