St Louis City II and Houston Dynamo II shared the points in a Group Stage encounter at Energizer Park on Saturday evening, the match finishing 2:2 before Houston won the penalty shootout. The result keeps Houston second in the table with 48 points from 24 games, while St Louis remain third on 40 points after 25 matches.
St Louis took the lead through A. Brummett in the 17th minute, then went behind when M. Perez turned the ball into his own net in the 48th. N. Pickering equalised for the hosts in the 70th, but Z. Lillington restored Houston's advantage in the 85th to set up a dramatic finish.
And here's the thing about the penalty shootout — St Louis missed every attempt. Gustavo Dohmann, C. Pearson, M. Perez and Z. Zengue all failed from the spot, while Houston's Z. Lillington, J. Bell, S. Mohammad and Arthur Sousa converted. By then the game had already slipped away from the hosts.
The statistics don't tell the whole story. St Louis had 61 per cent of possession and 86 attacks, but only three shots on target. Houston managed just 39 per cent possession with 93 attacks, yet six shots on target and four corners to seven. One mistake ends it in these situations, and St Louis made too many.
To be fair, both sides had been in decent form beforehand. St Louis had won two of their last five, including a 2:0 victory over San Jose Earthquakes II, while Houston had lost their previous two matches. Neither side could have predicted how this one would end.
The shootout itself was brief — four rounds, four misses for St Louis, four goals for Houston. The home side didn't get a shot at redemption. Houston are closing in on a deal for first place in the group, though there is still a gap to close.
