Houston Dynamo 2 earned their first victory of the 2023 season with a 3-1 triumph over St. Louis CITY 2 at CITYPARK earlier this evening. Dynamo 2 forward Papa N’Doye earned Man of the Match honors after scoring the game-winning goal and adding an assist in the second half.
St. Louis took an early lead after Aziel Jackson’s shot was blocked by captain Talen Maples. The ball fell to John Klein at the goal line, and he found the back of the net from a tight angle for the opening goal of the game.
Dynamo 2 scored the equalizer in the 34th minute after Dynamo Academy product Diego Gonzalez capitalized on a deflection inside the box. Defender Isaiah LeFlore recovered the ball in the final third and forced a fingertip save from the St. Louis goalkeeper at the near post. The ball rolled across the heart of the box toward an un-marked Gonzalez for his first goal of the season.
N’Doye scored the go-ahead goal in the 41st minute. Forward Beto Avila played a ball into the box for N’Doye, who dribbled past a defender toward the penalty spot to create space for a shot that beat the St. Louis goalkeeper at the near post.
N’Doye tallied his first assist of the season minutes into the start of the second half. Dynamo 2 won the ball at midfield to begin a series of intricate passes toward goal that culminated with Jacob Evan’s first goal of the season. N’Doye combined with Gonzalez at the top of the box to create space for Evans at the far post for the final goal of the game.
Dynamo 2 responded minutes after conceding the opening goal with a free kick. Midfielder Juan Castilla whipped a ball into the box that was ultimately claimed by the St. Louis shot stopper. Dynamo 2 forced four saves from Christian Olivares and the team combined for seven shots on target. Dynamo 2 generated 19 shots tonight, more than double what St. Louis created in the match.
N’Doye forced a save in the 13th minute on a breakaway run. The forward’s effort bounced off Olivares and the deflection was cleared at the goal line by the St. Louis backline. N’Doye forced a save in the 24th minute after he found space behind the St. Louis backline, but his effort was handled at the near post.
Dynamo goalkeeper Xavier Valdez finished with one save tonight and that came in the 37th minute when he denied Aziel Jackson at the near post. Defensively, Talen Maples and Mujeeb Murana combined for eight clearances and LeFlore led the team with four interceptions.
Dynamo 2 return to SaberCats Stadium on Sunday, April 16 to host LAFC 2. Tickets for the match start at $7 and additional information is available at HoustonDynamoFC.com.
