Indiana Vassilev put his short time on the bench to good use.
The midfielder scored in 50th minute Saturday night to help ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Atlanta United FC in front of the sellout crowd at CityPark.
Vassilev's tally ended City SC's scoring drought at 342 minutes. City SC's previous goal came midway though the second half of a 3-3 tie at Inter Miami on June 1.
But City SC (3-6-10) also had its winless streak extended to eight matches, furthering its franchise record. Its last victory was 3-1 triumph over the Chicago Fire on May 11.
Vassilev did not start in a 3-0 loss to Colorado on Wednesday. It was only the third time in 18 matches he wasn't in the opening lineup. He had started the previous 11 successive contests.
Still, he came off the bench to add 28 quality minutes in the second half four days ago.
Vassilev, who hails from Savannah, Georgia, blasted a low left-footed shot from the side of the box for a 1-0 lead. Joao Klauss set up tally with nice head pass from along the end line.
Atlanta United (5-8-6) tied it in the 71st minute on a goal by Daniel Rios.
City SC keeper Roman Burki made the initial save by diving to his left to save a penalty kick. But the rebound bounced right out to Rios, who converted on the second chance.
Vassilev's goal was his third of the season. He teamed with Nokkvi Thorisson, Eduard Lowen and Klauss to help City SC create a host of high-quality scoring opportunities.
Burki made a huge save in the 27th minute by punching away a hard blast from Atlanta's Xande Silva.
City SC had several good scoring chances in the opening half. Klauss rang a shot off the crossbar in the 10th minute from midway inside the box.
Thorisson appeared to break the long scoring drought, but his tally late in the first half was waved off after its was determined Lowen had committed a foul in the box prior to the shot.
Well deserved
City SC defender John Klein was signed to an MLS contract through the rest of the season on Saturday.
Klein has played in four games on the top level team so far this year.
The Columbia, Mo., native is a former standout at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University where he scored 29 goals and handed out 27 assists during his tenure.
Klein entered Saturday's match in the 72nd minute.
Moving on up
City SC signed forward Brendan McSorley and defenders Jayden Reid and Michael Wentzel to short term loan agreements from the City2 squad. Reid and Wentzel were in the starting lineup on Saturday.
McSorley made his MLS debut on Wednesday playing eight minutes of a 3-0 loss to Colorado. He scored twice in 12 matches for City2 this season.
Wentzel is the captain of the City2 squadron, which sports a league-best 9-2-2 mark.
Reid has two assists in 12 matches for City2.
Big new face on the way
City SC appears to be on the verge of signing Marcel Hartel to a designated player deal.
The 28-year-old midfielder previously played at FC St. Pauli of the German 2. Bundesliga.
Hartel also had opportunities in Europe and recently spoke with the Columbus Crew as well. He tallied 24 goals in 98 appearances with St. Pauli from 2021 through this campaign.
Hartel is already in the United States and could join the team within a week.
A scorer and playmaker, Hartel had 17 goals and 12 assists last season and was sought after by numerous clubs around the globe.
A chat about the bright spots on the field (Jay Reid and Hosei Kijima), Klauss' continuing scoring drought and (or should we say "however"?) t…
ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC midfielder Indiana Vassilev (19) battles Atlanta United defender Noah Cobb (24) for the ball during the first half of a game at CityPark in ºüÀêÊÓƵ on Saturday, June 22, 2024.