HOUSTON, Texas — St. Louis City SC scored in the seventh added minute Saturday evening at Shell Energy Stadium to beat the Houston Dynamo 1-0 and lock up the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
Lukas MacNaughton finished the winner after a Houston turnover. Alex Matan carried the ball into the box, shook a defender and squared it, and MacNaughton, a Canadian defender, struck it first time past goalkeeper Jonathan Bond into the lower right corner just before referee Allen Chapman ended the regular-season finale.
The result lifted St. Louis to 15-10-9 and 54 points. City SC will open the MLS Cup Playoffs against sixth-seeded Los Angeles FC. The late goal also ended a five-game stretch without a win (0-4-1). Houston finished 14-11-9 and 51 points as the No. 5 seed and will meet the San Jose Earthquakes in a best-of-three first round, starting in San Jose.
City SC did not put a shot on frame until that last kick. Ben Lundt made six saves to keep the visitors level, including a diving stop on Guilherme from just outside the box in the 21st minute and another when Guilherme ran onto a long ball in the 55th. In the 86th minute Lundt gathered a long attempt from Holmes and knocked away McGuire’s header.
Rafael Navarro poked a Jeong Sang-Bin delivery wide in the 69th minute, and Damion Downs headed a Tomas Totland cross off target in the 89th. Downs then cleared a near-post chance from Agustin Resch two minutes into added time, setting up MacNaughton’s finish.
Bond was making his 150th MLS appearance. Houston had earlier looks of its own, including a Lawrence Ennali run set up by Lyle Foster in the 11th minute that a sliding St. Louis defender blocked, and a 74th-minute McGuire break that went unfinished. The Dynamo’s playoff timetable is due Sunday, with first-round tickets slated to go on sale Monday.
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