St. Louis CITY SC Draws 1-1 Against FC Juárez, Falls in Penalty Shootout

Sports stats



St. Louis City SC

St. Louis CITY SC Draws 1-1 Against FC Juárez, Falls in Penalty Shootout

August 5, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
St. Louis City SC News Release


ST. LOUIS, MO - St. Louis CITY SC earned a point in their second Leagues Cup group stage match, finishing regulation tied 1-1 against FC Juárez before falling 4-1 in penalty kicks. The teams entered halftime in a scoreless deadlock, but St. Louis opened the scoring in the second half with a goal from Simon Becher in the 58th minute.

The goal was Becher's first as a CITY SC player. Eduard Löwen marked his first career Leagues Cup assist on the goal. FC Juárez would later tie the match in the 62nd minute. After 90 minutes, the score was leveled 1-1 and FC Juárez won 4-1 in the penalty shootout to earn an additional point. Both teams will advance to the next round of Leagues Cup with St. Louis CITY SC facing the Portland Timbers in the Round of 32 on Friday, August 9 at CITYPARK.

Postgame Notes

Simon Becher scored his first career goal in his second match with St. Louis CITY SC since joining the team on July 23

Eduard Löwen marked his first Leagues Cup assist

Ben Lundt made a game-high seven saves

Lundt's seven saves was his highest save total in a single match for CITY SC

Goal-Scoring Plays

STL: Simon Becher (Eduard Löwen), 58th minute - Simon Becher scored a right footed shot from the center of the box.

JUA: Dieter Villalpando, 62nd minute - Dieter Villalpando scored a right footed shot from the right half-space outside the box.

August 4, 2024 - CITYPARK (St. Louis, MO)

Goals by Half 1 2 F

St. Louis CITY SC 0 1 1 (1)

FC Juárez 0 1 1 (4)

Scoring Summary

STL: Simon Becher (Eduard Löwen), 58'

JUA: Dieter Villalpando, 62'

Misconduct Summary

JUA: Dieter Villalpando, 79'

Lineups

STL: GK Ben Lundt, D Jake Nerwinski, D Josh Yaro, D Kyle Hiebert, D Akil Watts (Jay Reid, 86'); M Chris Durkin, M Eduard Löwen © (Jake Girdwood-Reich, 80'); M Indiana Vassilev (Nökkvi Thórisson, 79'), M Cedric Teuchert, M Marcel Hartel; F Simon Becher (John Klein, 86')

Substitutes not used: GK Christian Olivares, D Michael Wentzel, D Tomas Totland, D Anthony Markanich, M Hosei Kijima, M Njabulo Blom

TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 9; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 6

JUA: GK Sebastián Jurado, D José Abella, D Moisés Mosquera (Oscar Ortega 90'+2), D Francisco Calvo ©, D Ralph Orquin; M Jonathan González (Jesús Venegas, 68'), M Diego Campillo (Avilés Hurtado, 77'); M Jairo Torres, M Dieter Villalpando, M Aitor García (Diego Valoyes, 78'); F Ángel Zaldívar

Substitutes not used: GK César López, GK Benny Díaz, GK Abraham Nuño, D José García, M Denzell García, M Sebastián Pérez Bouquet, M Jan Carmona, M Eder López

TOTAL SHOTS: 23; SHOTS ON GOAL: 8; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 2

Referee: Jesus Rafael Lopez Valle

Assistant Referees: Enríque Isaac Bustos Díaz, Enedina Caudillo Gómez, Lizzet Amairany García Olvera

Venue: CITYPARK

Weather: Sunny, 86 degrees

ST. LOUIS CITY SC POSTGAME QUOTES

Interim Head Coach John Hackworth

On what he takes away from tonight's game:

Yeah, there's a lot of positives there. I think we're continuing to become a better team. You know, there's things we need to do better, for sure, but the guys that we called upon tonight did an excellent job. That's a really good Juárez team, you know, compliment to them, for sure. But we dealt with it. We problem solved our way through some, you know, interesting moments there, and that's, that's what I'm trying to get this group to do. So got, you know, Marcel [Hartel] and [Cedric] [Teuchert] 90 plus minutes, that's another huge thing. I thought Ben Lundt played great. Josh Yaro came in and played great. Jake [Nerwinski] was fantastic. You know, Akil [Watts] was good. Put us probably in the winning column. But for the most part, you know, it was nice to see that we have some depth that we can utilize that, we can rest some guys and get ready for Friday. So it stinks that, you know, we the PK's thing, but I'm not really worried about that.

