AC St. Louis forward Mike Ambersley was named U.S. Soccer's Division 2 player of the month for July, a first for the franchise as their improved play has moved them into the playoff picture. The team faces division-leading Vancouver tonight at 7 at the Soccer Park.

Ambersley scored four goals, including two game-winners, in the month as the team went 3-3-2. He scored the game-winner in a game against Baltimore on July 24 and then had a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Portland on July 28.

AC St. Louis goes into the game in 10th place, four points out of eighth place, which is the final playoff spot. Teams 4 through 11 in the league are separated by just seven points, so AC St. Louis can move up the ladder pretty quickly.

"We've got to focus on winning games," Ambersley said. "We've got to put the Minnesota tie behind us and look at Vancouver and what we have to do to get three points there. We know we can win at home. We've got to tighten things up defensively, keep creating chances and we'll be able to win games."

The winning has helped the team's morale. "We have something to play for," Ambersley said. "When you get in a losing streak, you lose focus on what's at hand. Now we've won a few games and all it takes in this league is you win two or three and you're back in it. It's fun to go to practice, to know we are in the playoff hunt. There are no rookies on this team anymore, everyone knows what it's about."

The team is coming off a tie with Minnesota in which the team once again let a late lead slip away. If AC St. Louis had not blown two late leads against Minnesota, they'd be in the playoff range now. Coach Dale Schilly says the problem is the team's short backline dealing with flighted balls into the box.

"Hopefully we learned a lesson," he said. "It's just dealing with flighted balls, how can you in key moments defend in front of your goal and do what you can to keep the ball out. Physically it's tough for us because of the size of the teams we're playing against. It's hard for us to deal with what teams can throw at us. We have to be very very good in terms of our communication, our organization, in challenging for those flighted ball. Every game we go into with a 1-0 lead is going to have us contesting for flighted balls in the box in the last 10 minutes."

Schilly said another problem for his team is its fitness. A tough road schedule in July and St. Louis' heat has beaten the team down. (By the way, Vancouver got into town early in the week from another road game. AC St. Louis practices from 9 to 11, and on Wednesday, Vancouver practiced after them at 11, which didn't last very long. On Thursday, Vancouver practiced from 7 to 9 a.m.)

"For sure there's a fitness issue, a fatigue issue," Schilly said. "When you play as many games as we played in July, you can't deal with that in training, when you go from one game to the next. You're doing what you can to save your legs. For sure we got tired. We had tired legs and were mentally tired. We have to be able to finish the 90 minutes."