How St. Louis CITY SC’s center back depth became its biggest strength

It’s the middle of June—the midpoint of the season—and St. Louis CITY SC sits atop Major League Soccer’s Western Conference. Who expected that? 

Surprises abound during this record-setting start to CITY’s inaugural campaign. Perhaps the biggest, most encouraging of them all has been the play of the “castoffs” who comprise St. Louis’ center back group. CITY, which leads the league in goals per game, has earned plaudits for the way it has been able to score. The freedom to swarm forward and score those goals comes from the squad’s confidence in defenders Tim Parker, Lucas Bartlett, and Kyle Hiebert.

Parker, acquired from Houston for $500,000 in general allocation money, has found his career rejuvenated in St. Louis, scoring the club’s first-ever goal and earning a spot on the MLS’ Team of the Matchday multiple times this season. Bartlett, a one-time FC Dallas prospect, arrived in St. Louis as a trialist before earning a role with the club during the preseason. The 25-year-old’s emergence as a reliable option has allowed the team to experiment by shifting Hiebert to left back. Hiebert, too, has enjoyed a productive rise during the first half of the season, developing from a relative unknown into a Canadian National Team call-up within two months in MLS. 

CITY head coach Bradley Carnell praised his defenders after Sunday’s 1-1 draw against the LA Galaxy. Both Bartlett and Parker had stunning moments where they anticipated the Galaxy’s counter attack and stepped into the midfield to completely disrupt the play. A Parker intervention, for example, led to Niko Gioacchini’s phenomenal goal for St. Louis.

“It happened in the first half as well,” Carnell said Sunday. “Ten minutes before halftime where Lucas Bartlett steps in at midfield, and then we go again. [Jared] Stroud gets the ball in the far post, and it’s a side foot and goes just past the upright. In the midfield, Jake Nerwinski steps in. Tim Parker steps in.”

Carnell’s confidence in a group that was largely unproven entering the season speaks to the on-field trust CITY has built as the schedule has unfolded. Time and again, players have validated his lineup decisions.

“We have been speaking a lot as a group about being brave to defend moments like this,” Carnell said. “The backline showed tremendous courage and connectedness to the rest of the group. I’m really happy with everything that I saw.”

Carnell’s confidence in the back line is backed up on the stat sheet. CITY leads the league in successful tackles per match (12.9), and sets the pace in the Western Conference in clearances per match (20.3). Whether CITY uses a center-back pair, or a center-back trio, the club’s strength down the middle has been evident across the first three-plus months.

The most exciting thing for St. Louis? The potential for CITY’s defensive depth to get even better—and deeper—in the coming weeks. 

Joakim Nilsson, a former Bundesliga player and the club’s most expensive defender, hasn’t played a minute this season while recovering from a knee injury. But Nilsson could be back soon. He returned to practice last week, and Carnell has been pleased with the early returns.

“He’s been working really hard behind the scenes,” Carnell said. “He’s got his level of fitness up to a high standard right now. There’s a good confidence about him.”

Given the high expectations for Nilsson, the fact that CITY has achieved what it has without him may be the team’s biggest accomplishment. His return highlights what is sure to be an interesting summer for sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel’s roster. It’s a roster that could use reinforcements at fullback and up top. But CITY does have room to maneuver, and plenty of assets to move.

At the same time, St. Louis knows exactly what it has in the center back pairings, and that group’s contributions have been crucial to the club’s success.