John Hackworth knew he needed to make a change.
After a bitterly frustrating draw at Portland on August 24, the St. Louis CITY SC interim head coach challenged his fullbacks to step up during a grueling week of training. Specifically, Hackworth designed the club’s practice sessions last week to address CITY’s habit of failing to cover the back post. As a humid haze fell over Downtown West, a seemingly unlikely name emerged as a solution.
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Encouraged to step up, Jake Nerwinski stepped forward and provided CITY with the defensive backbone it desperately craved.
Nerwinski was masterful in St. Louis’ 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy on Sunday afternoon, tallying eight defensive actions and six recoveries in a match where CITY needed its defense to be in top form for 90-plus minutes. For the 29-year-old, who is in the final year of his contract with St. Louis, it was a much-needed reminder that he can still contribute.
“To be completely honest with everyone here, this has been easily the most disappointing and frustrating year of my career,” Nerwinski admitted after Sunday’s game. “I don’t think I’ve necessarily gotten the chances that I think I deserve in training. [Hackworth] really believes in me. We’ve had great talks. He gave me that chance [Sunday], and I just took it. When you have two kids, that’s all the motivation you need to play as hard as you can, to provide for them.”
For Nerwinski, who knows he’s playing for a contract in 2025—whether it’s in St. Louis or elsewhere—family has been on his mind a lot lately.
His wife, Allie, gave birth to their second child, Charlotte, last Thursday. With so much on his mind, it was doubly impressive to see Nerwinski perform as soundly as he did against one of the league’s top teams.
“The biggest decision I was making with Jake was like, ‘How much sleep did you get? Are you going to be able to play 90 minutes?’” Hackworth said, recognizing that the decision to start Nerwinski might turn heads when the lineup dropped Sunday afternoon. “Jake is more of an experienced, stay-at-home defender where [Tomas Totland] loves to get forward. We made that tweak knowing we had to with [Marco] Reus and [Joseph] Paintsil. They have some attacking weapons. Really proud of Jake and all that he’s done in the last couple of days, for sure.”
Sunday was, in a sense, a reminder of what Nerwinski can still be—and what he once was. A staple of Vancouver’s backline from 2017 to 2022, Nerwinski made 141 appearances during his time with the Whitecaps. But in a league that is heavy on attacking wide play, a defensively-strong full back is always going to have to prove his worth.
After landing in St. Louis ahead of the club’s inaugural season, Nerwinski did just that. But on the heels of 32 appearances in 2023, Nerwinski has fallend down the depth chart this year as Totland and Akil Watts have demonstrated a knack for pushing play forward. That left Nerwinski in a new role as an emergency depth option. However, a managerial change and a series of back post mishaps have opened the door for Nerwinski to challenge for a starting spot again.
Sunday’s matchup with the LA Galaxy meant that Nerwinski had to be his best defensive self, while keeping one of the league’s strongest transition attacks from beating the back line vertically. Although it’s not clear what the right back depth chart will look like moving forward, Nerwinski spent the weekend serving a reminder that he can be trusted in a shutdown role. A member of CITY’s leadership council, Nerwinski is a level-headed player, who is willing to do what is asked—his time spent at center back the past two seasons is evidence of that.
And with seven crucial matches left in CITY’s regular season, Nerwinski knows what motivates him: a return to the playoffs, a job next year, and his growing family.
There’s a lot on his mind—and so much to play for.
