In a year of firsts, MLS expansion side St. Louis CITY SC are once again in unfamiliar territory ahead of Sunday’s visit to Sporting Kansas City for Game 2 of their Round One Best-of-3 series (5 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
Following a surprise 4-1 home loss in the series opener, CITY SC have no choice but to win at Children’s Mercy Park in order to keep their historic 2023 inaugural season alive and force a decisive Game 3 on Nov 11.
“It’s something we kind of haven’t been challenged with the whole year because it was never a question or was ever in the equation,” head coach Bradley Carnell told reporters two days before the club’s most important game in their short history. “Now we’re left with a question, and it’s almost an exciting one.”
Never ones to shy away from a challenge, St. Louis have defied expectations from the start – setting several league records along the way. Among them, winning their first five games in MLS and becoming the first-ever expansion team to clinch their conference’s top seed.
Now, the West’s No. 1 side must win at their inter-state rival if they hope to keep their magical debut season going.
“We know how it felt last week and there's no reason to believe that we can't do the same thing going into their stadium," Carnell stated. "... Again, problems we've never been faced with before.
"So it's about us now coming to put us on display against all odds, which pretty much the whole season was. And that's how we're going to start the game.”
SKC, meanwhile, aren’t taking anything for granted after coming off a lopsided win that, according to manager and sporting director Peter Vermes, was arguably somewhat flattering for his side.
“We’re playing against the best team [in the West]. We have to be on our A-game,” Vermes said. “I don’t know if they have to be. That’s the difference.”
Veteran midfielder Roger Espinoza also shut down the notion that Sporting have the series essentially locked up after last week’s statement victory at CITYPARK.
“The score in game obviously was 4-1, but it was a very good game,” the former Honduras international argued. “… If you look at both teams, it doesn’t look like it should’ve been a 4-1 [win]”.
Deserved or not, Game 1’s result left Carnell and St. Louis laser-focused on the mission at hand.
“Have we learned from it? Damn right,” Carnell said. “And we’re looking forward to putting the next one to bed.”
