St. Louis CITY SC leaps to the top of the MLS Western Conference table after defeating Houston Dynamo FC 3-0. Eduard Löwen opened the scoring in the 9th minute followed by second half goals from Tomáš Ostrák and Niko Gioacchini. With the win, St. Louis CITY SC improves to 9-4-1 on the season.
Goals Galore at CITYPARK
CITY SC are 8-2-0 at CITYPARK across all competitions and 6-2-0 at home in MLS play. St. Louis has scored 22 goals at CITYPARK in eight games in MLS this season and has only trailed for 52 of 810 minutes across all competitions. St. Louis has scored at least three goals in each of their six home wins in MLS.
Postgame Notes
- Roman Bürki recorded his fourth clean sheet of the season
- CITY SC remains undefeated (7-0-1) in MLS action when they score first
- Löwen leads the team for most goal contributions with 11 (five goals, six assists)
- St. Louis’ three goals tonight marked their eight games with at least three goals in 14 games played this season. The LA Galaxy (1998) is the only other team to 3+ goals in as many games
- CITY SC has trailed just 52 of 810 minutes at CITYPARK.
- CITY SC has scored at least three (3) goals in each home win this season (3-1 vs Charlotte, 3-0 vs San Jose, 5-1 vs FC Cincinnati, 4-0 vs Sporting KC, 3-1 vs Vancouver Whitecaps, 3-0 Houston Dynamo)
- Löwen has now scored the most goals at CITYPARK this season across all competitions with five (5) goals
- St. Louis CITY SC has scored 27 goals at CITYPARK across all competitions (22 in MLS and 5 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup)
- CITY SC is now 8-2-0 at CITYPARK across all competitions and 6-2-0 at home in MLS play
- CITY SC’s six home wins are tied for second most in the league behind FC Cincinnati (9)
- Both Löwen and Gioacchini recorded their fifth MLS goal this season
- Löwen has now scored in three consecutive matches, the longest streak by any CITY SC player
- Löwen also opened the scoring with a set-piece goal for the third consecutive match – a penalty against Sporting KC, a free-kick against Vancouver and a penalty against Houston
Goal-Scoring Plays
STL – Eduard Löwen (penalty), 9th minute: Eduard Löwen converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
STL – Tomáš Ostrák (Lucas Bartlett, Eduard Löwen), 51st minute: Tomás Ostrák right footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box to the bottom right corner.
STL – Niko Gioacchini (penalty), 83rd minute: Niko Gioacchini converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Next Game
St. Louis CITY SC heads south to resume their match against FC Dallas on Wednesday, June 7.
June 3, 2023 – CITYPARK (St. Louis, MO)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
St. Louis CITY SC 1 2 3
Houston Dynamo 0 0 0
Scoring Summary
STL: Eduard Löwen (penalty), 9
STL: Tomáš Ostrák (Lucas Bartlett), 51
STL: Niko Gioacchini (penalty), 83
Misconduct Summary
HOU: Luís Caicedo (caution), 45’+2’
STL: Njabulo Blom (caution), 45’+5’
HOU: Adalberto Carrasquilla (caution), 45’+5’
HOU: Iván Franco (caution), 45’+7’
STL: Aziel Jackson (caution), 69’
HOU: Ben Olsen (caution), 74’
HOU: Ethan Bartlow (caution), 78’
STL: Rasmus Alm (caution), 90’+1’
Lineups
STL: GK Roman Bürki ©; D Jake Nerwinski (Josh Yaro 89’), D Lucas Bartlett, D Tim Parker, D Kyle Hiebert; M Eduard Löwen, M Njabulo Blom, M Indiana Vassilev (Aziel Jackson 65’), M Tomáš Ostrák (Rasmus Alm 65’), M Célio Pompeu (Isak Jensen 89’); F Niko Gioacchini (John Nelson 89’)
Substitutes Not Used: D Jon Bell, M Miguel Perez, M Akil Watts, GK Ben Lundt
TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 4
HOU: GK Steve Clark ©; D Ethan Bartlow, D Daniel Steres, D Erik Sviatchenko (Micael dos Santos 61’), D Chase Gasper (Franco Escobar 69’); M Artur (Hector Herrera 60’), M Coco Carrasquilla (Brooklyn Raines 84’), M Luis Caicedo, F Ivan Franco, F Corey Baird, F Ibrahim Aliyu (Thor Ulfarsson, 69’)
Substitutes Not Used: D Brad Smith, F Sebastian Ferreira, GK Andrew Tarbell, D Griffin Dorsey
TOTAL SHOTS: 16; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 14; OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 2
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Ben Pilgrim, Kali Smith
Fourth Official: Walt Heatherly
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
AVAR: Gjovalin Bon
Venue: CITYPARK
Weather: Clear, 89 degrees
ST. LOUIS CITY SC POSTGAME QUOTES
Audio: Recording
Bradley Carnell
Q. There are many options tonight, but what was your favorite Eduard Löwen moment in this game?
BRADLEY CARNELL: My favorite Edu moment? There’s just so many, whether he’s fluid with the ball at his feet or whether he’s taking a dead-ball situation, a set piece situation.
