ST. LOUIS (August 6, 2022) – Chicago Fire FC II fell to St. Louis CITY2 on the second leg of a three-game road trip, losing by a score of 2-1. Missael Rodríguez scored the opening goal of the match, his second in as many games, but CITY2 scored twice in the second half to pull away with a home victory. Second-place St. Louis made up some ground in the Western Conference with the result, while the Fire fell to 4-8-5-2 for the season.
The match started with CITY2 eager to get an opener, forcing a pair of saves from Chris Brady and a few blocks from Fire defenders to keep the match scoreless. Despite the home side’s 14 shots in the first half, the visiting Fire were more efficient with all 5 of their shots on target. The Fire defense held on against the sixth-best scoring team in the league and were rewarded for their effort in the 35th minute. Missael Rodríguez, fresh off a goal in his last match, put the team in the lead after a Josh Penn shot was spilled by the St. Louis defense. His fourth goal of the season put him tied for third in the race for the team’s golden boot with Alex Monis, trailing Victor Bezerra with seven and Penn with five.
The second half began just as the first half did, and St. Louis took little time to equalize. A foul on the wing led to a free kick, which Vitor Dias placed in the path of Josh Yaro in the box. The veteran defender headed it in with little for Brady to do, and a new match began henceforth. The home side shut out the Fire while keeping their foot on the gas pedal, and their push paid off in the 83rd minute. Midfielder Célio Pompeu’s pass across the box found Josh Dolling for the forward’s team-leading eighth goal of the season. Chicago pushed for an equalizer well into stoppage time, but fell short as the final whistle blew.
NEXT GAME: Chicago Fire FC II conclude their three-game road trip next Sunday, August 14 against New England Revolution II in Foxborough, Mass. First kick at Gillette Stadium is set for 4 p.m. CT. The match can be streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Social: Twitter - @ChicagoFireNext (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirenext | Facebook
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC II 1:2 STL CITY2
Goals:
CHI - M. Rodríguez (4) 35’
STL - Yaro (1) (Dias 2) 56’
STL - Dolling (8) (Pompeu 3) 85’
Discipline:
CHI - Ostrem (Yellow Card) 39’
STL - Schneider (Yellow Card) 45’
STL - Pompeu (Yellow Card) 52’
CHI - J. Reynolds (Yellow Card) 54’
CHI - Oregel, Jr. (Yellow Card) 55’
CHI - A. Rodriguez (Yellow Card) 56’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Brady; D Ostrem, D Ritaccio ©, D Quintos, D Reynolds (Flores, 75’); M A. Rodriguez (Nevarez, 76’), M Kidd (Fleming III, 66’), M Oregel, Jr. (Nesci, 90’); F Penn (Kocs-Washburn, 85’), F M. Rodríguez (Monis, 66’), F Glasgow
Subs not used: GK Mišković
St. Louis CITY2: GK McGrane; D Watts (Pidro, 70’), D Hiebert, D Yaro ©, D Di Rosa; M Pompeu (Palazzolo, 89’) M Schneider, M Perez (Rivas, 70’), M Wan Kuzain (Ostrák, 76’); F Dolling, F Klauss (Dias, 45’)
Subs not used: GK Creek; D Volmar, D Jensen; F Armstrong
Stats Summary: STL / CHI
Shots: 28 / 9
Shots on Goal: 8 / 6
Passing Accuracy: 71.6% / 67.8%
Saves: 5 / 6
Corners: 7 / 1
Fouls: 8 / 11
Offsides: 3 / 4
Possession: 55.2% / 44.8%
Referee: Benjamin Meyer
Assistant Ref 1: Zach Gaidar
Assistant Ref 2: Michael O’Reilly
4th Official: Braeden Frey
