Done at 21, St. Louis CITY SC faltered in Minnesota.

All good things must come to an end. 

Yoann Damet knew the risks when he opted to rotate the starting lineup in the midst of a 21 match unbeaten streak. It was a gamble that didn’t pay off immediately on the eve of Wednesday’s US Open Cup Final, but CITY SC will take the cons knowing that key players were rested ahead of the biggest match in club history. 

The rationale is sound, but in retrospect, the result is tough.

St. Louis led 2-0 after 10 minutes thanks to Rafael Navarro’s stellar play and Sangbin’s goal in his return to Minnesota. Navarro continued his scintillating form; since arriving from Colorado, Navarro has 8 goals and 3 assists. 11 goal contributions in just 8 appearances compared to 13 goal contributions in 22 appearances for the Rapids this season.

It’s been a stellar start, and Navarro now sits 4th in both total MLS Goal Contributions and the Golden Boot race.

However, that early flurry betrayed how overrun the midfield would become over the next 80 minutes, 

The Loons have struggled this season, but those results – including the league’s worst home form entering the weekend – have betrayed an attack that ranks 3rd in expected goals among Western Conference clubs. For the most part, MNUFC has been inefficient. Kelvin Yeboah (17g, 3a), Marcus Caldeira (7g, 1a), and Anthony Markanich (8g, 2a) notwithstanding, the Loons have punched below their weight over the back half of the season. 

So, when Damet rotated his starting XI, it was more of an uphill battle than the records may have indicated. The benefit of leaving Carlo Holse and Alex Mǎțan on the bench while Conrad Wallem and Chris Durkin recovered from Wednesday’s injuries – Durkin in concussion protocol, Wallem given the night off – is entirely geared towards Wednesday, leaving a weakened squad to attempt to find a way out of Minnesota’s constant pressure. 

Defensively, CITY SC experienced uncharacteristic gaps, and subsequently couldn’t build out of pressure once they were playing catch-up. Minnesota controlled the middle of the pitch, and CITY SC were also unable to produce the weak side attacks that have allowed Wallem and Totland to thrive over the past few months.

Then the Loons clawed ahead thanks to critical errors. The first at the feet of Miggy Perez:

Then Fallou Fall:

And finally Jaziel Orozco:

Those errors aren't solely on the last defenders, but they were critical failures at inopportune moments, especially as the recovery runs were a step behind.

A Learning Experience:

That’s the risk a manager takes when they rotate through a young lineup that hasn’t spent much time together in matches that count. 

“I think it was a good motivation and a good challenge,” Damet said. “And I think, like everything in life, when you achieve something, there is maybe a little bit of the weight on your shoulders. There was also today some decisions that was made by us in terms of preparing the bigger picture with the amount of games that we knew we have to deal with in October. It's also part of our job to make those decisions and to take responsibility for it.”

21 year old Miggy Perez is a key example of this. The young homegrown has shown flashes over the course of the season, but the errors on Saturday afternoon were too much to overcome. His spacing next to his partner in the double pivot and the CB behind him meant that he wasn’t creating difficult decisions in the passing network, and passes into him often ended in a turnover as CITY SC attempted to diffuse pressure. 

The young outside CBs were also key examples of how important the overall structure has been. Mistakes from Fallou Faal or Jaziel Orozco – both 22 year old CBs – don’t end in disaster when Durkin-Edelman and Baumgartl-Polvara are able to offer cover thanks to their positioning and tight defending. However, with Mykhi Joyner and Rafael Santos pushed high, combined with the double pivot’s lack of cohesion, the young defenders were put under a microscope. 

CITY SC had trouble relieving the pressure, and that’s largely because of Minnesota’s pressure vs the CBs and a group of players who have historically been at their best on the front foot. They have to learn how to play out of it.

While those three certainly struggled, it was an improved night for Mykhi Joyner at wingback. 

Joyner was targeted in his last start vs. the Galaxy, and Harbor Miller’s success against him hurt Joyner’s confidence going forward. It wasn’t a perfect game from the 20 year old, Joyner still has room for improvement in how quickly he recycles the ball compared to when he stands defenders up 1v1. However, his set piece delivery produced a few dangerous moments, and he won 9/13 duels along with 4 tackles. It was the best defensive performance he’s ever had, but at wingback, he hasn’t quite put the full picture together. 

Late in the match, he moved up into the R10 role and came inches away from a go-ahead goal if not for an incredible Drake Callendar reaction save. 

He finished the night 0.08 g+, which is by far his most positive performance, and the 0.69 psXG opportunity is his best in Major League Soccer. 

“There is some good, there are some things to improve,” Damet said. “I think there were some inconsistencies here and there, some good things, some things that were less good. But it's good for us to have that opportunity to reflect and to keep working with them in terms of their development.”

There are reasons to be optimistic. Young players are almost always going to struggle in these situations unless they’re an elite prospect. Joyner isn’t that level of prospect, but he will be a good MLS player, and if he can move into a more trusted depth role over the next year, then it helps St. Louis build depth elsewhere. 