So I mean, I just think the first penalty kick for me that one was sent with a message and that inspires us to do great things here at home. So I would say the first penalty.
Q. Him not taking the second — giving that one up?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I’m not the happiest, but I support my players and I know how tight games can be and at 2-1, Edu is a great teammate. He’s shown that time and time again.
But yeah, listen, I mean, Ed is the designated penalty taker but if we feel enough confidence within the group, yeah, first of all, I’m not happy about it, but I support it, right, because I support my players to make decisions on and off the field in the best manner that they feel at that point in time. With regards to that, I support my group.
Q. With regard to building the fortress which you have been talking about, is the moat in tonight? Bigger walls?
BRADLEY CARNELL: The last two games have been dictated by set piece, right. We know with Ed, and Indy we have a set piece with him so for us it’s just part of our armory and making sure that we can get the job done out of the runner play, as well as dead-ball situations out of the set pieces, and we have seen this again tonight on display.
So, credit to everybody else who gets into these final third moments and who gets into dangerous situations, so we forced the opponent to make mistakes which is a good thing and good things happen when you are on the other end of the field away from your goal. Proud of the guys for their performance and grit and determination.
Q. Eight games, nine games, City has not lost a game where they have scored the first goal. The last three games — how much of a correlation is it him taking over the offense and you guys winning?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Sorry, I didn’t get the first part of your question.
Q. City has not lost a game — scored the first goal. It’s been eight games, nine games and Löwen has scored the first goal for you guys. How much has he taken over the offense?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Oh, okay. Listen, that Edu finds himself in dangerous areas and the last couple of games were dictated by set pieces, right. I think we just found a good balance with our front four guys, Célio Pompeu has made massive contributions. Indy, Tomás Ostrák tonight when called upon, and Nico Gioacchini having to hold the line as a striker, stretch the back line and occupy two centre-backs and usually Klauss would do something like that.
So we just found a good chemistry and a good balance, regardless of name on the back of the shirt, right. So it just shows that the boys are paying attention to the details, you know, the training application, so yeah, I mean, and Edu plays a big part of that, right.
So yeah, he dictates the tempo of the game and the rhythm of the game, and again, if you look at the back line how proud they were to defend the goal at all costs, and with Blom holding the midfield together allows Edu to get a little bit more freedom.
I feel there’s a good chemistry going on right now and a good balance from everybody.
Q. I mean this in a complimentary way but why is it you guys, the way you play here, gets underneath the skin of opponents so much? It seems like we see it almost every game here. You guys score early, and then frustration begins to show, at some point taking the opponents out of their game and leaving them in bad spots.
BRADLEY CARNELL: Before we even look at ourselves, I have to look at the fans, right. I think the fans just bring another notch, right. And we have it really good here in St. Louis. The fans have taken this on and run with it, right. So we are so proud of the fans. We are so proud of the energy, and then it’s the style of play. It’s the edginess, it’s the chippiness, right. We always play on that nice edge of what’s allowed, and that’s allowed (laughs).
So from that point of view, we just stick to our guns and our principles and make sure that we are on the front foot and trying to create a bit of havoc and a bit of chaos, but it needs to be controlled, and I think we are getting better at controlling certain moments.
Is it perfect? No. We don’t believe it is. So we have a lot of work to do, and I’d like to control games better in the last 15, 20 minutes of games. I’d like to develop there a little bit with our group as well.
So it’s all not done yet. We know that we have done great things but we have to continue to be hungry and keep on this mentality.
Q. You mentioned you weren’t thrilled that Logan gave that opportunity up, but what can that do for Nico, to a, be trusted in that moment by teammate, and then to capitalize on it?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, so we speak about trust a lot, right. We speak about trust when we are pressing. We speak about trust when we are defending and we speak about trust when we occupy positions with the ball so we can play passes almost blindly.
So if we give the trust over to somebody else because we always speak about trust, and we always say mistakes are okay because that’s the only way to learn.
