St. Louis CITY SC's US Open Cup hangover.

Energizer Park brimmed with energy Wednesday night as St. Louis CITY SC tied the bow on the 2026 US Open Cup win. The Pomp and circumstance set the tone for another big weeknight in downtown West. Still, Roman Bürki’s opportunity to lift the cup in front of the supporters was the only highlight until CITY SC finally found the back of the net in the second half. 

The 2-3 loss was a tough one. CITY SC’s 3rd straight in MLS play has set a tone heading into the final two matches of the regular season.

It’s important to see the forest through the trees. All 3 losses are victims of the club’s US Open Cup success. The failures in Minnesota and Salt Lake come with lineups and rotations that won’t be seen again in 2026, and the loss vs. Portland still showed signs of a team that hasn’t lost touch with its identity… but the intensity was lacking. Balls that would’ve been won on the re-press a month ago were lost, and Chris Durkin pointed to the loss of energy post-match.

“We've had the same care and regard for holding on to a game, but we've kind of just been all in, full send, go after guys, and when you're a high-pressing team like that, you can't be tentative. You have to be all in, and I think we need to bring a little of that in.”

So, what happened?

The starting XI was nearly back to normal without Roman Bürki and Alex Mǎțan; Ben Lundt started in goal for the 4th time this season, but there was also an added wrinkle of Damion Downs’s first start in St. Louis. 

Downs’s start was a necessity thanks to the lack of options in the attack – Mǎțan’s injury, Ostrák’s red card, heavy minutes for Becher and Sangbin – but it was largely unsuccessful as the 2nd striker next to Navarro. Downs failed to impact the match with just 12 touches and a blocked header on the doorstep. There was an even better missed chance that just happened to be called back for Navarro’s offside run in the buildup. There have been moments when Downs has looked promising; he has the physical tools, but everything continues to fall apart for him in the attacking 1/3rd. 

“He still needs to work and integrate to understand what we want to do,” Yoann Damet said. “Tactically, definitely, I think he's full of qualities. So it's more a matter of getting the rhythm and understanding how far he can push his body in terms of intensity that we ask.”

That lack of chemistry affected CITY SC’s care in possession, and Portland outdueled and outmatched CITY SC in key moments.

Crucial turnovers were their undoing as CITY SC built into dangerous areas, which turned into Portland counterattacks in behind the wingbacks as the Timbers looked to isolate the outside CB. 

On that note, it was not a good night for either Lukas MacNaughton or Timo Baumgartl 1v1 against Velde and Da Costa, and that was the point of failure.

CITY SC’s CBs have not had to rely on their 1v1 defending on the counter often this season, and Portland is able to create those opportunities thanks to a cavalcade of failures elsewhere. If Conrad Wallem can press the initial ball quicker on Cole Bassett’s pass into Velde, then he’s not cutting in 1v1 with MacNaughton. If Downs doesn’t play himself into a direct turnover, then Portland doesn’t have the opportunity to regroup in possession so easily.

If a St. Louis attack isn’t cleared directly to Da Costa on the counter  – and MacNaughton doesn’t follow Da Costa after Lundt’s initial save – then Velde doesn’t find himself on the ball with enough of a window to bank his shot off the far post. 

Unfortunately, all of those mistakes did happen, and Portland pounced on the mistakes for a 3-0 lead. 

The scoreline paints the story of a CITY SC that had fallen off a ledge, but St. Louis entered halftime leading xG 1.01 to 0.4 with all 3 of the game’s big chances. 

Sangbin replaced Damion Downs at the half, and the change helped CITY SC limit some of those chances. His interplay with Carlo Holse opened up the first goal as Holse delivered a gorgeous ball into Daniel Edelman. Then, Sangbin’s pass from the left side was poked in by Rafael Navarro as he whipped his cross towards the back post.

St. Louis had opportunities to draw this match during stoppage time but fell short even as they created more chances. Small victories.

Outlook.

Post-match, Daniel Edelman took the loss on the chin. 

“This is not the standard for this club and what we've built; we need to get back on track and review this game and see what we need to do better, but by no means are we going to throw everything we've built out the window just because we lost another game.”

There’s a glass half-full, glass half-empty way of looking at this loss. 

Half-empty: CITY SC have allowed 3 goals against in the last 3 MLS losses and have shown vulnerabilities that weren’t there earlier this season.

Half-full: The drop in intensity against the ball is a consequence of a heavily congested schedule on the heels of a US Open Cup win, and when they were able to tap into that, they created more chances than a Portland side that was playing for their season. 

"That's how football is. It goes up and down. We've been on a high for very long, and now we're down a little bit." Carlo Holse said. "It's very normal. That's just how it is. It's about finding a way to get out of it. But I fully trust my teammates and the coaching staff that we will find a way on Saturday."

The losses at RSL and Minnesota heavily skew the numbers, and the match vs. Portland was a return to form despite the result. That’s where fans can find the silver lining with a freshly eliminated San Diego FC coming to town.

Subtracting those two losses from CITY SC’s numbers – especially the RSL loss – St. Louis’s numbers are still 2nd best in the Western Conference, and the 12.35 expected Goal Differential would rank 4th in the league.

Of course, every team looks better with their worst loss taken off the table, but given the likelihood of Yoann Damet fielding a lineup that rotated for the rest of the season, it is more of a real look at where the team is heading into the playoffs.

It tells the tale of a team that should still back itself ahead of the final home match of the season. 

“It's a quick reset.” Chris Durkin said, “We come into the training facility tomorrow hungry and motivated, not feeling sorry for ourselves, with a smile on our faces, looking at the table and seeing we're still in control. We're still in the situation that we'd give our right arm for at the start of the season. So we need to take a deep step back, have some perspective, and go from there. I think we worked so hard to let things slip away, and I back this group 100%."

Previewing San Diego.

Against SDFC, St. Louis will play a team that knows their season is done and is rebounding from a 4-1 loss in Vancouver last Wednesday. Yoann Damet will also be able to push his team’s fitness levels without a midweek match for the first time in 3 weeks – 7 matches in 20 days is also context.

San Diego haven’t won a match in over 2 months and have only won twice away from Snapdragon Stadium this season.

All of that to say it is a good opportunity for St. Louis to have a get-right game, especially with the opportunities to rest Sangbin and Simon Becher over the past few matches. 

Expect some rotation from those two, with a potential shakeup along the backline after MacNaughton’s rough night at the office midweek.

Meanwhile, Mǎțan and Bürki will remain out for the weekend.

St. Louis can still top their points record from the 2023 season, but they will need to win against San Diego and Houston to reach that goal. 6 points would also secure at least 3rd place in the Western Conference, with FC Dallas 3 points in front of St. Louis in 2nd place. St. Louis also has the tiebreakers over Houston and San Jose in 4th and 5th place but aren’t in the clear.

If San Jose drops points vs. RSL this weekend and St. Louis beats San Diego, then they will clinch at least a top 4 spot heading into Houston. 

No tricks, just treats on Halloween afternoon. 

Sprint Season.

2027 is starting to take shape.

St. Louis CITY SC have punched their ticket to the Concacaf Champions Cup and now know their home/away splits for the sprint season. The draw was largely beneficial for St. Louis. They will host LAFC, Vancouver, and Seattle, leaving just one trip to Cascadia, along with away days in San Diego and Carson, California. That’s a much easier travel schedule than it could have been, as much as St. Louis would’ve liked hosting the derby with SKC… at least it isn’t on a weekday.