The need for depth.

The loss does highlight CITY SC’s need for more depth options as they look ahead towards juggling competitions in 2027 and beyond. If they qualify for the Champions League, CITY SC will need to rotate through midweek MLS matches. Saturday previewed how that could be a big problem if they don’t bring more players through this offseason, or if they suffer an unlucky spell of injuries.

Luckily, there is space to add and a few roster spots to open up, but it’s more a story of opening up the general pathway. 

What does this look like if Joyner has more appearances this season? Or even if Charles-Emile Brunet or Tahir Reid-Brown had made their first team debut prior to this trip? There are players who CITY SC want to be a key cog in their future depth, but after a 21 match unbeaten streak, the loss highlights that there haven’t been as many opportunities to put those players in positions to learn under pressure.

It’s a nitpick. CITY SC are still on pace to best their 2023 points total in year 1 of a retool that Corey Wray has called a multi-year project. 

A loss on the road with a rotated XI doesn’t squash any confidence they have coming into the end of the season, but it does highlight the need to improve the depth at wingback and within the double pivot. Wray can go out and use the U22 spots in those positions, or Damet can utilize younger depth, as players like Tyson Pearce (WB/CDM) and Owen Jorgenson (CB) look poised to take another step next season alongside Joyner and players like CEB, TRB, and Zach Zengue.

You can see the lack of depth in this stat:

CITY SC are now 1-1-2 in matches where Daniel Edelman doesn’t start, and 5-4-3 in matches where Miggy Perez appears. 

There is a need for more depth options down the middle, especially when Dante Polvara stepping up has been the preferred move.

The loss is a letdown after the recent highs, but if it means they can play at full speed vs. Columbus, then it will have been more than worth it, and Damet may have learned some things ahead of a congested final 3 weeks. 

“We had a good look at a couple of guys today,” Damet finished. “Moving forward, with still the amount of games we have to play, we will also have a better idea of what we can and cannot do.”

Remembering a historic run.

Yoann Damet preached patience heading into the US Open Cup Round of 16 match up I-55 vs. Chicago. His CITY SC had earned just 6 points in MLS play through 9 matches, but there were encouraging signs under the hood. 

CITY SC were 8th in the expected table at that point, and stood tough against Charlotte FC, NYCFC, and FC Dallas. The structure had started to solidify, but the group had scored just 9 goals on 13.82 xG. Despite that, Damet insisted his side was ahead of schedule, pointing to the defensive structure and telling the media that he was surprised that goal scoring was their biggest issue so early in the project. 

Against a full-strength Chicago, belief in the process finally turned into tangible results. 

CITY SC went down 1-0 early but scored twice over the final 20 minutes to advance into the quarterfinals. Tomas Totland scored first in the 71st minute, and played a big role in Edu Löwen’s spectacular game-winner. 

Totland cited that result as a turning point in the proceeding months, a tangible moment that the group could point to even as they played catch-up in the table.

A rotated XI faltered that weekend in Austin, losing 0-2 and faltering in their execution, but that was the final blemish for over 5 months. Since that loss on May 3rd, no team has won more points, and only Nashville has possessed a better goal differential. It wasn’t a lucky stretch of results either; CITY SC have only trailed Philadelphia and Vancouver in expected points and expected goal differential. 

Results that have matched the process even as the roster was rebuilt piece by piece through the summer. 

Then, the squad pushed even higher after Alex Mǎțan, Carlo Holse, and Rafael Navarro replaced the departing Cedric Teuchert, Marcel Hartel, and Eduard Löwen. 

Since the end of the transfer window, no Western Conference team has a better expected goal differential, and only Philadelphia has scored more goals as they rocket up the table. 

In the end, St. Louis CITY SC will own the league’s longest unbeaten streak across all competitions and will join some of the greatest MLS teams of all time with 19 matches unbeaten in MLS play.

It’s a feat that few teams will be able to replicate; consistency is tough in Major League Soccer. That Yoann Damet’s side established that consistency in year 1 amidst a whirlwind of change is something to remember fondly. 

“I'm very proud of what the group has accomplished with that streak. It's something that is exceptional,” Damet said following the loss in Minnesota. “I think it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to be able to put that together for a couple of months and 21 games.”

Scoreboard Watching.

The loss is also helped by the rest of the Conference’s decision to drop the ball over the past week. Vancouver pulled 4 points ahead in 1st place, but Dallas’s draw vs Houston and San Jose’s draw vs Nashville meant that CITY SC held onto 2nd place with what is most likely the easier strength of schedule compared to the teams chasing them. St. Louis travels to RSL before hosting Portland and San Diego, 3 teams on the outside of the playoff picture with just 12 points left available. CITY SC should be the favorites in all 3 matches before they travel to Houston on Decision Day. 

They won’t worry about that now; there’s a trophy on the line.