Rafael Navarro needed less than 60 seconds to announce himself in a St. Louis CITY SC shirt.
The Brazilian forward opened his account for the club in the first minute Wednesday night at Providence Park, then added a second-half header, but Kristoffer Velde answered twice for the Portland Timbers in a 2-2 draw that left CITY SC frustrated yet still unbeaten.
Navarro’s early strike — a left-footed finish from the center of the box into the bottom right corner — is the fastest goal in CITY SC history and the third-fastest in MLS this season. It also marked the start of his seventh career MLS brace.
Portland pulled level in the 32nd minute when Velde curled a free kick from the left half-space into the middle-left of the net. The sides went into the locker room tied 1-1.
CITY SC regained the lead six minutes after the restart. Alex Mățan, making his 100th MLS appearance, delivered a ball that Navarro headed home from the center of the box. The visitors looked set to take three points on the road until Velde struck again in the 89th minute, finishing a Cole Bassett pass from just outside the box.
The result extended St. Louis’ unbeaten run to 15 matches across all competitions. The club now owns the second-longest unbeaten streak in MLS history at 14 league games.
Head coach Yoann Damet acknowledged the disappointment of conceding two set-piece goals but pointed to the broader picture after a demanding stretch.
“When you concede two free kicks tonight, it is frustrating and disappointing,” Damet said. “But at the end of the day, we also have to take a step back and realize what we did in the past two games. We had a high energy game on Saturday that cost us a lot. We stayed on the road and played again tonight in a tough place… I think there is also a feeling of pride for the work we’ve put in those two games and getting four points on the road.”
Damet was particularly pleased with how his side finished the match, pressing high rather than sitting deep in the final minutes.
“The last 10 minutes of the game were unbelievable for me,” he said. “The five minutes of added time, the way we pressed, the way we stayed on the front foot… I saw a big, big, big step that our group made tonight, doing that on the road and sticking to our identity for 90-plus minutes.”
Navarro, making his first start for CITY SC, mixed satisfaction with the personal milestone and disappointment at the dropped points.
“Very happy, but also disappointed that we did not get the three points, but very happy with my first goal,” he said. On his connection with Mățan: “Alex is a great player. I think he’s top level. I really enjoy playing with him. We have a great connection already.”
CITY SC returns home to Energizer Park on Saturday, September 12, to face Minnesota United FC for the first time this season. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. CT.
