MNUFC2 were unable to capture a victory Sunday afternoon at the National Sports Center Stadium in their second matchup of the season against St. Louis CITY2, falling 3-0. Next, the Twos head south to Texas for three matches in eight days.
St. Louis CITY2 got their first dangerous shot within the first minute of the match, when Matteo Kidd stole the ball from the Twos and slipped the ball to MyKhi Joyner on the right side of the 18-yard box for a wide-angle shot that hit the side netting. Joyner then had another dangerous shot on goal in the 10th minute after a long ball over the top landed at his feet that led to a left-footed shot from the right flank which missed just wide of the far post.
MNUFC2 had two back-to-back chances to goal in the 13th minute, the first coming from a free kick that was granted to Minnesota in their attacking third. Rory O’Driscoll stepped up taking the free kick 10-yards out from the 18-yard line where he found teammate Jordan Adebayo-Smith’s head. Adebayo-Smith wasn’t able to curl the ball inward towards goal, instead going wide and out of bounds. The Twos found their second chance after Britton Fischer sent a through ball up the pitch to Adebayo-Smith who couldn’t get a shot off.
CITY2 had another scoring opportunity in the 16th minute after a successful through ball made it to Brendan McSorley, where he was able to make it into the box, but the ball was cleared by defender Gio Cruz on a slide tackle.
Yet again, in the 19th minute, the Twos created another goal scoring opportunity after sending a long-ball over the top where Kage Romanshyn Jr. found Adebayo-Smith in-behind. Adebayo-Smith was able to settle the ball, but couldn’t find a shot on frame.
In the 36th minute, midfielder Aidan Martinez was substituted into the game after Romanshyn Jr. left following an apparent shoulder injury.
Two minutes later, Britton Fischer seized the ball at midfield, made a run, and delivered a short pass to Adebayo-Smith where he took a touch and aimed for the goal, but Nicholas Ryan Bishop came off his line and blocked the shot.
Goalkeeper Alec Smir was tested in the 49th minute after CITY2 was granted a free kick in Minnesota’s defensive third, where Joyner fired off a shot that Smir easily saved, keeping the score 0-0.
CITY2 broke through and found the back of the net in the 51st minute when Ryan Becher recovered the ball and made a run to the top of the 18-yard box and delivered a pass to Joyner. Joyner took a-one touch shot, where Smir got a hand on it, but Becher’s touch on the rebound reached the back of the net.
In the 53rd minute, the Twos nearly found the equalizing goal after O’Driscoll crossed the ball from the right corner to the opposite side, finding Fischer on the six-yard box for a header towards goal but was deflected out to Finn McRobb. McRobb was able to get a close-range header to goal but the CITY2 goalkeeper deflected the shot with his foot.
St. Louis then doubled their lead in the 57th minute after Brendan McSorley crossed the ball from the right flank finding Matteo Kidd on the run who flicked it up for Joyner to head the ball into goal past Smir.
For the third and final time of the match, CITY2 scored in the 86th minute when Carson Locker gave a wide pass on the right side of the field to find Hosei Kijima. He dribbled to the 18-yard line where he found Caden Glover and did a one touch pass into the back of the net.
GOALS
0-1 CITY2 - Ryan Becher, assisted by MyKhi Joyner (51’)
0-2 CITY2 - MyKhi Joyner, assisted by Matteo Kidd (57’)
0-3 CITY2 - Caden Glover, assisted by Hosei Kijima (87’)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
Caution, MNUFC2 - Enrique Nieves (25’)
Caution, CITY2 - Matteo Kidd (31’)
Caution, MNUFC2 - Aidan Martinez (44’)
Caution, MNUFC2 - Anderson Farris (44’)
Caution, CITY2 - Brendan McSorley (46’)
Caution, CITY2 - Dida Armstrong (83’)
NOTABLE STATS
1 - MNUFC Academy U17 midfielder Anderson Farris earned his first start against St. Louis CITY2, while fellow U17 teammate, defender Rayme Nyembwe, made his debut appearance for the Twos as a substitute.
TEAM LEADERS (Updated through August 18)
Goals – Patrick Weah (8)
Assists – Molik Jesse Khan (3)
Saves – Alec Smir (23)
Wins – Clint Irwin (3)
Shutouts – Clint Irwin (2)
