Match Report | St Louis CITY2 Earns Third Consecutive Win in Comeback Over Ventura County FC

St Louis CITY2 earned a 3-2 comeback victory over Ventura County FC on the road Sunday night. Ventura County opened the scoring in the 37th minute with a goal from Dylan Vanney, giving the home team the 1-0 lead at halftime. Early in the second half, Jemone Barclay tied the match, scoring his first professional goal off an assist from Riley Lynch. VCFC took the 2-1 lead in the 61st minute but St. Louis’ Palmer Ault tied the match three minutes later. Ault would score his second of the night in the 76th minute, giving CITY2 the 3-2 lead and their third consecutive win to start the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season. CITY2 sits tied for first in MLS NEXT Pro’s Western Conference standings with nine points. 

St. Louis returns home to Energizer Park next Sunday, March 22 to face LAFC2 for the first time this season, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. CT.  

Postgame Notes 

• Jemone Barclay scored his first professional goal 

• Riley Lynch recorded his second and third assists of the season 

• Palmer Ault scored his second and third goals of the season, marking his first professional brace 

• Ault now has six goal contributions through three games this season 

• Adeteye Gbadehan made his CITY2 debut after signing with the team on Friday

Goal-Scoring Plays 

VCFC: Dylan Vanney (Julian Placias, Mason Vanney), 37th minute – Dylan Vanney scored with a right footed shot from the center of the box to the central bottom zone. 

STL: Jemone Barclay (Riley Lynch), 51st minute – Jemone Barclay scored with a left footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner. 

VCFC: Arnau Vilamitjana (Dylan Vanney), 61st minute –Arnau Vilamitjana scored with a left footed shot from the left side of the box to the upper left central zone. 

STL: Palmer Ault, 64th minute – Palmer Ault scored with a right fotoed shot from the center of the box. 

STL: Palmer Ault (Riley Lynch), 76th minute – Palmer Ault scored with a right fotoed shot from the center of the box to the lower left zone. 

Scoring Summary 

VCFC: Dylan Vanney (Julian Placias, Mason Vanney), 37’ 

STL: Jemone Barclay (Riley Lynch), 51’ 

VCFC: Arnau Vilamitjana (Dylan Vanney), 61 

STL: Palmer Ault, 64’ 

STL: Palmer Ault (Riley Lynch), 76’ 

Misconduct Summary 

STL: Zack Lillington (caution), 26’ 

VCFC: Vicente Garcia (caution), 60’ 

STL: Sidney Paris (caution), 65’ 

VCFC: Mason Vanney (caution), 73’ 

Lineups 

VCFC: GK Sebastian Conlon; D Riley Dalgado, D Sebas Hernandez ©, D Jose Magana, D Mason Vanney; M Tucker Lepley (Gabriel Arnold, 72’), M Arnau Vilamitjana, M Dylan Vanney; F Julian Placias, F Troy Elgersma, F Vicente Garcia (Eric Preston, 72’) 

Substitutes Not Used: GK James Rhode, D Enrique Martinez, M Chase Gozdieski, M Issak Luna, F Kai 

TOTAL SHOTS: 12; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 17; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2 

STL: GK Colin Welsh; D Jack Wagoner ©, D Zack Lillington, D Sidney Paris; M Jemone Barclay (Lorenzo Cornelius, 76’), M Patrick McDonald, M Alex Jundt (Stone Marion, 86’), M Tomas Totland (Evan Carlock, 60’); F Riley Lynch, F Palmer Ault (Adeteye Gbadehan, 85’), F Cooper Forcellini (Yu Ota, 86’) 

Substitutes Not Used: GK Lucas McPartlin 

TOTAL SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 16; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 5 

Referee: Kalilou Jarju 

Assistant Referees: Mark Novosel, Salvador Reyes 

Fourth Official: Anthony Almeida 

Venue: William Rolland Stadium 

Weather: Mostly sunny, 84 degrees