St. Louis CITY SC defeats Houston Dynamo FC 2-1 in the team’s opening match of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Tim Parker opened the scoring in the 61st minute, heading in a cross from Indiana Vassilev off a free kick. Houston answered with a goal in the 72nd minute, but Hosei Kijima came off the bench to deliver a memorable game-winner. Making his debut with the team after being selected 17th overall in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, Kijima subbed on with second half stoppage time approaching and powered a shot into the back of the net just minutes later to secure the victory.
Kijima Shines in Debut
Selected 17th overall by CITY SC in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, midfielder Hosei Kijima made a debut for the ages in CITY SC’s 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. With his signing officially announced earlier in the day, Kijima suited up for CITY SC and subbed into the match in the 86th minute, delivering a perfectly placed strike past a diving goalkeeper just five minutes after subbing on to lift the team to a 2-1 victory.
Parker Strikes First
For the second consecutive year, CITY SC defender Tim Parker opened the team’s scoring account, heading in a cross off a free kick from midfielder Indiana Vassilev to put the team ahead. During the 2023 MLS season, Parker scored the first goal in CITY SC’s historic come-from-behind win in the team’s inaugural match against Austin FC last season. The 2023 MLS All-Star now has six goals across all competitions in two seasons with CITY SC.
Postgame Notes
- With his goal tonight, Tim Parker has now scored six goals across all competitions with CITY SC
- Tim Parker has scored the first MLS, MLS Playoffs and Concacaf Champions Cup goals in CITY SC history
- Chris Durkin, Hosei Kijima and Tomas Totland made their debuts for CITY SC
- Kijima is now the second MLS SuperDraft pick to make his debut for CITY SC, following John Klein who made his debut last season
- Kijima became the 18th different player to score a goal in all competitions for CITY SC
- Kijima is the first MLS SuperDraft pick to score a goal for CITY SC
- CITY SC opens the season with a win for the second-straight year, after defeating Austin FC in the club’s MLS debut last season
Goal-Scoring Plays
STL – Tim Parker (Indiana Vassilev), 61st minute: Tim Parker header to the bottom left corner.
HOU – Sebastian Kowalczyk (Aliyu Ibrahim), 72nd minute: Sebastian Kowalczyk right-footed shot to the bottom right corner.
STL – Hosei Kijima, 90th+1 minute: Hosei Kijima right-footed shot to the bottom right corner
February 20, 2024 – CITYPARK (St. Louis, Missouri)
Goals by Half
St. Louis CITY SC First (0) Second (2) Final (2)
Houston Dynamo FC First (0) Second (1) Final (1)
Scoring Summary
STL: Tim Parker (Indiana Vassilev), 61
HOU: Sebastian Kowalczyk (Aliyu Ibrahim), 72
STL: Hosei Kijima, 90+1
Misconduct Summary
HOU: Steve Clark(caution), 21
HOU: Griffin Dorsey (caution), 88
Lineups
STL: GK Roman Bürki ©; D Tomas Totland, D Josh Yaro, D Tim Parker, D Anthony Markanich; M Tomáš Ostrák (Célio Pompeu 74’), M Chris Durkin (Eduard Löwen 74’), M Indiana Vassilev (Njabulo Blom 62’), M Aziel Jackson (Hosei Kijima 86’); F Sam Adeniran, F João Klauss
Substitutes Not Used: D Nikolas Dyhr, D Kyle Hiebert, D Joakim Nilsson, D Jake Nerwinski, M Nökkvi Thórisson, M Akil Watts, GK Ben Lundt, GK Christian Olivares
TOTAL SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 6; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 1
HOU: GK Steve Clark ©; D Tate Schmitt, D Erik Sviatchenko, D Micael; M Sebastian Kowalczyk (Daniel Steres 84’), M Artur, M Adalberto Carrasquilla (Jan Gregus 84’), M Brooklyn Raines; F Sebas Ferreira (Brad Smith 25’), F Aliyu Ibrahim (Gabe Segal 73’), F Griffin Dorsey
Substitutes Not Used: GK Xavier Valdez, F Stephen Annor, D Kieran Sargeant, D Femi Awodesu, M Diego Gonzalez
TOTAL SHOTS: 6; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 4
Referee: Adonai Escobedo
Assistant Referees: Christian Espinosa, Michel Espinoza
Fourth Official: Daniel Quintero
VAR: Guillermo Pacheco
AVAR: Oscar Macias
Venue: CITYPARK
Weather: Clear, 50 degrees
