Humble and Hungry, CITY SC make MLS history.

Energizer Park was electric Wednesday night as St. Louis CITY SC hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps in a potential playoff preview. As things stand, that rematch would take CITY SC back to BC Place with Wednesday’s scoreless draw, keeping the Caps one point clear at the top of the conference with 5 matches remaining. 

Yoann Damet was happy to take the result. CITY SC clinched the playoffs for the 2nd time en route towards setting MLS history as the first club of the post-shootout era to go unbeaten for 21 matches across all competitions. 

“I think this is one of the hardest things to do in sport at the professional level,” Damet said of the record. “There is a reason why it's never been done before. Everybody is really, really proud but we also know that we have another game in three days and that we have to get ourselves ready. The two words that we have been using, being humble and hungry are still very important to us.”

*Matt Doyle pointed out on this week’s Soccerwise that DC United would have gone 21 unbeaten through 1996-1997 if matches that went to shootouts were actually counted as ties vs. shootout losses. It’s officially the record but technically a tie according to the sacred texts*

The heavyweight draw marked CITY SC’s official ascension into the contender tier of MLS Cup favorites alongside the Caps, Philadelphia, Miami, and Nashville, while the match itself was exactly what Damet wanted to see out of his squad with some obvious room for improvement.

Both Sporting Director Corey Wray and Damet have continued to insist that the CITY SC that has managed this run is still far from a finished product. Wednesday’s match highlighted some of those areas where the club can continue to improve, but it was also evidence of how far the club has progressed over the past 10 months under Damet’s guidance. 

The pre-match environment felt heavy; Energizer Park was eager for a taste of playoff level intensity, and the match happily obliged. 

The Whitecaps surged out of the gate, dominating the first 30 minutes of the match but weren’t able to take advantage of the windows that had been left open as CITY SC attempted to adjust to the moment. Jesper Sørensen’s adjustments stifled the early buildup, keying in on Alex Matan and Rafael Navarro’s freedom to drop into the pocket to receive the ball and progress into the attack half. Whitecaps attempted to lure the buildup into traps where they would then have the statistical advantage, and while CITY SC mostly avoided those traps, it resulted in a more apprehensive setup than usual.

“They came out really strong through the middle, the way they tried to create different challenges for us was really, really good,” Damet said. “I thought we needed to be a little bit more patient, on both sides, defensively and offensively, and I think in the second half, the game opened up a little bit. But again, you're playing against a top team.”

“I think they started the game really well. I think our head was a little bit underwater to start the first half,” Damet finished.

But CITY SC did adjust. 

St. Louis, he came out in the 2nd half, making adjustments, going from losing the possession battle to dominating the possession battle.

It was a tale of two halves.

Damet’s adjustments built into the half, although those adjustments were more about the mentality- being patient and winning duels- than the rotations that finally materialized over the final 45 minutes. 

Vancouver looked dangerous on the front foot, but St. Louis wrangled the match back by controlling 63% of possession in the 2nd half compared to just 45% in the first. The passing network also tells the story of those difficulties. The Whitecaps flattened CITY SC’s attack in the first half before Carlo Holse started to float between the lines and Simon Becher made his late match appearance for Navarro.

Unfortunately, Conrad Wallem’s injury forced a premature change as Rafael Santos replaced Wallem and forced Tomas Totland to switch to the right side following a head to head collision with Vancouver’s Tate Johnson. The collision was incidental, but Wallem drew blood and had to leave the match after initially trying to continue with his head wrapped up tight. 

Fortunately, Wallem avoided concussion protocol, but Chris Durkin was not so lucky.

Durkin was the unfortunate casualty of Timo Baumgartl’s pass over the top to Carlo Holse attempting to cut through the seam. The pass smashed into an unsuspecting Durkin who had just recycled play, and even though Durkin continued, he’d need a sub heading into stoppage time. 

While Wallem is fine, Durkin is officially in Concussion Protocol despite yesterday’s belief that he would be available this weekend. There's no timetable for concussion recovery; Durkin’s availability for Wednesday is an important question.

It's another difficulty while Damet attempts to juggle a lineup ahead of a 3rd match in 7 days and a Final in Columbus next Wednesday.

Back to Wednesday, both sides felt that the draw was a just result at the final whistle, a jumping-off point for an eventual rematch down the line.

The final xG 0.83 to 0.99, with Vancouver failing to register a shot on target through 17 attempts. Some of that is luck – such as Brian White’s 3rd minute effort that rolled wide – but CITY SC defenders blocked 9 shot attempts, successfully recovered numbers through the middle to see out the 5th clean sheet of the season. 

Yoann Damet was proud of the experience.

“We are playing in a final in one week. The feeling is going to be very, very close and similar to that,” Damet said. “At the end of the day, we want to look at what the top – the top teams are facing, from season to season. If we want to keep pushing towards the top, if we want to become one of those teams that are competing every year to be at the top of the standings, if we want to compete in every competition, if we want to speak more about the Champions League play in those games, we need to go through those moments that are giving us a lot of experience in terms of how we feel in terms of the game dynamic, in terms of the decisions we make, how brave we need to be, and I think this is very important for us.”

The numbers continue to support CITY SC's run to the top. No team has earned more points over the last 19 MLS matches, and CITY SC rank top 3 in both expected goals for and expected goals against. Meaning that unlike 2023, the 2026 run into the MLS Cup Playoffs reads as a run of results CITY SC should be able to build on, and it's only strengthened since Carlo Holse, Alex Mǎțan, and Carlo Holse have grown more comfortable in their roles. The 2026 squad is just 5 points away from 2023's club record 56 points that saw CITY SC win the top seed. It'll take more than 56 points to win the West this season, but Yoann Damet's side are backing themselves to write more club history.

They'll have a clearer picture by this time next week.

Midwest Superiority.

Damet will have a tough equation to solve in Minnesota. Tired legs and a midweek US Open Cup Final will demand some rotation, but there will still be a demand to pick up points and solidify their place. Top of the Western Conference is still within reach, but FC Dallas is just 1 point back in 3rd, and LAFC sit just 6 points back of CITY SC in 6th place. A home playoff match is far from guaranteed, and while MNUFC have been poor at Allianz Field, the Loons have been a tough out. 

Kelvin Yeboah has scored 8 goals in MNUFC’s last 10 matches – including the penalty in St. Louis – and CITY SC could struggle if they are caught pushing too far into the attacking half like MNUFC’s first goal in St. Louis last month. 

Unavailable for Wednesday, Rafael Navarro will most likely start but everything is on the table outside of his inclusion. Will Damet pull the trigger on playing Mykhi Joyner at wingback, or will Tomas Totland have a heavy lift? 

St. Louis are 3-1-0 against SKC, Minnesota, and Chicago this season; a result vs. Minnesota would give CITY SC the best record against fellow Midwest clubs, with the Final against Columbus one final opportunity. 

It’s apple cider season. It’s hoodie and shorts weather. Drink a soda and celebrate.