CITY2 Makes it Three Wins in Three Games in MLS NEXT Pro
St Louis CITY2 battled their way to a gritty 1-0 victory against rivals Sporting KC II. CITY2 started the match like a team on a mission as they looked to continue their strong start to the season.
The match began with the team controlling possession and putting pressure on the Sporting KC II defense, with waves after waves of attack. With the team dominating the opening stages, it was only a matter of time before they would score the opening goal, which the team found after executing a clever set piece play. After winning a freekick on the left wing, Ezra Armstrong slipped a pass behind the Sporting KC defense into the path of the onrushing Akil Watts who slotted home from close range. CITY2 continued to dictate the tempo of the match and their solid defensive structure limited Sporting KC II to zero shots in the first half.
Sporting KC II came out in the second half with one goal in mind – finding the equalizer. However, similar to the first half, CITY2’s defensive effort made it difficult for them to generate any goalscoring opportunities. As the game wore on, both teams increased their intensity which resulted in a physical battle late in the game. With the match dwindling, Max Schneider picked up a red card leaving CITY2 down a man in the final minutes. Despite having one less player, STL CITY2 showed a lot of spirit and grit, earning a huge win to leave Kansas with their winning streak intact.
UP NEXT
St Louis CITY2 are on the road next Wednesday, April 20 to face Louisville City FC in Round 3 of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky. Before returning home on Sunday, April 24 in the MLS NEXT Pro match of the week against MNUFC2 at Hermann Stadium (SLU) in St. Louis, Mo.
STARTING LINEUP
Eric Walker, Ben Di Rosa, Akil Watts, Kyle Hiebert, Kwame Awuah, AJ Palazzolo, Sergio Rivas, Wan Kuzain, Karson Gibbs, Ezra Armstrong, Célio Pompeu
GOALS
STL: 10’ – Akil Watts (Ezra Armstrong)
To learn more about St Louis CITY2, please find all player bios and headshots in this link here. To stay up to date with St. Louis CITY SC, visit stlcitysc.com and follow the club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
