Sporting Kansas City (8-17-7, 31 points) fell 3-1 to rivals St. Louis City SC (7-11-13, 34 points) on Saturday night at CityPark in St. Louis. Stephen Afrifa scored a superb goal for Sporting on the hour mark, but the hosts prevailed behind strikes from Cedric Teuchert, Rasmus Alm and Eduard Lowen to snap a four-match winless run against Kansas City in the third and final battle between the teams this season.
Less than 72 hours removed from an extra-time loss at LAFC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, Sporting fielded a lineup featuring eight changes as only Zorhan Bassong, Jake Davis and Robert Voloder retained their places in the starting XI. Davis, a product of the Sporting KC Academy, notably donned the captain’s armband for the first time as one of five Kansas City starters under the age of 24. Open Cup Final goal scorer Erik Thommy (foot) and veteran defender Andreu Fontas (knee) were notable absentees for Sporting’s fifth match in 14 days.
A pulsating atmosphere set the stage for a frantic, end-to-end opening in the eighth all-time derby between the clubs. St. Louis attackers Joao Klauss and Teuchert both had shots deflected behind for corner kicks before Afrifa forced a save from goalkeeper Roman Burki in the ninth minute. Afrifa was on the end of another opportunity 10 minutes later when Burki flubbed an Alenis Vargas cross, but the Canadian forward’s shot at a tight angle was blocked.
The hosts drew first blood in the 33rd minute. After Burki floated a long ball into Sporting’s defensive third, Lowen settled into possession and played a square ball to the top of the box. Akil Watts had his effort repelled by Bassong but Teuchert was on hand nearby to send a well-struck curler into the low right corner for his fifth goal in just his seventh MLS appearance since joining the club this summer.
William Agada went agonizingly close to pulling the visitors level a minute shy of halftime, but his 22-yard sledgehammer from a central position fizzed marginally wide of Burki’s right-hand post. St. Louis then spurned a chance of their own on the cusp of intermission with Alm dragging a shot wide near the penalty spot.
Midfielder Marcel Hartel, another St. Louis summer signing, carved out the first look of the second half in the 50th minute, cutting in from the left side and rifling inches over the crossbar. Undeterred, City would find their second goal four minutes later when Alm slotted into an empty net as Teuchert capitalized on Sporting’s defensive miscue with a simple square pass to his teammate at close range.
Afrifa grabbed a goal back in spectacular style with 63 minutes on the clock. Culminating a patient buildup from Sporting, Davis dribbled centrally and laid the ball off to Afrifa, whose first-time bomb from 22 yards nestled into the top right corner for his fourth MLS goal and his sixth strike of the season in all competitions. Davis tabbed an assist on the play and now has six goal contributions—one goal and five assists—in his last six games across all competitions.
High on confidence, Afrifa’s bid for a brace was thwarted in the 75th minute as his low drive on the edge of the box was blocked through traffic. St. Louis was quick to counter on the play and pushed its lead to 3-1 with Teuchert picking out Lowen, who took a settling touch and picked out the right corner for his fifth goal of the MLS campaign.
In the dying embers of the contest, Sporting substitute Khiry Shelton planted a header high off a Johnny Russell cross and Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp produced a smart save to deny Simon Becher on the breakaway. Russell then had a last bite at the apple in stoppage time, only to see his lunging attempt cast aside by Burki on the doorstep.
Sporting will return to Children’s Mercy Park next Saturday, Oct. 5, for the club’s 2024 home finale against LAFC in a rematch of Wednesday’s Open Cup Final. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT with tickets available at SeatGeek.com and live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
2024 MLS Regular Season | Match 32
CityPark | St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 22,423
Weather: 71 degrees and cloudy
Score | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
Sporting Kansas City (8-17-7, 31 points) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
St. Louis City SC (7-11-13, 34 points) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Jake Davis (C), Dany Rosero, Robert Voloder, Tim Leibold (Logan Ndenbe 58'); Remi Walter (Khiry Shelton 59'), Memo Rodriguez, Zorhan Bassong; Alenis Vargas (Johnny Russell 77'), William Agada (Alan Pulido 78'), Stephen Afrifa (Daniel Salloi 78')
Subs Not Used: Tim Melia, Robert Castellanos, Chris Rindov, Danny Flores
St. Louis City SC: Roman Burki (C); Tomas Totland, Henry Kessler, Kyle Hiebert (Joakim Nilsson 84'), Jannes, Horn; Rasmus Alm (Nokkvi Thorisson 61'), Eduard Lowen, Akil Watts (Jake Girdwood-Reich 84'), Marcel Hartel; Cedric Teuchert (John Klein 85'), Joao Klauss (Simon Becher 78')
Subs Not Used: Ben Lundt, Jake Nerwinski, Jayden Reid, Josh Yaro
Scoring Summary:
STL -- Cedric Teuchert 5 (unassisted) 33'
STL -- Rasmus Alm 2 (Cedric Teuchert 2) 54'
SKC -- Stephen Afrifa 4 (Jake Davis 5) 63'
STL -- Eduard Lowen 5 (Cedric Teuchert 3) 75'
Misconduct Summary:
STL -- Joao Klauss (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 39'
SKC -- Dany Rosero (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 45'
SKC -- John Pulskamp (yellow card; delaying a restart) 45'
SKC -- Robert Voloder (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 45+5'
STL -- Cedric Teuchert (yellow card; delaying a restart) 80'
STL -- Jannes Horn (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 86'
Stat | SKC | STL |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 18 | 14 |
Shots on Goal | 5 | 4 |
Saves | 1 | 4 |
Fouls | 14 | 9 |
Offsides | 1 | 5 |
Corner Kicks | 9 | 5 |
Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Assistant Referee: Brooke Mayo
Assistant Referee: Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Filip Dujic
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
AVAR: Jozef Batko
