Looking to earn points in a fifth consecutive game, St Louis CITY2 (2-4-5, 15 points) hits the road for a meeting with Tacoma Defiance (4-2-3, 18 points) on Monday, June 5. Kickoff is slated for 8:00 p.m. CT, with the match being streamed on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
CITY2 and Tacoma met at CITYPARK on Matchday 1, so Monday’s contest will be the teams’ second and final regular season game. In the first fixture, although the home side outshot their opponents 19 to 11 and won the shots-on-goal battle eight (8) to one (1), neither team could pull away in what ended as a 1-1 draw after forward Mykhi Joyner scored a heroic equalizer in second-half stoppage time. Tacoma won the ensuing shootouts 5-4, securing the extra point.
Against North Texas SC last weekend, CITY2 jumped ahead when midfielder Akil Watts set up forward Aziel Jackson for a tap-in in the 2nd minute. The home side added another in the 25th minute when Jackson served a cross into the box, finding defender Michael Wentzel for a header that was Wentzel’s first goal of the season. North Texas SC did not quit, however, and halved the deficit a few minutes prior to halftime before netting the equalizer in the 62nd minute. After the match ended in a 2-2 stalemate, the teams headed to shootouts, where goalkeeper Michael Creek made two key saves to help CITY2 secure the additional point.
With this last result, CITY2 now has four (4) shootout wins, the most in MLS NEXT Pro. On the road this season, the team is 1-2-2 (7 points) but has earned results in recent matches, securing five of a possible six points in their last two road contests. A key for the team has been getting on the board two or more times in a game, as CITY2 is undefeated (2-0-3, 12 points) in such cases.
Last time out, Tacoma grinded out a 1-1 draw against LAFC2 at home before grabbing the extra point with a shootout win. For the team, Monday’s match serves as an opportunity to extend a point streak of their own, as Tacoma is unbeaten (2-0-2, 10 points) in four matches at Starfire Sports Stadium, outscoring opponents 13 to 6. Of the seven (7) players who have scored for the Defiance this year, five (5) have done so two or more times, tied for the fifth-highest mark in MLS NEXT Pro.
