Ben Lundt knows that life as a backup keeper can be a thankless job, especially when a starter like St. Louis CITY SC captain Roman Bürki rarely takes a night off. When Bürki suffered a chance hand injury in mid-March, however, Lundt was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
Perhaps Lundt’s biggest test this season came during Sunday’s match against LAFC. At the 75th minute, LAFC’s Denis Bouanga, who had only missed two penalty kicks since joining the club in 2022, stood over the ball during a crucial penalty kick.
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Lundt had studied tape of Bouanga with CITY goalkeeper coach Alex Langer. “We go over a lot of videos on the opponent before the games,” Lundt reflected later. “[Bouanga] is not going to stutter step. I knew he’s going to just try to hit it hard into a corner. And I just went for what we discussed.”
A diving Lundt blocked Bouanga’s straight run-up, providing a lifeline in a crucial moment.
During a dramatic finish, CITY briefly went up 2-1, only for Bouanga to later score the equalizer in stoppage time. One of the bright spots for CITY in the draw, however, remained Lundt’s block to keep CITY in the match, which helped earn the club a hard-fought point on the road.
In fact, in seven starts this season, Lundt has largely exceeded expectations. The German goalkeeper—who played arrived in St. Louis following four seasons in the USL Championship, including 35 starts with Phoenix Rising—has two clean sheets and is ranked ninth in Major League Soccer in post-shot expected goals saved (a measure of a goalkeeper’s shot-stopping skills). Combined with Bürki’s early-season performances, CITY has the league’s third strongest shot-stopping numbers.
CITY now faces a stretch of four games in two weeks, including a U.S. Open Cup match against Union Omaha.
“I will do my best to show everybody that I can play in this league, and I want to send out a message,” Lundt says. “I just have to do my best.”
