St. Louis CITY SC make it 8 unbeaten in 1-0 win over Colorado Rapids.

St. Louis CITY SC’s 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids made it four straight wins for the fourth-year club and extended their unbeaten streak to eight straight across all competitions. To put it simply, St. Louis had to win this match following Rob Holding’s 12th-minute DOGSO Red Card.

St. Louis created the opportunity, pressing Holding as the Rapids retreated in possession. Sangbin pounced on the ball, forcing Holding to foul him, unaware that he was the last defender in that moment. 

From there, it was frustrating for Yoann Damet’s side, who now had to adjust their game plan. 

The plan was to invite Colorado’s aggression against the ball and try to play in behind the lines similar to Sangbin’s game-winning goal in Colorado; it’s a look Damet has utilized in multiple moments this season. 

Instead, CITY SC had to decode a compact low block, and while Colorado didn’t have a shot attempt in the first half and failed to register a single shot on target all night, St. Louis couldn’t create enough danger inside the box. 

“The interesting thing is there is very much clarity when you play 11 against 11, but when you play against a team down a man there is less clarity, so you have to readdress a couple of things.” Damet confided. “For me, you need a goal. You have an extra man at the back. You should be able to have a safety net of some sort when you are pressing. So we have to go. We have to keep being brave. We are doing it when we are playing 11 against 11. So when we are playing up a man, we should do it even more and be even more aggressive.”

A couple close calls led the way to just 0.44 xG in the first half, and just 0.58 xG in the 2nd half even after Damet’s halftime adjustments led to more dangerous balls in and around the box. 

Edu Löwen replaced Sangbin in the 56th minute, but it wasn’t until Tomáš Ostrák and Palmer Ault replaced Simon Becher and Chris Durkin in the 78th minute that CITY SC found its breakthrough. 

Ostrák’s journey has been long and winding, but he has routinely proved that he can be a game changer when he can get onto the pitch. The goal against FC Tulsa may have been a false start, but the game-winning goal against Colorado was lethal. 

“It was an amazing moment.” Ostrák said afterwards, “Very happy, very happy that we won, that we got the three points at home, that we fought, and we fought together. So I'm very, very happy.”

The celebration after Ostrák’s goal was a window into how closely his teammates have cheered him on throughout the injuries that have plagued his last three seasons. Roman Bürki’s sprint to join the celebration was his hardest effort all night, but it said everything about how Ostrák’s teammates care for him. 

“I really appreciate his long run. You know, I'm happy that he didn't cramp.” Ostrák quipped, a long way from the shy 22-year-old who arrived in St. Louis four years ago. “It was a great moment to see the captain celebrate with the team. Even bigger that we celebrate together as a team. That was the big thing, and it was an awesome moment.”

It’s hard to overly critique a match where St. Louis was never in danger of conceding, but this would be a much different recap if the goal never came. St. Louis fans don’t have to relive the trauma of last year’s 1-1 draw with Dallas; instead, they can sit in the fact that only Inter Miami have been hotter over the last 5 matches. If St. Louis can beat RSL next Saturday, they’ll tie the club’s longest win streak from all the way back in 2023 when Bradley Carnell’s CITY SC took the league by storm. It’s been a long journey from that delirious start filled with disappointment and false starts, but Yoann Damet’s transformation wasn’t supposed to look like this before the reinforcements arrive; cherish it while you can. 

"The mindset of the group, I've said that since day one, is amazing." Damet said of the ability to close out the win. "Those guys are amazing, the way they are showing you have every day to put the work in, how relentless they are in being committed to one another and being committed to their own growth has been second-to-none. I've been very pleased with that. That's definitely something where what's happening when we speak to them, we need to keep that mindset. That's also part of our identity."

In the end, St. Louis and Colorado seem incapable of having a normal match this season, and ‘Pids manager Matt Well was hot under the collar at the final whistle. These two play with a trip to the USOC Final on the line in a little under two months. Should be destination viewing. 

Standout Players

Timo Baumgartl doesn’t get enough praise for his role in the CITY SC orchestra, and Saturday night may have been one of his most influential moments. At his best, Baumgartl’s position makes him hard to notice until he’s sending balls over the top into space, and that held true in the clean sheet vs Colorado. Baumgartl’s passing was the highlight, including the MLS assist – of which he bragged about post-game – on the game winning goal. 

“We needed to stay calm; that was the important thing,” Baumgartl said afterwards. “And then sometimes there's a goal which you can't explain because that's a terrific goal, by the way, top in. So I'm happy to give that pre-assist. I would say, and it helped the team. So happy with that, and happy for Thomas as well.”

Other notable milestones.

Palmer Ault has now made three straight assists after signing his MLS contract ahead of the restart, and while he hasn’t opened his account yet, he had 0.41 xG on target during Wednesday’s win over the Galaxy. 

Miggy Perez also crossed over 350 minutes across all competitions with his appearance against Colorado; it’s still off the pace from his 2023 tally, but it’s a good sign for a 21-year-old homegrown who spent a hard season on loan in Birmingham before spending the entirety of 2025 with CITY2 to recover his momentum. It’s sobering, similar to Mykhi Joyner, only on pace to equal his minutes from last season, but the eye test says that players are improving under Damet, even when the ask is completely different. 

St. Louis won’t win any plaudits as a club that can develop talent just yet, but a look at the U17-U18 group breaking through for David Critchley’s CITY2 potentially highlights where St. Louis will find value in the not too distant future.