Moments of Matchday 4 – OurSports Central

History Made as St. Louis CITY SC Continues Season-Opening Surge

Not even the freezing temperatures could stop red-hot St. Louis CITY SC, as the expansion club continued their remarkable run to open their inaugural season. With a 3-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes at CITYPARK, St. Louis became the first expansion team in MLS history to start their season with four consecutive victories. Additionally, they became just the fifth club in MLS history (excluding the shootout era) to win four or more consecutive matches to begin a season and the first since the 2013 Montreal Impact (four consecutive wins).

22-year-old forward Nicholas Gioacchini and 23-year-old midfielder Tomás Ostrák both opened their MLS accounts with their first career scores in the match, while João Klauss kept his name in the early-season Landon Donovan MLS MVP conversation, scoring his third goal in four games. In total, St. Louis has seen a league-high seven different players score in 2023 and the club sits tied atop MLS with Atlanta United at 11 goals scored this season.

St. Louis will look to continue their reign at the top of the Supporters’ Shield standings on Matchday 5 as they travel to face Real Salt Lake (Saturday, March 25, 9:30 p.m. ET).

Almada, Wiley Lead Atlanta United to the Top of the East

The early-season favorite for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP continued his torrid start to the 2023 season, as Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada registered two goals, including a world-class direct free kick golazo (Watch Here) in the first half, and two assists in Atlanta’s 5-1 victory over the Portland Timbers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The World Cup-winning midfielder has four goals and four assists in his club’s first four games of the season, while helping guide Atlanta United to a 3-0-1 mark and a place atop the Eastern Conference table. Almada is the first player in MLS history with at least four goals and four assists in his team’s first four matches of a season.

Almada has been joined in the Atlanta attack by 18-year-old Caleb Wiley, who recorded a goal and an assist for the second consecutive match. At 18 years and 86 days old, Wiley, who was named the Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire for Matchday 3, became the second-youngest player in MLS history to score a goal and provide an assist in consecutive matches and just the third player under the age of 20 to accomplish the feat. Only Diego Fagúndez (17…