Returning home after a tough defeat in Alabama, St Louis CITY2 (3-5-5, 18 points) looks to even their series score against Austin FC II (7-3-3, 25 points) when they host them on Wednesday, June 14. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. CT and will be streamed on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
Wednesday’s meeting will be the second and final regular season contest between CITY2 and Austin this year. When they first met in Texas for gameday five, the two sides played a back-and-forth game in the first half. The Verde and Black seized the lead in the 66th minute and then fortified their advantage in the 88th minute, picking up a result that kept them unbeaten on the season at the time. Despite the 2-0 loss, goalkeeper Christian Olivares made a season-high eight (8) saves to keep CITY2 within striking distance for much of the match.
CITY2 found the going tough against Huntsville City FC in their last match, conceding a goal in the game’s opening minute. The away side responded by scoring two unanswered goals, with defender Sergio Rivas recovering a loose ball and sliding it to midfielder Akil Watts for a goal in the 13th minute and then midfielder Wan Kuzain going top bin off a feed from forward Caden Glover in the 38th minute. Huntsville recouped the lead in the second half, however, with goals in the 48th, 65th and 68th minutes, securing their 4-2 victory.
At home this season, CITY2 is 1-2-3 but has picked up points consistently in recent outings, going 1-0-2 (7 points)in their last three home matches. The team has now scored two goals in each of the last six games, a product of CITY2 having the second-most shots on target (75) in MLS NEXT Pro this season. With Kuzain’s goal, CITY2 now has nine (9) different goal scorers this season.
Austin FC II comes into the match having beaten Whitecaps FC 2 1-0 last weekend. After starting the season red-hot with an eight-game unbeaten streak, the Verde and Black have cooled off some in recent weeks, going 2-3-0 (6 points). On the road thus far, Austin posts a 1-2-2 record (5 points) but has dropped their last two such fixtures. They are led by a stout defense, having conceded just nine (9) goals this season and holding a plus-eight goal differential, third best in MLS NEXT Pro.
