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St. Louis City SC

St. Louis CITY SC Falls 1-0 to Houston Dynamo, Bows Out of CONCACAF Champions Cup

February 28, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
St. Louis City SC News Release


HOUSTON - St. Louis CITY SC fell 1-0 to Houston Dynamo on Tuesday night in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One fixture. The teams finished the round tied 2-2 on aggregate, but Houston Dynamo's away goal at CITYPARK in the first leg proved to be the difference in the tie. Erik Sviatchenko's goal in the 60th minute gave Houston the lead and ultimately the win. CITY SC returns to MLS action on Saturday where they will host New York City FC.

Postgame Notes

After signing a short-term loan agreement with CITY SC, St Louis CITY2's Michael Wentzel made his first start for the first team

MLS SuperDraft pick Hosei Kijima made his first start for CITY SC

Goal-Scoring Plays

HOU - Erik Sviatchenko, 60th minute: Erik Sviatchenko left-footed shot to the upper right corner.

February 27, 2024 - Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, Texas)

Goals by Half 1 2 F

Houston Dynamo FC 0 1 1

St. Louis CITY SC 0 0 0

Scoring Summary

HOU: Erik Sviatchenko, 60

Misconduct Summary

STL: Jake Nerwinski (caution), 42

STL: Michael Wentzel (caution), 90

HOU: Franco Escobar (caution), 90+3

Lineups

HOU: GK Steve Clark ©; D Daniel Steres (Franco Escobar 61'), D Micael (Erik Sviatchenko 46'), D Ethan Bartlow, D Griffin Dorsey (Tate Schmitt 81'); M Brad Smith (Aliyu Ibrahim 75'), M Jan Gregus, M Artur, M Coco Carrasquilla (Amine Bassi 61'); F Gabriel Segal, F Sebastian Kowalczyk

Substitutes Not Used: GK Andrew Tarbell, GK Xavier Valdez, D Kieran Sargeant, M Ousmane Sylla, M Brooklyn Raines, M Diego Gonzalez, F Stephen Annor

TOTAL SHOTS: 12; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 8; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 1

STL: GK Roman Bürki ©; D Jake Nerwinski, D Michael Wentzel, D Joakim Nilsson (Anthony Markanich 44'), D Akil Watts; M Chris Durkin, M Hosei Kijima (Eduard Löwen 72'), M Tomáš Ostrák (Aziel Jackson 58'), M Indiana Vassilev (Célio Pompeu 58'); F Sam Adeniran (Nökkvi Thórisson 72'), F João Klauss

Substitutes Not Used: GK Ben Lundt, D Tomas Totland, D Tim Parker, GK Christian Olivares, D Nikolas Dyhr, M Njabulo Blom

TOTAL SHOTS: 5; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 4

Referee: Marco Ortiz

Assistant Referees: Enrique Bustos, Jorge Sanchez

Fourth Official: Juan Gabriel Calderon

VAR: Erick Miranda

AVAR: Guillermo Pacheco

Venue: Shell Energy Stadium

Weather: Clear, 73 degrees

ST. LOUIS CITY SC POSTGAME QUOTES

Audio:Recordings

Head Coach Bradley Carnell

On how he's feeling after the match...

Yeah, obviously disappointed that we don't go through. Yeah, just one of those days where, you know, you defend for your life and then you get the moments that you need in transition and the way we like to create chances and, yeah, unfortunately, you know, we let a few of those chances get away from us. So, you know, disappointed about that. Happy about the chance creation, you know. I thought we got into the box a few times and really looked dangerous, you know, in those transition moments, but then, yeah, the scale started to tip. When you start losing those moments and all of a sudden the pendulum starts swinging the other way and, you know, you go down on a free kick, which bounces in the box -- they were quicker to react on the night, and that's the difference maker for us. You know, I thought we came alive when we conceded and then the game looks different again. So, very disappointed about that. And, yeah, just know how much it means for the boys. You know, I know how much this tournament meant for the boys. So just the upset about not progressing.

On the team coming alive a little too late...

Sure, 100 percent. I mean, yeah, we know that they have two weapons on the field in Kowalczyk and Carrasquilla. We try to mitigate that, you know, with some game-planning and one thing is to gameplan, the other thing is in the action, in the practical moments, and seeing how that tactically plays out. So, I thought once we, you know, changed the formation slightly and operated differently, then I thought we had more of a grip on the game. And then we controlled certain moments a little bit better. So, you know, happy with the progression of the game. We corrected things at halftime and then we start again. The pendulum is swinging towards us, you know, and then they get the free kick, and then they go up, and then now we have to start chasing. So, it's really unfortunate. I feel sorry for the guys because I know, you know, the effort that they put in and yeah, these are new situations for us. And these are new situations for me as a coach as well. So, you know, we're always learning. We're always trying to improve and move steps forward, like, you know, getting one step better than yesterday. So, you know, upset for the fans that we don't bring another Champions Cup game to CITYPARK. So yeah, we'll have to, you know, delay that for another time.

On Joakim Nilsson's status and whether that substitution impacted the game...

Yeah, we thought we could get that to halftime. I think there was just, you know, some tension in his glute. He said, you know, nothing pulled. So again, you know, I have to check with the medical staff what's going on there. But yeah, I think if you have a look across the league and across the board here, you know, when you're playing these types of games, with quick consecutive, you know, days - yeah, everyone's running on fumes at the moment. And I think we're not the only team. And so that's just what we have to deal with, and we have to be spontaneous and make certain, you know, solutions and sometimes they have to be spontaneous. So, you know, we made a plan. And again, we concede from a set piece. So, we could have used Tim [Parker] or Josh Yaro, or especially Joakim. Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way. It wasn't meant to be.

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