After earning a resounding 4-1 victory over Real Monarchs this past weekend, St Louis CITY2 (4-6-5, 21 points) returns to CITYPARK for a matchup with Minnesota United FC 2 (5-5-3, 19 points) on Thursday, June 22. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. CT, and the match will be streamed on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
Thursday’s match will be the second of three regular season contests between CITY2 and Minnesota this season. When the teams met at CITYPARK earlier this year, CITY2 took an early lead when midfielder Akil Watts scored in the 5th minute, but the momentum of the game shifted shortly after defender Josh Maher was shown a red card for picking up his second yellow card. Minnesota netted three unanswered goals in the remaining time to wrap up a 3-1 win.
CITY2 put on an offensive clinic against Real Monarchs in their last match, with four different players getting on the board for the away side. Midfielder AJ Palazzolo initiated the scoring in the 1st minute, midfielder Sergio Rivas followed up with a goal in the 21st minute and then midfielder Wan Kuzain struck true in the 42nd minute. Real Monarchs responded with a penalty kick goal in first-half stoppage time, but forward Dida Armstrong answered in the opening minute of the second half to set up the 4-1 victory.
The four (4) goals scored by CITY2 against Real Monarchs set a single-game high for the team this year. CITY2 has now scored multiple goals in eight (8) matches this season. Helping lead the charge have been midfielder Faysal Bettache, who leads the team in key passes (22), and midfielder John Klein, who leads the team in shots on target (17) and goals (6). Overall, CITY2 ranks first in shots on goal (84), fourth in shooting percentage (42.6 percent) and are tied for sixth in key passes (128) in MLS NEXT Pro.
Minnesota United FC 2 enters the match after shutting out Whitecaps FC 2 2-0 over the weekend, ending their three-game losing streak. On the road this year, Minnesota is 3-3-2 (11 points) with a minus-one goal differential. The team is formidable on both sides of the ball, as they’re tied for the fourth-most shots on goal in MLS NEXT Pro (79) and win 51.2 percent of duels, good for sixth-most in the league.
