St. Louis CITY SC plays away to Toronto FC this Saturday at BMO Field at 6:30 p.m. CST. The match will be streamed on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app and can be heard by our radio partners on KYKY Y98.1 FM (English) and KXOK 102.9 FM (Spanish).
St. Louis CITY SC defeated Colorado Rapids 2-0 in their last match to remain at the summit of the Western Conference standings. Defender Tim Parker headed CITY SC into the lead four minutes into the match before midfielder Jared Stroud doubled the lead seven minutes later. After tying with Colorado in the away fixture earlier this season, CITY SC has earned four points against the Rapids this season.
Earlier in the season, Parker made history by scoring CITY SC’s first-ever MLS goal after heading in a corner against Austin FC on Matchday 1. Similar to his first goal against Austin FC, Parker rose above everyone to nod home Aziel Jackson’s corner kick, scoring his second goal for St. Louis CITY SC and the sixth goal in his MLS career across all competitions. With his goal, the defender became the 10th different player for CITY SC to score multiple goals in MLS play this season.
Scoring CITY SC’s second goal against Colorado, Stroud increased his goal tally to four goals this season. The winger has played in 17 MLS games this season for CITY SC. His eight goal contributions (four goals and four assists) have already surpassed his career single-season high of five which he tallied in 2021 with Austin FC in 22 games played. CITY SC is 5-0-1 when Stroud tallies a goal or an assist.
Sam Adeniran and Jackson carried over their form from their first starts against San Jose to the match against the Rapids. Both players recorded their first assist for CITY SC against the Rapids – Jackson delivered the corner for Parker’s opener and Adeniran provided the pass for Stroud’s goal. With his assist, Jackson recorded his first goal contribution in MLS this season, after scoring twice in CITY SC’s Open Cup match against Union Omaha. Adeniran has three goal contributions (two goals, one assist) in the last two games.
CITY SC’s depth continues to shine throughout the season. Against Colorado, CITY SC fielded its 19th different lineup in 20 MLS games this season. St. Louis has seen 12 different goal scorers in MLS and 14 goals scorers across all competitions. CITY SC has had 25 players make an appearance and 20 different players make a start in MLS.
St. Louis is undefeated when scoring first across all competitions (9-0-2 record) and is 10-0-2 when leading at the 75th minute. Head Coach Bradley Carnell is 15-1-3 all-time, both as an interim and full-time manager, when his team scores first. After 20 games this season, CITY SC sits at first in the Western Conference standings, boasting the best goal differential in the league (+15). CITY SC is tied second in the league for goals scored (39) and tied second for most wins (11).
The match on Saturday will mark the first time CITY SC faces off against Toronto FC. St. Louis owns a 4-4-1 record in road matches this season. CITY SC has scored 13 goals, recorded one clean sheet and has seen seven different goal scorers on the road this season – João Klauss, Niko Gioacchini, Stroud, Rasmus Alm, Parker, Kyle Hiebert and Adeniran. In their last away match, St. Louis became the first team to defeat San Jose at PayPal Park in 13 home games, a streak that dated back to August 3rd of last season.
CITY SC’s 13 away goals are tied with Philadelphia Union, Columbus Crew and Atlanta United for third-most in the league – two behind Charlotte and Real Salt Lake, who leads the league with 15. CITY SC’s four away wins are tied with Orlando, D.C United and Minnesota for second most in the league – two behind Real Salt Lake’s six away wins.
Toronto FC currently sits in 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings with 19 points. Toronto comes into the match on a four-game losing streak, with their most recent loss (4-0) coming against Orlando City FC on July 4. Toronto is 3-2-6 at home this season and has won just one out of the last seven matches at home since May 6 (1-3-3 record).
Across their last ten matches against expansion teams playing in their inaugural seasons, Toronto FC is 6-2-2 overall. In the home matches over that span, the team is 4-1-1 with a plus-five goal differential. Only three expansion teams have won away at Toronto FC – Seattle 2-0 (2009), NYCFC 2-0 (2015) and LAFC 4-2 (2018).
