St Louis CITY2 kicked off the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season with a dominant 4-0 win over cross-state rivals Sporting KC II. Evan Carlock opened the scoring with his first professional goal just 14 minutes in, off an assist from Palmer Ault, who recorded his first professional assist. Patrick McDonald found the back of the net 10 minutes later with assists from Riley Lynch and Alex Jundt, scoring his first CITY2 goal. In second-half action, defender Kyle Hiebert struck the back of the net as Cooper Forcellini and Evan Carlock earned their first professional assists. To round out the scoring, Cooper Forcellini netted his first professional goal off another assist from Palmer Ault.
Seven of the 11 CITY2 starters tonight made their first career MLS NEXT Pro starts, including Owen Jorgensen, Zack Lillington, Jack Wagoner, Alex Jundt, Cooper Forcellini, Palmer Ault, and Sidney Paris.
CITY2 will take on Minnesota United FC 2 next Sunday, March 8 at 4 p.m. CT at Energizer Park.
Postgame Notes
·     Evan Carlock scored his first professional goal off an assist from Palmer Ault. Carlock also picked up his first professional assist tonight.
·     Patrick McDonald scored his first goal for CITY2 and the third of his professional career
·     Cooper Forcellini recorded his first professional goal and assist
·     Kyle Hiebert notched his fifth career goal for CITY2
·     Riley Lynch earned his first assist of the season and the fifth of his career
·     Palmer Ault picked up his first and second professional assists during the match
·     Alex Jundt and Jack Wagoner notched their first professional assists
·     Seven of the 11 CITY2 starters tonight made their first career MLS NEXT Pro starts including Owen Jorgensen, Zack Lillington, Jack Wagoner, Alex Jundt, Cooper Forcellini, Palmer Ault, and Sidney Paris
·     Substitutes Jemone Barclay and Yu Ota made their CITY2 debuts
·     This was the third time CITY2 opened the season with a clean sheet, since the first ever match against RNY FC on March 25, 2022, and last year’s season opener against North Texas SC
Goal-Scoring Plays
STL: Evan Carlock (Palmer Ault), 14th minute – Evan Carlock scored with a right footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom left corner.
STL: Patrick McDonald (Riley Lynch, Alex Jundt), 34th minute – Patrick McDonald scored with a right footed shot from the center of the box to the central zone.
STL: Kyle Hiebert (Cooper Forcellini, Evan Carlock), 53rd minute – Kyle Hiebert scored with a right footed shot from the center of the box to the top left corner.
STL: Cooper Forcellini (Palmer Ault, Jack Wagoner), 74th minute – Cooper Forcellini scored with a right footed shot from the right half-space outside the box to the bottom right corner.
Scoring Summary
STL: Evan Carlock (Palmer Ault), 14’
STL: Patrick McDonald (Riley Lynch, Alex Jundt), 34’
STL: Kyle Hiebert (Cooper Forcellini, Evan Carlock), 53’
STL: Cooper Forcellini (Palmer Ault, Jack Wagoner), 74’
Misconduct Summary
SKC: Zane Wantland (caution), 45+1’
STL: Evan Carlock (caution), 53’
Lineups
STL: GK Lucas McPartlin; D Owen Jorgensen (Evan Carlock, 3’) (Jemone Barclay, 63’), D Zack Lillington, D Kyle Hiebert ©; M Sidney Paris; M Alex Jundt (Yu Ota, 63’), M Jack Wagoner ©, M Riley Lynch; F Patrick McDonald, F Palmer Ault (Chidube Nwankwo, 76’); F Cooper Forcellini (Eddie Niles, 76’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Colin Welsh, M Lorenzo Cornelius
TOTAL SHOTS: 19; SHOTS ON GOAL: 9; FOULS: 17; OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
SKC: GK Jacob Molinaro; D Mitch Ferguson, D Pierre Lurot, D Zane Wantland (Nate Young, 46’), D Jack Francka; M Gael Quintero (Makhi Francis, 77’), M Blaine Mabie © (Trevor Burns, 41’), M Carter Derksen; F Tega Ikoba (Tomiwa Adewumi, 68’), F Missael Rodriguez, F Kashan Hines
Substitutes Not Used: GK Kael Taylor, D Luca Antongirolami, M Makhi Francis
TOTAL SHOTS: 6; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 17; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 0; SAVES: 5
Referee: Muhammad Kaleia
Assistant Referees: Chris Schurfranz, Eric del Rosario
Fourth Official: Braeden Frey
Venue: Energizer Park
Weather: Cloudy, 61 degrees
