St. Louis CITY SC is still winless in Seattle, and more from an Up and Down week.

Last week was a real mixed bag for the St. Louis CITY Soccer Club after a stretch of encouraging performances.

St. Louis started the week with a straightforward, 4-0 drubbing of FC Tulsa on Wednesday night to kick off their 2026 US Open Cup campaign. Only to violently crash back down to earth in Saturday’s 4-1 loss in Seattle. 

As Charles Dickens once wrote (presumably about St. Louis sports, but you'll have to correct me on that), “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Heading into Seattle, it seemed that Yoann Damet’s side would have some momentum. Two wins and two draws in their last four matches showed clear progress after their slow start (thanks in large part to one of the league’s toughest strength of schedules), but the Sounders are the picture of MLS consistency for a reason. St. Louis have only bested Brian Schmetzer once in four seasons, and if the club is to become an MLS contender under Corey Wray and Yoann Damet’s leadership, then they’ll have to pass this litmus test. 

For now, CITY SC is not passing that test. 

On a night when both clubs were dealing with some slight rotation following midweek matches. It was Seattle that still fielded the stronger XI, and it was Seattle that outlasted CITY SC’s initial flurry of possession. 

For the first 15 minutes, St. Louis controlled the match with 70% possession and generated the only shot attempts of the opening sequence, but Seattle absorbed the pressure and quickly scored on their first corner attempt following Snyder Brunell’s long-range effort against the run of play. 

On the corner, Seattle took advantage of a vulnerability in CITY SC’s marking scheme. Cristian Roldan lined up at the top of the box before walking to the far corner and setting up shop behind the play. Rusnák complicated matters with perfect deliveries on both Roldan goals, and CITY SC were left shell-shocked heading into the half. 

Seattle didn’t let up from there, converting on Conrad Wallem’s defensive mistake that led to Rusnák’s penalty in the 49th minute. It’s unfair to blame the entire movement on Wallem, CITY SC weren’t able to reset the spacing between MacNaughton and Baumgartl.

This is a goal that might not happen if Orozco isn’t in concussion protocol – a sentence I didn’t think I’d be writing a year ago – but it’s still a point of worry heading into a match with the high flying San Jose Earthquakes next week. 

It's a worrying trend.

CITY SC have now conceded in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half in 4 out of 5 away matches this season; and down 3-0, that was the game for all intents and purposes. 

Osaze De Rosario made it 4-0 in the 86th minute before the returning Edu Löwen smashed home a deflected Sergio Córdova effort to finish 4-1.

Löwen’s goal was a nice consolation, a glimmer of hope as the club grasped for any glimmer of a silver lining. 

After the match, Yoann Damet called the result a part of the process, reflecting on the progress his squad has shown in a few short months since he took the helm. 

“The underlying numbers of the performances we've been able to put together so far this season, I think we’re in a good place.” Damet reflected.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us. There are a lot more things that need to be addressed. There are a lot of things that are in building mode right now, where, again, it's a work in progress, but at the same time, the way the players are showing up every day, the way they are performing, the way they're pushing, the way they took on board, the playing style and the mindset we want to show week in, week out has been, has been really positive. So I'm quite positive. And I think today it was also my message to the to the group that we of course, we need to reflect on the on the game today and there is a ton of things we we should have done better, but at the same time, we're still in a good place, and we're still moving in the right direction.”

When Damet reflects on this performance, he should observe three things:

1. Sergio Córdova’s hold-up play was a breath of fresh air, with Simon Becher virtually invisible. Some of that is the game state, but Córdova had more touches, a better duel rate, drew more fouls, and indirectly contributed to the goal by dragging defenders with him, allowing Edu Löwen to run into the space and smash home the deflection. 
2. The corner routine was too easy because Seattle recognized the holes in St. Louis’s marking scheme. 
3. Santos and Wallem were, once again, not effective. A combined 0-7 crossing and 5-14 duel rate from the wide players, while Tomas Totland won all 5 of his duels after replacing Santos in the 62nd minute.

The 4-1 scoreline was more lopsided than the match played out in open play, but it was a just result, and St. Louis will have a lot to reflect on before hosting the red hot Earthquakes next Saturday. 

Sergio Córdova vs Simon Becher.

It’s unfair to judge Córdova by the standard of the expected impact for a designated player, given that his status as a DP is simply a bookkeeping exercise that won’t matter in the summer window. However, he is the current DP striker, and while he has yet to tickle the twine, he has been more impactful than Becher at the 9 in two straight appearances. 

The case for Simon Becher over the past two seasons has been that the striker consistently led the team in g+, meaning that despite his goalscoring record, he was still a positive for everyone around him in the lineup.

Unfortunately, that trend has not followed him this season. Becher is a negative in every g+ category through 600+ minutes, and while Córdova hasn’t been great either – some of that predicated by playing on the wing – he has added value in his ability to turn and dribble. Wednesday’s performance vs Tulsa was a pretty good proof of concept for what he can bring to the table as the out and out nine, and the attack’s connectivity was the best it has been all season as Córdova both progressed the attack and drew foul after foul after foul.

Connectivity was certainly an issue Saturday in Seattle.

Again, Becher only had 17 touches in 62 minutes with only 3 of those inside the Sounders box. 

“I felt we were quite good at playing through their press, but I thought we got disconnected in attacking setup.”

Damet said, speaking to the issue.

