Coming into this game, Saint Louis FC were full of confidence and on a roll, having won their previous two games and looked set to be well on the way to securing a third win on the trot as Bryan Gaul scored in under a minute against Toronto FC 2 at Worldwide Technology Park on Thursday evening.
Goalscorer Bryan Gaul in action against Toronto FC 2
The weather perked up to be a glorious sunny evening and perfect for soccer. However despite going behind early when Gaul was gifted the opportunity by Toronto goalkeeper Alex Bono, it was TFC2 who took the initiative and hit back when Saint Louis lost possession in the midfield only for Edwin Rivas to be on the end cross whipped in after a fast counter attack in the 9th minute.
It was more calamitous defending on the 38th minute for Saint Louis as a sliced clearance by Richard Dixon after another cross, saw the ball land squarely at the feet of Massimo Mirabelli who was alone in space on the penalty box and had all the time in the world to stroke the ball past a beleaguered Mark Pais.
After half time Saint Louis FC coach Dale Schilly was able to regroup his troops and the certainly gave him what he asked for with 12 shots and domination of the ball. Toronto however packed in the defense and really pressed in order to keep their lead and the lead from the first half proved in the end to be enough.
This loss for STLFC leaves them with 10 points with a 3-3-1 record and Toronto FC 2 improve to 7 points with 2-4-1. The next home game for Saint Louis FC will be on Wednesday evening as they take on Des Moines in the US Open Cup 2nd round tie. Winner to host a lucrative showdown the following week at home to future MLS team Minnesota United.
