St Louis CITY2 advanced to the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference Semifinal with a 3-0 win over Ventura County FC on Sunday night at Energizer Park. CITY2 opened the scoring in the first three minutes of the match, capitalizing on an own goal by Ventura County. St Louis recorded seven shots on goal, while Ventura County had zero. In the second half, CITY2 tallied 10 shot attempts and maintained 52% possession. Brendan McSorley extended the squad’s lead to 2-0 in the 81st minute. Six minutes later, McSorley got his second goal of the night off assists from Emil Jääskeläinen and Wan Kuzain to seal the 3-0 win for CITY2.
CITY2 will host the Western Conference Semifinal at Energizer Park next weekend. The date, time, and opponent will be announced at a later date.
Postgame Notes
- Brendan McSorley scored his third and fourth career MLS NEXT Pro playoff goals
- McSorley two goals marked his first career playoff brace
- Through four career MLS NEXT Pro playoff appearances, McSorley has six goal contributions (four goals two assists)
- Wan Kuzain and Emil Jääskeläinen recorded their first assists of the postseason
- With their win, CITY2 advanced to the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference Semifinal. The date, time, and opponent will be announced at a later date
Goal-Scoring Plays
STL: Max Middlebury (own goal), 3rd minute – Max Middlebury scored an own goal from the center of the box.
STL: Brendan McSorley (Tyson Pearce), 81st minute – Brendan McSorley scored with a right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner.
STL: Brendan McSorley (Emil Jääskeläinen, Wan Kuzain), 87th minute – Brendan McSorley scored with a right footed shot from the center of the box to the central top zone.
Scoring Summary
STL: Max Middlebury (own goal), 3’
STL: Brendan McSorley (Tyson Pearce), 81’
STL: Brendan McSorley (Emil Jääskeläinen, Wan Kuzain), 87’
Misconduct Summary
VCFC: Riley Dalgado (caution), 56’
STL: Jaziel Orozco (caution), 60’
Lineups
STL: GK Christian Olivares; D Tyson Pearce (Caden Glover, 82’), D Gabriel Mikina ©, D Jaziel Orozco (Emiliano Chavez, 83’), D Cam Cilley; M Miguel Perez, M Seth Antwi; M Brendan McSorley (Dida Armstrong, 90’), M Wan Kuzain, M Matteo Kidd (Mykhi Joyner, 64’); F Emil Jääskeläinen
Substitutes Not Used: GK Colin Welsh, M Evan Carlock, M Lorenzo Cornelius, M Alex Jundt, F Lucas Demitra
TOTAL SHOTS: 25; SHOTS ON GOAL: 17; FOULS: 8; OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 15
VCFC: GK Brady Scott ©; D Riley Dalgado, D Chris Rindov, D Max Middleby (Jose Luis Magana Jr., D Harbor Miller; M Dylan Vanney, M Tommy Musto, M Sean Karani; F Jason Bucknor, F Gino Vivi, F Ruben Ramos Jr
Substitute Not Used: GK James Rhodes, M Jeorgio Kocevski, M Vicente Garcia, M Gabriel Arnold, F Elijiah Wynder, F Levon Saribekyan
TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 15; OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 15
Referee: Muhammad Hassan
Assistant Referees: Seth Barton, Christian Little
Fourth Official: Ryan Shanklin
Venue: Energizer Park
