St Louis CITY2 (6-8-7, 30 points) heads to the North Star State for a clash with Minnesota United FC 2 (9-7-5, 34 points) on Sunday, August 13, at National Sports Center Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. CT, and the match will be streamed on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
The match will be the third and final regular season meeting between CITY2 and MNUFC2 this season. In the first contest, CITY2 took an early lead, but the tide shifted after defender Josh Maher was sent off after picking up his second yellow card in the 64th minute, with Minnesota slotting home three unanswered goals to steal the victory. In the second fixture, the teams grinded out a scoreless draw before CITY2 picked up the extra point with a 4-3 shootout victory.
In their match against Real Monarchs last weekend, CITY2 barred their opponents from any sort of comeback with a commanding 4-0 victory. Midfielder John Klein inked his name on the scoresheet with a goal in the 38th minute, and then defender Joakim Nilsson followed up by heading in a corner kick service as the first half waned. Klein bagged his team-high ninth goal of the season in the 63rd minute, and midfielder Wan Kuzain wrapped up the scoring by bending in a strike just before stoppage time, sending the MLS NEXT Pro record 9,489 fans in attendance into a frenzy.
Having scored in CITY2’s previous contest against LAFC2, Klein’s brace against Real Monarchs – his second brace this season -- gave him goals in back-to-back games, his second time achieving that feat this season. With his goal in the second half, Klein surpassed Josh Dolling for the most single-season goals in CITY2 history, as the latter scored eight (8) times in the team’s inaugural campaign in 2022.
Goalkeeper Eric Walker picked up his second clean sheet of the season in the match. CITY2 is now one of just eight teams in MLS NEXT Pro that have two goalies with multiple clean sheets.
Against Real Monarchs, midfielder Max Schneider picked up his team-leading fourth assist of the season, while defender Selmir Pidro tallied his first goal contribution thus far. CITY2 now has fourteen (14) players with at least one assist, which is tied for fourth in MLS NEXT Pro.
Across their three-match unbeaten run (two wins, one draw), CITY2 has poured in goals, outscoring their opponents nine (9) to three (3). On the road this season, CITY2 is 3-3-4 (16 points), drawing Earthquakes II in their most recent away outing. Meanwhile, MNUFC2 is 5-4-1 (17 points) at home after beating North Texas SC when they last played as hosts.
MNUFC2 enters Sunday’s contest having bested LAFC2 1-0 on the road their last time out. Minnesota has won two consecutive matches and earned points in four of their last five outings. In addition to forwards Diogo Pacheco and Kameron Lacey, who have fifteen (15) combined goals this season, red-hot midfielder Cameron Dunbar has emerged as another offensive weapon for MNUFC2. Dunbar has three goals over Minnesota’s last two matches.
