Austin FC II (3-0-1, 1st in West) will play its third consecutive home match on Sunday at Parmer Field at St. David’s Performance Center, taking on St Louis City 2 (0-2-1, 12th in West). The match will kick off at 6 p.m. CT.
State of Play
Austin FC II scored three goals in the opening 13 minutes of play to earn a 3-0 win over North Texas SC on Wednesday night at Parmer Field at St. David’s Performance Center. In the eighth-minute, Valentin Noël dribbled through the defense and got fouled in the box, earning a penalty kick that he took himself blasted into the top right corner. Noël found his second goal of the night four minutes later on a turnover by NTX SC, completing his second brace in the first four matches of the MLS NEXT Pro season. A minute later, Alfonso Ocampo-Chávez scored his second goal of the season as he intercepted a backpass in the box and netted another goal for the Verde & Black.
Goalkeeper Damian Las made five saves on the night to earn the team’s first clean sheet. Las now ranks him as the league leader in saves (12). The backline for ATXFC II also held up strong, dealing with 16 crosses as NTX SC attempted to cut the lead. The backline has shown excellent composure on the ball so far this season, ranking second in the league in accurate back zone passes (956).
Standing in the way of a perfect three-game home stand for the Verde & Black is St. Louis City SC 2. CITY2 is coming off a nine-day rest after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Houston Dynamo 2. Although St. Louis is still searching for their first win of the season, they’ve jumped out to an early lead in their last two games. Despite netting just three goals in the first three games, CITY2 ranks third in the league in accurate shooting percentage (52.6 percent).
Sunday will mark the first of two meetings between the two sides, as ATXFC II will visit CITYPARK on June 14. After facing St. Louis, the Verde & Black will have a full week to prepare to make the trip to Los Angeles on April 23 to face Galaxy II.
