Pre-match Preview: CITY SC back on the road to face Portland Timbers

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - It’s back on the road for St. Louis CITY SC this week as they head to the West Coast to face the Portland Timbers for their third match of the season.

It’s obvious this has been a fantastic start to the year for CITY SC as they are now 2-0 and tied for first place in the Western Conference. A win in their home opener against Charlotte FC is just the most recent achievement the club has garnered during this inaugural season. In 2022, Portland finished mid-table in the Western Conference with 46 points, allowing 53 goals scored against them. The Timbers have started the 2023 season with a win and loss, netting three goals thus far. The two late goals in their loss against LAFC made it 22 straight regular season games with a goal for Portland, the longest active streak in the MLS.

St. Louis goes into the game with a stronger record and twice as many goals scored. João Klauss leads the team in scoring with two goals, and Eduard Löwen has provided some excellent No. 10 play with a goal and two assists.

Midfielder Jared Stroud spoke on the club’s early success during training this week.

“We were happy about it, we take the win in, we learned and then after two days of training, right, it’s back to the drawing board and trying to figure out how we can win again,” Stroud said.

St. Louis CITY SC has had a phenomenal start to the year with two wins, scoring three times in each. It is still too early in the season for any long-term predictions to be made; however, according to MLS, about 80 percent of teams that win their first two games make it to the playoffs. The last team to go 2-0 in an inaugural season was LAFC in 2018. And before that....Seattle in 2009.

St. Louis CITY SC will face the Portland Timbers at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 11 at Providence Park. For more information on St. Louis CITY SC, check out our guide to the 2023 season.

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