St Louis City II Edge North Texas on Penalties After 1-1 Draw
St. Louis City II and North Texas shared the points in MLS Next Pro group stage action at Energizer Park on Friday evening. The match finished 1-1 after extra time before St. Louis City II won the penalty shootout 8-6. The result keeps the hosts third in the table with 40 points from 25 games. S. Paris opened the scoring in the 37th minute for the hosts, who had dominated possession at 60%. North Texas responded just before half-time when N. Simmonds equalised in the 45+4th minute. The game remained finely balanced throughout, with both sides creating chances but unable to find a winner in normal time. The penalty shootout proved dramatic. Both teams converted their first six takers comfortably before St. Louis City II held their nerve. S. Starnes missed for the hosts in the seventh round while J. Wagoner also failed. North Texas then saw O. Jorgensen miss, allowing B. Flowers to seal the victory for St. Louis City II.Statistically, the hosts outperformed their visitors in most categories. St. Louis City II recorded 92 attacks compared to 65 for North Texas, while their shot accuracy of 22% proved more efficient than the visitors' 31%. The visitors managed more shots off target with five but could not convert them into goals.
Both teams entered this fixture with identical records of 13 wins and 12 defeats. St. Louis City II had played one more game than North Texas, which accounted for the five-point gap in the standings. The hosts had won their last two matches against Houston Dynamo II and San Jose Earthquakes II respectively.
Yellow cards were distributed across the match, with North Texas accumulating four compared to two for the hosts. L. Martins, O. Jorgensen, D. Baran, T. Clancy, N. Simmonds and Alvaro Augusto all received bookings during the contest. The disciplinary record reflected the competitive nature of a match that went to penalties.
The result means St. Louis City II maintain their position third in the group with 40 points. North Texas remain fourth with 35 points from 24 games. Both sides have now played 25 matches each after this fixture.
