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St. Louis CITY SC rolls past Red Bulls 3-0 in huge road win

Dustin Judge
St. Louis CITY SC played at Sports Illustrated Stadium, formerly Red Bull Arena, in Harrison, New Jersey, seen from behind the goal

St. Louis CITY SC beat Red Bull New York 3-0 on Wednesday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, getting an early header from Rafael Navarro and late goals from substitutes Simon Becher and Tomás Ostrák.

Navarro scored in the fifth minute, and St. Louis CITY SC never trailed. Red Bull New York goalkeeper Ethan Horvath made five saves to keep his team within a goal for most of the night, but the home side was shut out on 10 shots, according to ESPN’s match data.

Takeaways from St. Louis CITY SC’s win over Red Bull New York

An early set piece set the tone

Navarro headed home from close range after Conrad Wallem nodded the ball to him following a set piece, giving the visitors the lead before Red Bull New York had settled into the match. St. Louis controlled the tempo from there.

Substitutes delivered the knockout blows

Becher, who replaced Alexandru Matan in the 71st minute, struck a right-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner in the 87th minute off a Chris Durkin assist. Ostrák, who came on for Navarro in the 85th minute, added the third goal in stoppage time with a right-footed finish from the center of the box.

St. Louis controlled the game

The visitors had 54.6% of possession, outshot Red Bull New York 15-10 and put eight shots on target to the home side’s five. St. Louis CITY SC also won the tackle count 26-18.

Player of the game: Rafael Navarro

Navarro’s early header stood as the winning goal. He was replaced by Ostrák in the 85th minute, six minutes before Ostrák capped the scoring.

St. Louis CITY SC vs. Red Bull New York by the numbers

The visitors completed 413 of 505 passes, compared with 340 of 426 for the home side. Each team committed 12 fouls and received one yellow card: Timo Baumgartl for St. Louis CITY SC in the 35th minute and Emil Forsberg for Red Bull New York in the 86th.

What it means

The win lifted St. Louis CITY SC to 13 wins, six losses and eight draws (47 points), good for second place in the Western Conference. The club is level on points with third-place FC Dallas and three points behind leader Vancouver, according to ESPN’s standings.

Red Bull New York fell to nine wins, 12 losses and six draws (33 points) and sits eighth in the Eastern Conference, level on points with New York City FC and FC Cincinnati in the race for a playoff spot. Our preview of the match laid out the stakes for both clubs.

What’s next

St. Louis CITY SC returns home to host the LA Galaxy on Sunday, Oct. 11, according to the club’s MLS schedule on ESPN. Follow more MLS coverage as the regular season winds down.

Official statistics: ESPN (official league data).

Dustin Judge is the Founder and CEO of Total Apex Media, bringing more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience to the company's growing network of digital publications. He specializes in sports, sports betting, fantasy sports, and digital publishing, with a focus on producing accurate, timely, and engaging content for readers. Dustin oversees editorial strategy, content development, and publishing operations across Total Apex Media while remaining actively involved in sports, betting, and fantasy sports coverage.