The United States crept one step closer to the 1986 World Cup finals tonight with a 2-1 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in a qualifying match before a crowd of 15,823 at Busch Stadium.
Mark Peterson scored the winning goal for the Americans with 1 minute 40 seconds left in a game that had little of the electric atmosphere characteristic of World Cup games in other countries. In fact, the chant ''U.S.A.-U.S.A.'' was not heard until Peterson beat Michael Maurice, the goalkeeper, with a right-footed volley from 18 yards directly in front after a pass from the left side by Erhardt Kapp.
''It's always been my dream to score a goal in a World Cup game,'' Peterson, a native of Tacoma, Wash., said. ''When it proves to be the winning goal it means so much more. Erhardt gave me a good pass and I just volleyed it.''
Maurice, who had been a steady influence in goal for the visitors, got his hands on Peterson's shot, which was rather weak. But the ball slipped out of his hands, hit the inside of the right post and trickled into the goal.
Until Peterson's goal, the Americans had been frustrated by Trinidad's technique of trapping them in an offside position for most of the second half. Despite the success of that strategy, the Americans still had the better of the chances but couldn't capitalize until Peterson's goal. The biggest chance for the Americans before Peterson's winner came in the 74th minute, when Kelvin Jones cleared Chico Borja's shot off the line.
Trinidad was also successful in its game plan of slowing the tempo of the game during the first half. The visitors shocked the crowd by opening the scoring 18 minutes 41 seconds into the game.
The play that led to the goal started when a pass by Kapp, the left fullback, was intercepted on the left side during an American attack. Julian Garcia, a defender for Trinidad, picked off Kapp's pass and created a quick counterattack by passing long in the middle toward Adrian Fonrose.
Jeff Durgan, the stopper for the Americans, who was replaced by Paul Caligiuri for the second half, jumped high but was unable to get the ball, which reached Fonrose. The lanky center forward collected the ball and beat the onrushing David Brcic, who started in goal for the Americans in his native city.
The Americans tied the score on a goal by Borja 23 minutes 20 seconds into the game. Borja beat Maurice under the roof of the net after a cross from the left side by Hugo Perez, who had received a long and accurate pass by Perry Van Der Beck on the right.
Coach Alkis Panagoulias made two substitutions that helped the Americans considerably in the second half. Besides replacing Durgan, who admitted he was ''fouling things up,'' Panagoulias replaced Angelo DiBernardo with Mike Fox in the 65th minute.
Fox did immeasurable work in midfield for the Americans, who played more effectively after his entrance.
Besides defeating Trinidad in the second game of the series Sunday, the Americans will have to win at least one game from Costa Rica, the other team in the group. The group winner will advance to another group with Canada and Honduras, and that winner will be one of the 24 teams go to Mexico for the finals next summer.