The match ended in a tightly contested draw with a score of 1-1, held at Energizer Park. St. Louis City took the lead in the 59th minute thanks to a goal from Marcel Hartel, but Charlotte FC leveled the score in the 72nd minute with an impressive strike by Pep Biel.
Pep Biel electrified the crowd with his goal in the 72nd minute, receiving a well-placed cross from Wilfried Zaha, which allowed the midfielder to fire from the edge of the box into the net defended by Roman Bürki.
St. Louis City came close to regaining the lead when Rafael Santos launched a powerful shot that rattled the post in the 76th minute.
Despite Charlotte FC registering 10 shots on target with one hitting the woodwork and 10 more off target, St. Louis City was unable to secure the victory despite having more overall attempts.
Kristijan Kahlina stood out as the pivotal player of the match, with the Charlotte FC goalkeeper demonstrating exceptional skill by saving 10 shots from the opposition.
Another key player on the field was Marcel Hartel, the St. Louis City midfielder who scored once and attempted to shoot on goal 4 times.
St. Louis’s head coach, Yoann Damet, deployed a 3-5-2 formation with Roman Bürki in goal, supported by a defensive line of Jaziel Orozco, Dante Polvara, and Timo Baumgartl. The midfield comprised Conrad Wallem, Chris Durkin, Daniel Edelman, Rafael Santos, and Marcel Hartel, while Jeong Sangbin and Simon Becher took up offensive positions.
In contrast, Charlotte FC’s manager Dean Smith opted for a 4-5-1 setup, featuring Kristijan Kahlina in goal; Nathan Byrne, Andrew Privett, Tim Ream, and Harry Toffolo in defense; Ashley Westwood, Luca de la Torre, Liel Abada, Pep Biel, and Wilfried Zaha in midfield; with Idan Toklomati spearheading the attack.
The referee for this encounter was Ismail Elfath.
Looking ahead, St. Louis City is set to visit San Diego FC in the next matchday, while Charlotte FC will hit the road to face LA Galaxy.
Substitutions for St. Louis City
58’ 2H – Jeong Sangbin replaced by Brendan McSorley
82’ 2H – Chris Durkin substituted by Miguel Pérez
83’ 2H – Dante Polvara came off for Lukas MacNaughton
92’ 2H – Simon Becher replaced by Cedric Teuchert
93’ 2H – Rafael Santos taken off for Tomas Totland
Yellow Cards for St. Louis City:
39’ 1H – Timo Baumgartl (Unsporting behavior), 20’ 2H – Jaziel Orozco (Unsporting behavior)
Substitutions for Charlotte FC
68’ 2H – Harry Toffolo replaced by David Schnegg, Luca de la Torre out for Djibril Diani, Liel Abada switched for Kerwin Vargas
86’ 2H – Idan Toklomati replaced by Tyger Smalls
Yellow Cards for Charlotte FC:
6’ 1H – Andrew Privett (Unsporting behavior), 25’ 2H – Wilfried Zaha (Unsporting behavior)