St. Louis CITY SC fell 2-1 against Orlando City SC in a hard-fought matchup at Exploria Stadium. After a scoreless first half, Orlando took the lead in the 48th minute through Facundo Torres before Rasmus Alm equalized off a cross from Anthony Markanich. In the dying moments of the match, Orlando was awarded a penalty which was converted by Torres to give the home side the win.
Fastest Expansion Team to 50 Goals
CITY SC made more expansion team history against Orlando by scoring their 50th MLS goal of the season in 25 games. With Alm’s goal, CITY SC became the fastest-ever expansion team to 50 goals in their first year, eclipsing Chicago Fire (1998), Atlanta United (2017) and LAFC (2018) who all scored their 50th goal in their 26th match. Only those three expansion teams in league history have scored 50-plus goals in their first year. Only four other teams since 2002 have reached 50 goals in their first 25 games of a season – Austin FC (2022), LAFC (2022), LAFC (2019) and Atlanta United (2018).
Postgame Notes
- Rasmus Alm scored his third goal of the season
- With Alm’s goal, CITY SC became the fastest-ever expansion team to score 50 goals in their first year
- Joakim Nilsson made his first start for CITY SC
- Anthony Markanich made his debut after joining the club from Colorado Rapids
- Markanich provided the assist to Alm, his first in his MLS career
- Klauss made his first appearance since his injury against Colorado Rapids on April 22.
Goal-Scoring Plays
ORL –Facundo Torres (Dagur Thórhallsson), 48th minute: Facundo Torres left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner.
STL –Rasmus Alm (Anthony Markanich), 79th minute: Rasmus Alm right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner.
ORL –Facundo Torres (penalty), 90+1 minute: Facundo Torres converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the center of the goal.
Next Game
CITY SC hosts FC Dallas in a mid-week matchup on Wednesday, August 30.
August 26, 2023 – Exploria Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
Goals by Half
ORL First (0) Second (2) Final (2)
STL First (0) Second (1) Final (1)
Scoring Summary
ORL: Facundo Torres (Dagur Thórhallsson), 48
STL: Rasmus Alm (Anthony Markanich), 79
ORL: Facundo Torres (penalty), 90+1
Misconduct Summary
STL: Aziel Jackson (caution), 50STL: Sam Adeniran (caution), 50
ORL: Mauricio Pereyra (caution), 56
ORL: Wilder Cartagena (caution), 73
STL: Jake Nerwinski (caution), 87
STL: Anthony Markanich (caution), 90
STL: Jake Nerwinski (ejection), 90+10
Lineups
ORL: GK Pedro Gallese; D Rafael Santos, D Robin Jansson, D Rodrigo Schlegel, D Dagur Thorhallsson (Michael Halliday 86’); M Cesar Araujo (Junior Urso 65’), M Mauricio Pereyra © (Jack Lynn 86’), M Wilder Cartagena, M Iván Angulo (Martin Ojeda 76’); F Duncan McGuire (Ramiro Enrique 65’), F Facundo Torres
Substitutes Not Used: GK Mason Stajduhar, D Abdi Salim, D Kyle Smith, M Felipe Martins
TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 11; OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 1
STL: GK Roman Bürki ©; D Jake Nerwinski, D Joakim Nilsson (Anthony Markanich 72’), D Josh Yaro, D Kyle Hiebert; M Akil Watts (Jared Stroud 72’), M Eduard Löwen, M AZ Jackson (Rasmus Alm 78’), M Indiana Vassilev; F Niko Gioacchini (Nökkvi Thórisson 46’), F Sam Adeniran (João Klauss 78’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Ben Lundt, D Lucas Bartlett, D Jon Bell, M Tomáš Ostrák
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 21; OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 2
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Logan Brown, Kevin Klinger
Fourth Official: Matthew Thompson
VAR: Sorin Stoica
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson
Venue: Exploria Stadium
Weather: Sunny, 87 degrees
