Looking to build off their two-game win streak, St. Louis CITY2 (7-2-2, 24 points) heads to the Pacific Northwest at Starfire Sports Complex for a clash with Tacoma Defiance (5-5-1, 17 points) on Thursday, June 6. The match will kick off at 9:00 p.m. CT in Washington and will be streamed on mlsnextpro.com.
CITY2 and the Defiance will be squaring off for the first time this season. St. Louis had the upper hand in their regular season meetings last season, drawing Tacoma Defiance at home before earning a win on the road. CITY2 is 2-1-1 against Tacoma all-time having lost to them once in regular season play.
Thursday’s contest will be CITY2’s second match in less than four days after picking up a 3-2 victory in Denver on Sunday. The match against Rapids 2 was a back-and-forth affair with Mykhi Joyner scoring the game winning penalty kick in the 83rd minute to secure the win. The goal was Joyner’s fourth game winning goal of the season and his fifth goal overall which leads the team. John Klein also picked up his third goal of the season during the match, his first goal since March 31st against SKC II.
Tacoma Defiance will be well rested heading into Thursday’s match as they played last Friday night against Ventura County FC, losing 3-2. The Defiance currently sit in 6th place in the Western Conference standings and are 3-0-1 at home this season. Offensively, Tacoma is led by midfielder Faysal Bettache, the former CITY2 midfielder, who has six goals and three assists this season. Bettache leads the league in shots with 34. Defender Owen O’Malley, another former CITY2 player, has appeared in six games with the Defiance this season, recording two assists.
CITY2 has been successful on the road throughout this season having a 4-1-0 record. St. Louis is tied for the most road wins (4) in MLS NEXT Pro this season. With a win against Tacoma, CITY2 could slide into first place in the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference standings, moving ahead of North Texas.
