St. Louis CITY SC extended their winning streak to three games after besting Toronto FC 1-0 at BMO Field. After a scoreless first half, midfielder AZ Jackson spun in the game-winning goal off a pass from midfielder Akil Watts in the 50th minute. In addition to the win being the team's fifth road victory on the season, CITY SC now has 38 points through 21 regular season matches, the most by an expansion team in that span in MLS history. CITY SC wraps up their road trip with a duel against LAFC next Wednesday.
Well-Timed First
AZ Jackson and Akil Watts have helped CITY SC to three-straight wins, having started the last three matches. Jackson scored his first career MLS goal with the help of Watts’ first career MLS assist en route to a 1-0 win above the border at Toronto.
Expansion Team Climbing the Ranks
CITY SC continued its strong start to its inaugural season, picking up its 12th MLS regular-season win. The 12 wins are tied for the fifth most for an expansion team, tying with Seattle, Orlando City and Montreal.
Postgame Notes
- CITY SC are undefeated when scoring first (10-0-2 record)
- Head Coach Bradley repeated a starting lineup for this second time this season
- With the win, St. Louis CITY SC (38 points) have accrued the most points by an expansion team after 21 regular season matches in MLS history, eclipsing Chicago Fire (1998) who had 37 points.
- Aziel Jackson recorded the first MLS goal of his career
- Akil Watts recorded the first assist of his MLS career
- CITY SC has now seen 13 different players score in MLS action and 15 different players score across all competitions
- Roman Bürki recorded his sixth clean sheet of the season
- Bürki recorded his 150th professional clean sheet
Goal-Scoring Plays
STL – Aziel Jackson (Akil Watts), 50th minute: Aziel Jackson left footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner.
Next Game
St. Louis CITY SC continues their two-game road trip with a meeting against LAFC on July 12.
July 8, 2023 – BMO Field (Toronto, Canada)
Goals by Half
TOR First (0) Second (0) Final (0)
STL First (0) Second (1) Final (1)
Scoring Summary
STL: Aziel Jackson (Akil Watts), 50’
Misconduct Summary
STL: Njabulo Blom (caution), 38'
STL: Tim Parker (caution), 47'
TOR: Themi Antonoglou (caution), 90'+4
Lineups
TOR: GK Tomas Romero; D Aime Mabika (Adam Pearlman 84’), D Kobe Franklin, D Shane O’Neill, D Raoul Petretta (Themi Antonoglou 84’), M Mark-Anthony Kaye, M Brandon Servania (Alonso Coello 57’), M Deandre Kerr (Jordan Perruzza 83’), F Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, F CJ Sapong ©, F Ayo Akinola (Jesus Batiz 72’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Greg Ranjitsingh, M Kosi Thompson, M Markus Cimermancic, F Hugo Mbongue
TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 5
STL: GK Roman Bürki ©; D Josh Yaro, D Akil Watts (Jake Nerwinski 67’), D Kyle Hiebert; D Tim Parker, M Jared Stroud (Isak Jensen 90’), M Aziel Jackson (Celio Pompeu 82’), M Njabulo Blom, M Indiana Vassilev (Miguel Perez 67’); F Nicholas Gioacchini (Rasmus Alm 67’), F Sam Adeniran
Substitutes Not Used: GK Ben Lundt, D John Nelson, D Lucas Barlett, M Tomáš Ostrák
TOTAL SHOTS: 17; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 14; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 3
Referee: Filip Dujic
Assistant Referees: Ian McKay, Gerard-Kader Lebuis
Fourth Official: Michael Venne
VAR: Michael Radchuk
AVAR: Gjovalin Bori
Venue: BMO Field
Weather: Cloudy 70 degrees