You know, we’ll learn and grow in good and bad.
Q. How relieved were you to get that third goal at a point in the match when Houston was trying to generate some more offensive power?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, good. I thought the players did really well coming in the game. I thought we had so many turnovers to transition and really finish the game off. So yeah, for sure, that’s a big part of our game model and we would like to be cleaner with that. Can we stay on the ball a little bit longer, can the supporting runs be more on cue.
Again we have had a great week of training. Yesterday was one of the best that we’ve ever had, and the energy of the group was really high so that we can take over this momentum through the week and through the game day and all the preparations and now celebrate together as a squad inside the locker room.
Yeah, it’s an amazing journey for everyone involved here.
Q. You mentioned Blom earlier, three interceptions, all of them were step up and break up the counterattack. How important is he to the defensive structure?
BRADLEY CARNELL: It’s really big, right, and you can see it when there’s that moment of like, you-hold-your-breath moment when we’ve given up a ball or a turnover and then somebody arrives on the scene, right, so whether it’s from the blind side, strikers coming back in the game, or whether it’s stepping forwards or one of the centre-backs, Lucas or Tim, stepping into it.
I thought across the board we had moments of this. We knew Houston liked to play underneath. We forced them then into a long ball game, so we had to adjust that as well. So the minute we do one thing; and compliments to them because they always kept us guessing, as well.
They are a good team, no doubt, and they have a very important Cup game coming up. Ben is a good coach and a good guy and I wish them all the best.
For us, it’s about us being ruthless and the mentality driving forwards, and any time we can show and put our principles on display it’s a really proud moment for us as players, as coaches.
Q. I joked about him with it on Thursday but Indy draws a foul that leads to a penalty kick and that’s the third goal that Löwen has gotten off a foul. What can you say about Indy’s ability to make those things happen?
BRADLEY CARNELL: He’s got an exceptional ability to get his body between the man and the ball. He shields the ball really well, and any player’s trying to force that, then it’s a foul.
So yeah, he’s, again, he’s a sulky player on the ball. He can slip away from the opponents and he’s got tight ball control and he can shoot, so players need to put him under pressure. They need to close away their time and space, and then he’s always got a trick up his sleeve. So credit to him to keep the opponents guessing.
Q. And Tomás Ostrák building up to this tonight?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, 100 percent. You could see game fitness is an issue with some of the guys who have not had a lot of game time and you could see we try and do so much in such an amount of time, and it’s really important to stretch these minutes for Tomás, as well. I’m so happy he’s got a couple of assists here as cameo appearances and now starting the game, he gets a goal.
It just shows across the board, again, how internal competition and training remains totally high because it keeps us guessing or keeps us, a lot of discussion between the office there with all the coaches, and yeah, trying it find the best possible combination but credit to everyone.
Q. Do you feel your team did a good job resetting after the skirmish at the end of the first half?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I haven’t seen the video yet but yeah, just we don’t want to get into these altercations, right. We want to let the fans take care of that for us and we want to stay away from anything that’s not allowed, right.
So good that it happened just before halftime and then we could get into the locker room and control all the emotions and just focus on the business at hand.
Q. That skirmish, how proud are you of the players to be able to stay level-headed in a moment where it could have really all gone wrong for you guys?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, listen, I don’t think we were the aggressor in the situation, so you know, again, I’m not sure, I haven’t seen the video and I need to take a closer look at it.
But yeah, we know there’s a bigger picture involved and we know we play with these emotions in training, and coaches, we are pretty bad referees on training days. We need to keep the players honest, as well, and really push the emotions sometimes there and test the temperament of the players — yeah, kidding.
But jokes aside, we test them. We test their resilience in training even when you’re getting hired when it’s tough, you know, you might make a rational decision or an unrational, irrational decision to do something and yeah, the biggest thing is to keep the emotions in check.
Q. As Indy and everyone else gets to play more with Edu, are we going to see better things from them? I think it surprises the other team what they see.
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, we can just be who we are, right. That’s all I can say. We can be who we are and we are halfway through the season, and if we think we have figured it out internally, then we are going to fall flat on our faces, right. Not even being halfway, I think there’s three games we have in hand on some of the teams, thinking about that, we still have so much room to grow.
And a growth mindset, we spoke about ownership before the season, we spoke about accountability and being open to new things, right. We have challenged the most experienced players to be open to new things and the rookies that have come through as well to have this open mindset and to grow within our system.
So we are halfway there and there’s so much more soccer to play.
