Houston Dynamo 2 fell to St. Louis CITY 2 3-1 in the penultimate home game of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro regular season.
CITY 2 took the lead in the 11th minute after a defensive miscue led to a chance created by midfielder Celio Pompeu. The midfielder found Faysal Battache at the far post for his first goal of the game.
CITY 2 extended its lead in the 26th minute after Pompeu was able get past a defender and find Bettache in the center of the box.
Dynamo 2 cut into the lead in the 40th minute after forward Papa Ndoye scored from the top of the box. Midfielder Jacob Evans found Ndoye unmarked at the center of the box. Ndoye’s shot was initially saved by CITY 2 goalkeeper Michael Creek, but the rebound went off the crossbar and across the goal line.
The final goal of the match came in the opening minute of the second half with Bettache securing his third goal of the match.
Ndoye nearly scored in the 20th minute of the match with an opportunity to equalize. Ndoye dribbled past St. Louis defenders at the top of the 18-yard box to create space for a shot that was blocked by the CITY2backline.
Midfielder Diego Gonzalez had a shot blocked in the 21st minute of the match. The Houston DynamoAcademy product has scored nine goals this season, including one against Earthquakes II on August 19.
Houston nearly cut into the CITY 2 lead in the 28th minute after defender Mujeeb Murana crossed the ball into the box for forward Isaiah Reid, who was making a run into the box on the near post.
Reid nearly scored in the 36th minute of the match after taking on CITY 2 goalkeeper Michael Creek one-on-one. Creek made a one-handed save to deny Reid.
Dynamo 2 will head to the Pacific Northwest to take on Timbers 2 at Providence Park on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 9:00 p.m. CT. The match will be available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
