St Louis CITY2 midfielder Faysal Bettache has earned the MLS NEXT Pro Player of Matchday 25 honor after scoring a hat-trick that secured his side a 3-1 road victory over Houston Dynamo 2.
Bettache also made history Sunday night by becoming the first St Louis CITY2 player ever to score a hat-trick.
The 23-year-old opened the scoring in the 10th minute in Houston. This came after Célio Pompeu stole the ball from a Dynamo 2 defender and passed it to Bettache in the box, setting up a goal and giving CITY2 the early 1-0 lead.
Pompeu and Bettache connected again in the 27th minute, with Pompeu setting up another perfect pass to Bettache who slotted the ball away once again to give CITY2 the two goal lead.
Houston Dynamo 2’s Papa Ndoye pulled one back before halftime cutting CITY2’s lead in half. Bettache and CITY2 responded quickly after the break, this time with John Klein setting up Bettache outside the Dynamo 2 box. After receiving the pass, Bettache cut to his left foot and launched a sublime left-footed strike to seal the game for his side.
The 3-1 victory over Dynamo 2 extended St. Louis CITY2's unbeaten streak to seven games, tying a club record set in 2022. Thanks to the result, CITY2 finished Matchday 25 in fifth place in the Western Conference with 40 points, inching closer to securing a playoff berth.
Faysal Bettache joined CITY2 ahead of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season as a free agent. Born in London, England, Bettache began his youth career playing for Watford before joining Queens Park Rangers in 2014.
Bettache has played 23 games for CITY2 this year, starting in 20 of them. The young midfielder has logged more than 1,700 minutes in 2023, scoring seven goals and providing two assists.
After their Matchday 25 victory, CITY2 and Bettache will travel north of the border to face off against Vancouver Whitecaps 2 on Saturday, September 9th. You can catch all the MLS NEXT Pro action on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