On how he feels about the result being a tie:

Yeah, I think your point is exactly right. You know, Juárez is a really good team. And, you know, I thought when we went up a goal, it was going to be a good moment for us to, you know, catch them on the next counter. They were going to have to come forward. Unfortunately, we gave up a goal too soon. But they're a really good team. I told you yesterday that I really like the way they play, so hats off to them, and again, proud of our guys for figuring a lot of problems out in game and still being very effective. So good, good match overall.

On what the next step is that the team can take in the knockout rounds of Leagues Cup:

Yeah, I mean, it's just a matter of, when you give up a goal, like we did tonight, that we manage the game a little better, that we don't give one up so easily and look, that was a great shot by them. So full credit to them. But in the buildup to the goal that we gave up, I think we can improve, and we have a little some things that we will address tomorrow morning in the review.

Defender Josh Yaro

On the outcome of the game:

I think that as a group, we've made a lot of progress. That's a really good team and as you can see, it was a tough game. But you know, one thing that I always be proud of is the fight that we put up. I don't think we went out there, you know, looking for the win. I think we stuck with that until the end. It was a good fight from the guys. These games are good because they're good learning experiences. You play opponents that you don't usually see and like every game, you learn from your mistakes and go to the next round looking for a win.

On Ben Lundt's performance:

Ben comes up today and he makes a lot of big saves. You know, it just speaks to the volume of the keepers that we have on this team. And I'm really, again, proud of him for his effort, and not just that, but he led us well from the back and made sure that we're in the right spot. So, kudos to him for a really good game.

On how the other team scored a goal shortly after us:

Yeah, I mean, that's tough. I'm gonna have to watch it back, but it's a strange goal and we knew going into the game that they shoot from everywhere, so we tried as much as we could to limit them from shooting. But you know that one got away from us, unfortunately.

Forward Simon Becher

On how scoring his first goal for CITY SC feels:

Really good. Nice to get home in front of all the fans as well. We played a really, really good ball, and it was a set piece we'd worked on, so we're going to be on the end of it. And yeah, really happy.

On how the team is performing offensively:

Yeah, I still think, you know, a little bit to be desired. But I think we're starting to click a little bit more and just the interchanges and running behind and playing off each other. I think it's still going to be a process, something we'll continue to work on and take the positives and, you know, try to work on the things that we think, you know, in review that we have to get better at.

On what he takes away from this game:

Yeah, I think, you know, going into it, you know, we want to win. We want to be the top of the group. And, yeah, I think, you know, there's a lot of things we can improve on, and we'll look at it and take the positives from it. But, you know, again, I spoke earlier this week about the steppingstones for the team, and, you know, just continuing to gel and continuing to progress. And I think, you know, we took another step today. And yeah, I think we'll look to take what we can and then look forward to the knockout game. You know, I think that's something that we're going to be really excited about, and having it here will be really nice as well.

Goalkeeper Ben Lundt

On not getting a good read on the penalty kicks:

Yeah, that's all it is. Sometimes, you know, I think we played a solid game. And sometimes the penalties, you need luck, and you either get it sometimes, or you don't. And unfortunately, we didn't. I would have loved to, you know, win the penalty shootout. Got a good read, like you said, didn't follow away, but we're through, we advance. I saw a lot of good things from our team, and that's the most important thing.

On being behind the line after the match went to penalty kicks:

Yeah, that's just like these possible mind games. I knew he was just gonna smash it. I didn't know if it was left or right. He goes left. I go from the other side. I just go the opposite side. I just knew he was gonna almost close his eyes and smash it. A little bit unlucky.

On Lundt's competitive penalty kick experience:

No, I felt actually really confident. I'm really good at penalties, and throughout my career, I have actually a pretty good penalty record. I got a couple good reads on it, again that sometimes all you can do is just like, it either falls away or doesn't. Today, we are through, so I don't want to say it didn't matter, but you know, maybe in the future, we will keep this luck for the future, maybe the next round or two rounds, maybe down the road in the playoffs, maybe you never know. So, there's a balance in the universe. And if I could choose a penalty shootout to lose it would be probably this one and will go again. Gotta keep the confidence high and then focus on the next one.

Check out the St. Louis City SC Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...

Major League Soccer Stories from August 5, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central