Tomáš Ostrák
On how it feels to get more playing time and a goal…
It feels great. I’m really grateful. I’m grateful for the staff and coaches that put me in the starting eleven. I’m happy that I can give back to them with the goal. Not just to the staff and coaches but also for the team and most importantly is that we won this game.
On if his confidence is growing…
For me, every game I feel better and better. I feel really good. I can’t wait for the next games, and I hope that I can improve and score more goals for the team.
On the hot weather…
It was very difficult for me for the first 10-15 minutes but then I think everyone just got used to it and everyone kept working hard.
Njabulo Blom
On friendship between the players…
I think the guys have been great. I think everyone is united. And I think it’s the attitude that we have to keep on bringing within the team so that we can keep on winning games.
On getting under the skin of their opponents…
I think for us it’s a matter of standing in authority because it’s our home ground. It’s our friends, we’ve been involved in it for the team ourselves, our families, so we don’t want anyone to come disrespect us on our home field.
On Eduard Löwen…
I think we all know he is an exceptional player. I think his maturity plays in one of the biggest leagues in the world. So, I think he’s helping us a lot in terms of kicking the ball and creating chances for us and also he’s helping us a lot in terms of a defending concept, wrestling after losing the ball.
Roman Bürki
On leadership among the team…
Yeah, I mean, we have more than just one leader. I’m just the guy who has the armband, and I just tried to bring them back with both feet on the floor when things go really good, you know. And some players think okay, now I scored or I had good actions this game, we’re going to win anyways. I don’t have to defend anymore. So that’s why I sometimes look angry on the field. Yeah, but I have good company with Tim. Tim is very important for me, too. So yeah, it’s just a lot of fun to lead these young guys and to see how successful we are at the moment.
On the trip to Dallas this week…
Yeah, but I think we are going down with a good feeling. And we know it’s 40 minutes to play. So, I think we will try to put everything on the field there because we want these three points. And it’s, like I said, only 40 minutes for a team that works so hard like us. It’s a great opportunity to send the whole first 11 on the field, sub five guys out and then go again and just try and try to get the three points.
On not having the home field advantage…
Yeah, I mean, it’s very important. First of all, like I said, to have our fans in the back here. We definitely play with a different aggressivity with a different effort but a way we know that we have to work and just trust in ourselves. But we have some fans away also like last time and in Dallas they were they were there, too. And even in Colorado, I remember it was a lot of fans, and it’s just great to see that they follow us.
Eduard Löwen
On letting Nicholas Gioacchini take the penalty kick at the end…
Yeah, so I think the other guys told me like in the future that I should take all the penalties because it was only one-to-zero and then maybe it creates chaos as well because many other guys won’t want to shoot as well. I just thought, you know, he asked me and obviously I want to score the second one then use the opportunity. I was very confident about the penalty. But I thought like, you know, I want to do something good for my teammate. He wanted to score. As a striker, you always want to score. So, I just thought about it.
On gaining momentum after scoring the first goal…
Yeah, I think that’s always a good thing. Also, the last game I think was the 10th minute. I think this time was almost the same. And I think it’s always different. When you score that early in the game, you have more confidence. You have just more freedom, you know, you are just more free in your head. And I think that helped me a lot to get even better and sort of game for short.
On being 3-0 the last three home games and outscoring opponents 10-1…
I mean, obviously we can’t take all the credit. We have to get a lot of credit for our offense to the crowd. They are always amazing. It’s always such an enjoyment. I would like to play here 34 times a year in this stadium you know and have no away games. It’s always great. You know, it doesn’t matter if we lose or if we are winning. You know, these fans are just loyal. They’re always supporting us and always have our backs. And I think the team knows that you know, and we always want to give our best because we want to perform very well for everything the fans in the city are doing for us.
On growing as a team…
Yeah. I mean, we are getting to know each other more and more. And I think when you see, for example, in the first couple of games, we are playing more long balls and everything and now you can see also the confidence of our central defenders. Tim played some great balls into the spots, you know, and we could turn, we could create more chances. Lucas is doing very well. Kyle is playing on left defender, what is not his position. And I think every single game he performed great, you know, and I don’t want to leave anybody out because like the whole team is performing very well. But I think we have not only a great collective team, but also we have a lot of good players. I think, talking of Tim, for me he’s for sure one of the best central defenders in the league. I’m pretty confident about that. I think we have for sure the best goalkeeper in the league. So, I think it’s not only about having a good team. I think we also have a lot of good individual players. But that doesn’t mean we can do less and just relax. Now we have to, you know, continue like this and always give 100%. And I think then we have a great season ahead.
