Midfielder Wan Kuzain tallied his first goal of the season
After recovering from an early deficit to take a one-goal lead going into halftime, St Louis CITY2 allowed three unanswered goals to Huntsville City FC in the second half in a 4-2 defeat.
Huntsville set the tone in the match’s opening seconds, following up a string of passes with a long ball in behind CITY2’s backline to set up a goal in the opening minute. The home side had a chance to stretch their lead in the 6th minute after multiple attackers percolated into CITY2’s defensive third, but a diving save from goalkeeper Eric Walker on a ball lasered towards the right post kept it even. A few minutes later, defender Sergio Rivas took possession of a ball that had bobbled around Huntsville’s box and passed to midfielder Akil Watts, who beat the home team’s goalkeeper for his third goal of the season.
In the 34th minute, Huntsville put CITY2 in a tough spot after drawing a foul near the away side’s box, but the service on the ensuing free kick was headed just over the crossbar. Later, attackers for the away side knifed their way into their opponent’s territory, where midfielder Wan Kuzain made a scintillating first touch off a feed from forward Caden Glover before blasting the ball into the top bin to give CITY2 the advantage in the 38th minute.
But the home side brought the energy once again out of the halftime break, with players finding each other in space on a push downfield that ended with an attacker sending one past Walker in the 48th minute. Huntsville extended their lead in the 65th minute, converting on a penalty shot that resulted from midfielder Ezra Armstrong being shown a yellow card attempting to chase down an opponent on a breakaway.
The home team doubled their lead a little while later, scoring on a well-defended shot from inside CITY2’s box. CITY2 worked their way into some chances as the match progressed, but Huntsville bottled up the runs to maintain their 4-2 lead and secure the victory.
UP NEXT
CITY2 returns home for a midweek meeting with Austin FC II on Wednesday, June 14.
STARTING LINEUP
Eric Walker, Sergio Rivas (Nolan McGuire 77’), Michael Wentzel ©, Fritz Volmar, Ezra Armstrong, Max Schneider, Akil Watts (Larsen Hackworth 82’), John Klein (Stanislav Koval 76’), Faysal Bettache, Wan Kuzain (Ryley Gibbs 77’), Caden Glover (Dida Armstrong 46’)
SUBSTITUTES NOT USED:
Nick Bishop, Josh Maher
