A.J. Palazzolo has been named to the roster for the inaugural STL CITY 2 squad, the development team for St. Louis CITY SC which will debut next month in the upcoming MLS NEXT Pro season.
Palazzolo started 19 matches for Saint Louis in 2021 after transferring to SLU following a four-year career at Indiana.
“A.J. is a winner – plain and simple,” SLU head coach Kevin Kalish said. “He is an extremely intelligent and versatile player who can play as a holding midfielder or a center back. A.J. has tremendous vision, can win aerial duals and is willing to do the dirty work needed for his teams to win games. He is a big-game player who makes plays, and his fighting spirit is as good as anyone that I ever coached.”
A first-team All-Conference and second-team All-Region selection, Palazzolo helped the Billikens to a 16-1-4 record, an undefeated regular season, Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and an NCAA quarterfinal appearance in 2021. He was a big part of the Billikens’ defensive effort that led the A-10 in goals against average (0.81) and shutouts (nine).
Offensively, Palazzolo registered seven points (3G, 1A) and tallied the game-winners against Creighton and Dayton. He scored a goal and assisted on another in SLU’s win against LIU in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.
Palazzolo played in three College Cups at Indiana, playing a total of 72 matches with the Hoosiers. In his five-year collegiate career, Palazzolo appeared in 92 matches and had 30 points (10G, 10A).
A St. Louis native, Palazzolo was the National High School Player of the Year out of CBC, where he helped the Cadets to a state title. Palazzolo also played for the St. Louis Scott Gallagher academy team.