“We played too quickly in behind, balls that were not obvious. I felt like we made too many mistakes, like in those areas, and that got us stretched defensively on the transition. So that's what I didn't like too much about the game. I felt like we created our own problems with the ball and not without like from those moments where then you start running a little bit more, you start suffering a bit more. So again, it's more a matter of understanding. Like, once you play through the press, can you stay in the opposition half? Can you stay high and actually prepared, prepare the attack the same way we did in second half? We had a spell in the second half where we kept the ball in the half, where we were able to regain high and attack again. And this only comes from being patient.”

Takeaways from Wednesday’s US Open Cup win.

Damet wasn’t lying when he said that the club would put its best foot forward earlier in the week, including Marcel Hartel and Roman Bürki, among 6 holdovers from the draw in Dallas. 

The reasoning for the first team heavy lineup seemed two-fold. 

1. CITY SC are fully invested in putting their best foot forward, viewing the US Open Cup as a legitimate opportunity to win silverware. 
2. The squad could use the confidence boost after a tough opening schedule, a real proof of concept, if you will.

Mission accomplished.

The confidence boost didn’t directly correlate to better play on the weekend but it did set up an interesting conversation with both Totland and Joyner playing well against an FC Tulsa that was physical on both sides of the ball. Joyner even showing what he can do standing over the ball next to Hartel:

CITY SC had some of their best play behind the high line, with Sangbin scoring directly off of a Roman Bürki goal kick. 

St. Louis accomplished everything they needed to as they advanced to the Round of 16, including a return goal for Tomáš Ostrák.

It was a phenomenal display for a group that needed to show they could take care of business. They’ll travel to Chicago… ok, Bridgeview, Illinois, in 10 days to renew the rivalry with the Chicago Fire. 

Last time these two faced off in the US Open Cup, CITY SC lost 2-1. That 2023 matchup feels like a lifetime ago, with Bradley Carnell opting for a back 4 of Selmir Pidro, Kyle Hiebert, Tim Parker, and Akil Watts that day. This year’s lineup will look a little different, Miggy Perez and possibly Edu Löwen should be the only holdovers from that Starting XI, CITY SC will hope that leads to a better outcome and their first trip to the quarterfinals. 

Welcome back Edu Löwen.

I glossed over Löwen’s goal in the recap so let’s bring it back:

This is actually a nice pickup and run from McSorely as well, he won’t get an assist but he continues to shine in the numbers. 

Until late last season, St. Louis struggled mightedly to progress the ball without Löwen in the lineup, finally winning without him featuring for the first time over two seasons under David Critchley’s interim tenure. 

Löwen returned to Energizer Park earlier this month with Critchley’s CITY2 forecasting his involvement this week in Seattle. While he stepped onto the pitch as CITY SC trailed 4-0, the German maestro wasted no time making an impact. 

It was, no doubt, an emotional return. The Apple TV cameras kept rolling as both CITY SC and Sounders players embraced the 29 year old at full time. 

“We as a team gain a lot of strength from Edu.” Chris Durkin said afterwards, “I'm really happy to see him score a goal. But not only to score a goal, just to be back on the field, it means a lot to the entire group.”

Damet had a similar thought, noting that the squad finished the game on the front foot, while noting:

“It gives us a bit of perspective on everything, that there are some things that are bigger than what we do.”

CITY2 check-in.

Finally, let’s check in with David Critchley’s undefeated 2 squad. 

There were some big moments in the club’s 1-2 win over Tacoma. 

Riley Lynch scored a great goal in the 35th minute, continuing his strong play as the first choice RWB. Lynch was a strong MLSNP player with The Town (San Jose’s former MLSNP affiliate) in 2024 before an injury kept him out for most of 2025. Kicking off 2026 in a slightly adjusted Wingback role, the 23 year old has shown a lot of promise. This is where it is hard to forecast what strong MLSNP play means for older players, but that CITY SC don’t have much depth at RWB, it’s an important run of performances to keep an eye on. In this one, Lynch is creating 0.93 xG+xA and over 2 chances per 90 minutes through 585 MLSNP minutes.

Tyson Pearce started opposite Lynch after starting in his stead on the right the week prior. 

It’s good progress for the homegrown in his return to play. Pearce was high on Yoann Damet’s radar coming out of preseason, only to suffer this injury setback on the eve of the season.

“I'm gonna be honest, I was quite surprised and impressed with him in preseason,” Damet said ahead of facing Tulsa last week. “That was big blow for me personally to have a guy that was available, ready to go, and was gonna be potentially one to create a bit more competition in that winback position.“

In other homegrown news, Caden Glover made his debut after also suffering an ankle injury out of preseason, Alex Jundt made his return after spending the last week at the Dallas Cup with the U19 group, and Lucas McPartlin made his 4th start of the season. (Important to note that Jundt and McPartlin spent time with the first team in preseason but are not signed to Homegrown deals)

McPartlin is worth highlighting here. The 18 year old made 5 saves, including this dive to stop what looked sure to be a go ahead goal for Tacoma.

McPartlin also acted as a sweeper 5 times, made 3 punches, 6 recoveries, 7 clearances, and completed 2 long passes. 

St. Louis, ideally, won’t need a goalkeeper over the next 2 seasons, but after that, as Collin Welsh, Cristian Olivarez, and McPartlin jockey for the next man up position, the academy player is setting himself up with plenty of room to grow. 

Alright, that’s it for this weekend’s notebook, we’ll check in later this week – on top of your usual NWSL power rankings and some thoughts on the USWNT series vs Japan.

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