City SC hits the wall, City2 takes the top spot
St. Louis City SC closed out its road schedule with a third consecutive win, which may be as unexpected as anything that’s happened to this team this season.
City SC beat Austin 3-1 on Saturday night at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, and the star of the game was not unexpected, as Marcel Hartel’s late-season hot streak continued with his second two-goal game of the season, tying him for the team lead in goals. Simon Becher clinched it with his third goal of the season, in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.
City SC, like most of the league, will be off next week and then will finish its disappointing season on Oct. 18 at home against Real Salt Lake. That will be on Decision Day in Major League Soccer, though there’s nothing left in the standings to be decided for City SC. Regardless of what happens against RSL, City SC will be 13th in the Western Conference.
It was disappointing week for Austin, which also lost the U.S. Open Cup on the Q2 field on Wednesday.
Hartel’s two goals in the first half gave him nine for the season, tying him with Klauss for the season lead. His 12 in his City SC career put him alone in third on the club’s all-time list, behind Klauss (24) and Eduard Lowen (16), both of whom have been with the team since its first game ever, in Austin.
The first goal was a familiar one for Hartel, coming from outside the box, just like his previous one, against San Jose. He was maybe a yard or 2 further out this time, but he again lasered a ball from up top that was unstoppable by Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver.
The lead lasted only eight minutes before Austin tied the game with a header off a corner kick by Oleksandr Svatok. The ball just cleared Fallou Fall and Tomas Totland was trying to hold Svatok down but to no avail.
But in the 45th minute, Klauss made a run and dished the ball to Celio Pompeu on his left. Pompeu first-time the ball to Hartel in the box, who took a touch on the ball to get open and then shot with the outside of his right foot to beat Stuver again.
City SC was without Lowen, who was out for personal reasons. Alfredo Morales, as he has often this season, stepped in to his spot. Being without Lowen has been one of the toughest things for City SC this season. Lowen missed 16 of 18 games between March 30 and July 13, and City SC had one win, 11 losses and four ties in the 16 games he missed. City SC has six wins, seven losses and three ties when he’s played.
City SC got Henry Kessler and Fall back at centerback, and Totland returned for the first time since July, with Conrad Wallem moving to left back and Devon Padelford being out of the starting lineup for the first time since he joined the team.
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Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch
Soccer reporter
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