Although St. Louis CITY SC has not yet been mathematically eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs, it’s all but certain that the senior squad will be left out of the postseason picture.
And yet, there will be playoff soccer in St. Louis this fall.
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CITY2 has already clinched its spot in the MLS Next Pro playoffs after navigating an encouraging, yet challenging season full of player movement and roster uncertainty. But such is life in MLS Next Pro, where teams routinely work around the whims of their MLS counterparts. That CITY2 could manage a return to the postseason amid all of its roster turnover is a credit to many inside the St. Louis CITY SC organization, particularly head coach Bobby Murphy. Under Murphy’s stewardship, CITY2 has managed the roster transience that is standard in MLS Next Pro while working first-teamers and Academy players into the lineup, and still managing to win games.
For Murphy, it’s all part of the job for which he signed up.
“It’s part of the nature of this league,” Murphy says. “There is a lot of turnover. We talk about the fact that things change all of the time. Nothing lasts forever. We have to be grateful.”
Of course, it hasn’t always been rosy this season for Murphy’s team. Despite fighting for the Supporter’s Shield, the club struggled while graduating some of its most impactful players to the MLS. As its season began to fall apart, CITY sought help from Murphy’s ranks. That led to a lull for CITY2 as it attempted to find cohesion in the absence of crucial players like Johnny Klein, Jayden Reid, Michael Wentzel, and Mykhi Joyner—each of whom earned first-team contracts through their play in Next Pro. On the flip side, first-teamers Jake Nerwinski, Christian Olivares, Ben Lundt, Akil Watts, and Hosei Kijima have all used Murphy’s environment to stay sharp this season.
“The group deserves a lot of credit,” Murphy says. “So much of that is down to the players. I think the young ones grew up a lot last year, which helps, and the older ones were accepting of the younger ones, which goes back to what I firmly believe: It’s just really important to have good people around.”
It could be argued that the most impactful players for CITY2 have been Joyner and Brendan McSorley. Selected by CITY in the third round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, McSorley has eight goals this season. He’s been a lovely complement to Joyner, who has earned a Homegrown contract with the organization despite entering the season as a relative unknown. The Bloomington, Illinois product is chasing the Next Pro Golden Boot, as his 15 goals rank second in the league.
“Mykhi was such a wild card last year,” Murphy says. “The soccer part is great, but to see him grow into a fine young man who is responsible, who is self aware, it’s just great.”
For Murphy, there is an individual touch required in player development. While Joyner needed to work on his concentration in key moments, fellow Homegrown talent Caden Glover has needed to work on finding consistency. Glover takes his status seriously as the club’s first ever Homegrown signing, and Murphy has watched the 17-year-old take major strides in his development this season.
“If you put Tyson [Pearce] and Mykhi’s experiences up against Caden’s, they’ve been settled and with us, whereas Caden has bounced around, gone up to the first team and come back down,” Murphy says. “Those first team experiences are valuable, but what you’ve seen in the last month of Caden—if we could extrapolate that out to the last eight months, we’d be viewing his progression as quicker, or more pronounced.”
Glover has also had to fight for playing time for the first time in his young career. While Glover usually tops the USYNT age-group rankings, he’s had to contend with Brendan McSorely thriving in the No. 9 role, while Glover has bounced between the groups picking up first-team experience.
“You have to remind Caden to extend himself a little bit of grace, but at the same time, he’s learning lessons,” Murphy says. “He could probably do whatever he wanted to on a soccer field two years ago. But now he can’t, so he could either beat his head against the wall, or he could learn and take on information that will help him down the road. For the first time in his life, he has had competition for his spot. So how does Caden cope with coming off the bench? We’ve had long talks with him about this. There are people at this club who haven’t handled that very well, and they’re no longer here. At 17 years old, if you can come to grips with this, [you have to keep in mind that] it’s not forever. It’s just a moment in time. So, when you’re 19 or 20 and in the same situation with the first team, then you’re prepared for it, you’re able to fight for your spot, and, when you are called upon, you’re able to perform.”
CITY’s front office would like to see more Homegrown players contributing to the first team in the coming years. Glover and Joyner are two who have clearly grown since the start of the season, which should excite everyone involved with sporting decisions. Pearce, a defensive midfielder who stepped into the left back position admirably after Reid received promotion to the first team, is another Homegrown talent who could impact the first team sooner than later.
“He’s just a good little soccer player,” Murphy quipped about Pearce’s ability. “We’re just so happy for him after the year he had last year with the hamstring injury and the growth spurt. Now he’s one of the first names on the team sheet.”
For CITY, there are tremendous benefits in having a competitive second team. For one, young players are given the opportunity to learn more about themselves as they face strong competition for—in many cases—the first time in their careers. It also gives players like Reid a chance to rebuild their confidence while starting fresh with a new organization.
“I think he would tell you this as well: he was a broken player after his time with Red Bull,” Murphy said. “You’re so happy for him. To take a kid like that and to help him—I’m not going to take credit for it—but to be able to remind him that he isn’t done yet, I’m just so happy for him because he’s such a good kid. He’s done fantastic and I hope he has a fantastic career.”
Murphy won’t hang his hat merely on results. His focus is on development. The rest takes care of itself. As his players have grown, the wins have followed. With 50 points, CITY2 has surpassed the point total of the 2022 team (49), which featured cameos from first-teamers like João Klauss, Roman Bürki, and others.
As CITY2 looks toward a long playoff run, the true success of the campaign will show in how players use the lessons learned to continue their development in the seasons to come. And with Murphy leading the way, CITY2—and the many players who are sure to populate its roster—is in good hands.
