St Louis CITY2 earned a 5-0 shut out against Tacoma Defiance on Sunday afternoon in front of a record-breaking crowd at CITYPARK. Dida Armstrong scored his first goal of the night in the 33rd minute to open the goal fest. Just four minutes later, Armstrong earned his second goal of the night and his first professional brace. One minute before halftime, John Klein scored his sixth goal of the season from the penalty spot.
In the second half, Caden Glover added to the scoresheet. Mykhi Joyner finished off the scoring in the 86th minute to help CITY2 earn their ninth home win. CITY2 will select their opponents for the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro playoffs on Tuesday, October 8. The opponent and date for the match will be announced at a later date.
Postgame Notes
- Dida Armstrong scored his first and second goals of the season
- Armstrong earned his first professional brace
- John Klein scored his sixth goal of the season from the penalty spot and marked his sixth assist of the season. Klein leads CITY2 in assists
- Caden Glover notched his third goal of the season
- Mykhi Joyner, who is in 2nd place for the MLS NEXT Pro golden boot race, earned his sixteenth goal of the season
- Joyner has had 20 goals contributions (16 goals, four assists) in 2024
- Hosei Kijima earned his fourth and fifth assists of the season
- St Louis improved their record against Tacoma Defiance to 5-1-1 all time
- Sunday’s match was the first time in 2024 that CITY2 scored five goals in a single match
- CITY2 picked up their ninth home victory in 2024
- St Louis finished the regular season setting a record for the most home victories in a single season
- In 2024, CITY2 managed to score 52 goals while only conceding 35
- St Louis CITY2 broke their own MLS NEXT Pro attendance record which was set earlier in the summer with 12,022 fans in attendance at CITYPARK
Goal-Scoring Plays
STL: Dida Armstrong, 33rd minute – Dida Armstrong scored a right footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box to the bottom right corner.
STL: Dida Armstrong (Hosei Kijima), 37th minute – Dida Armstrong scored a right footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner.
STL: John Klein (penalty kick), 44th minute – John Klein converted a penalty kick with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
STL: Caden Glover (John Klein), 58th minute – Caden Glover scored a right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right to the top left corner.
STL: Mykhi Joyner (Hosei Kijima), 86th minute – Mykhi Joyner scored a left footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner.
Scoring Summary
STL: Dida Armstrong, 33’
STL: Dida Armstrong (Hosei Kijima), 37’
STL: John Klein (penalty kick), 45’
STL: Caden Glover (John Klein), 58’
STL: Mykhi Joyner (Hosei Kijima), 86’
Misconduct Summary
STL: Dida Armstrong (caution), 34’
TAC: Stuart Hawkins (caution), 43’
STL: Matteo Kidd (caution), 48’
TAC: Braudilio Rodrigues (caution), 55’
STL: Hosei Kijima (caution), 71’
TAC: Chris Aquino (caution), 76’
Lineups
STL: GK Christian Olivares; D Tyson Pearce, D Michael Wentzel, D Gabi Mikina ©, D Selmir Pidro (Eric Kinzner, 86’); M Seth Antwi, M Matteo Kidd (Ryan Dugan, 76’); M Hosei Kijima (Edin Clark, 86’), M Dida Armstrong (Ryan Becher, 61’), M John Klein; F Caden Glover (Mykhi Joyner, 61’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Nick Bishop, D Oscar Benitez, M Braden Benyr, M Cam Cilley
TOTAL SHOTS: 20; SHOTS ON GOAL: 8; FOULS: 20; OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 4
TAC: GK Jacob Castro; D Blake Bowen, D Stuart Hawkins, D Elias Katsaros, D Cody Baker; M Snyder Brunell © (Burke Fahling, 85’), M Sota Kitahara; M Braudilio Rodrigues (Yu Tsukanome, 75’), M Sebastian Gomez (Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, 64’), M Dylan Teves (Chris Aquino, 75’); F Gio Miglietti (Osaze De Rosario, 75’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Lars Helleren, D Antino Lopez, D Owen O’Malley
TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
Assistant Referees: Jay Norris, Eric Wood
Fourth Official: Tim Wagner
Venue: CITYPARK
Weather: Sunny, 80 degrees
