The Town FC’s offense piled on two goals in the second half and was able to take advantage of St. Louis CITY2 playing down a player because of a red card.
MORAGA, Calif. — On Sunday, The Town FC clinched a trip to the playoffs with a 2-0 victory over St. Louis CITY2 at Saint Mary’s Stadium.
The Town (11-7-8, 45 points) rode two second-half goals to victory, utilizing its forceful defense to shut down St. Louis (15-7-4, 50 points), a fellow playoff team The Town FC lost to back on May 26. The Town FC took a commanding 17 shots and constantly applied pressure to CITY2’s defending third, which played down a man for nearly a full hour because of a red card awarded to midfielder Seth Antwi.
TTFC immediately captured momentum during the waning moments of the first half, as midfielder Eduardo Blancas had a point-blank opportunity that was miraculously defended. Coming out of the break, The Town didn’t let up, eventually taking the lead and earning its second consecutive victory and third in September.
In the 69th minute, forward Julian Donnery notched his fourth goal of the season off the post and following an accurate feed from midfielder Beau Leroux. The scoring moment capped off numerous scoreless opportunities for The Town FC, as Donnery netted his first goal since July 14.
Wanting an insurance goal, TTFC continued to drive up the pitch and forced more pressure. In the 80th minute, forward Cruz Medina danced around the 18-yard box with multiple defenders attending him before the 17-year-old fired a powerful shot — effectively doubling The Town’s lead — for his second goal of the year. Midfielder Joel Garcia was credited with the assist.
From then on out, The Town FC shut down St. Louis’ chances, taking its sixth win at home and 11th overall. Goalkeeper Emmanuel Ochoa earned his fifth clean sheet of the year, only needing to save one shot thanks to the stout defense.
With the win, The Town FC is guaranteed to make the playoffs and is currently in fourth place in the Western Conference. The Bay Area-based club is also tied with LAFC2 (12-7-6, 45 points) with 45 points, so a top-three finish with two matches remaining is certainly attainable for The Town.
TTFC will host third-place LAFC2 in its final home game next Sunday before closing out the regular season in Texas against Austin FC II (7-9-10, 34 points). With limited matches remaining, The Town FC will be vying for the highest possible seed before embarking on its playoff journey with hopes for a championship.
In addition to The Town, St. Louis CITY2 and LAFC2, North Texas SC (15-4-7, 57 points), Tacoma Defiance (12-9-5, 43 points) and Ventura County FC (8-8-10, 42 points) have all clinched playoff berths in the West. Two open spots remain, with a handful of teams in contention to grab them.
The Town’s upcoming bout with LAFC2 will conclude TTFC’s highly successful first campaign at Saint Mary’s Stadium. TTFC has yet to defeat its Southern California rival in regulation and will aim to do so as the season winds down. The two teams will meet in Moraga, and the match will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
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MATCH INFORMATION
2024 MLS NEXT Pro Season
The Town FC 2 – 0 St. Louis CITY2
Saint Mary’s Stadium
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Scoring Summary:
TTFC (1-0) — J. Donnery 69’
TTFC (2-0) — C. Medina 80’
Misconduct Summary:
STL — S. Antwi (Caution) 32’
STL — S. Antwi (Red Card) 32’
STL — M. Kidd (Caution) 67’
TTFC — R. Ibarra (Caution) 76’
The Town FC: E. Ochoa (GK), R. Ibarra, C. Walls, A. Cano, W. Eisner (S. Bilter – 86’), C. Medina (C) (J. Spivey – 83’), E. Mendoza (J. Garcia – 70’), B. Leroux, J. Donnery, E. Blancas, R. Lynch (C. Cowell – 83’)
Substitutes not used: R. Rajagopal, J. Ricketts, D. Sweeney, O. Hernandez, T. Allen
SHOTS: 17; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 13; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 1
St. Louis CITY2: C. Olivares (GK), S. Pidro (D. Armstrong – 46’), E. Kinzner, G. Mikina, T. Pearce, S. Antwi, M. Kidd, M. Joyner, H. Kijima (R. Becher – 65’), J. Klein III, R. Dugan (E. Clark – 81’)
Substitutes not used: N. Bishop, C. Cilley, B. McSorely, O. Benitez
SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; FOULS: 12; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 4