Central STL News

St. Louis CITY SC experienced a narrow 1-0 defeat against Houston Dynamo at Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday night. The match remained goalless through the first half, but Houston's Ezequiel Ponce broke the deadlock in the 66th minute with a goal assisted by Felipe Andrade and Franco Escobar. Despite late pressure from St. Louis, they were unable to equalize.

The game saw several cautions, including early ones for St. Louis players Joey Zalinsky and Jay Reid, while Pablo Ortiz of Houston was also booked before halftime. Ben Lundt received a caution just before the break for St. Louis, and Franco Escobar was cautioned in stoppage time for Houston.

St. Louis will travel to face Real Salt Lake next Saturday at America First Field with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT.

Houston's lineup included Jonathan Bond as goalkeeper, with defenders Felipe Andrade, Erik Sviatchenko, Pablo Ortiz, and Franco Escobar forming the backline. Midfielders Artur and Duane Holmes were joined by Brooklyn Raines, while forwards Ondrej Lingr, Ezequiel Ponce, and Amine Bassi led the attack.

For St. Louis CITY SC, Roman Bürki started as goalkeeper; Joey Zalinsky, Jake Girdwood-Reich, Michael Wentzel, and Jay Reid made up their defense; Alfredo Morales played alongside Conrad Wallem in midfield; Célio Pompeu was supported by Marcel Hartel and Simon Becher; João Klauss led their forward line.

Referee Alexis Da Silva officiated the match with assistance from Corey Parker and Diego Blas on the lines and Elton Garcia as an additional assistant referee.