After St. Louis CITY SC jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the first half of last Thursday’s match against rival Sporting Kansas City, a familiar feeling swept through Energizer Park when KC came back to tie the game in the 76th minute.
This time, however, CITY found another gear, charging down the field and earning a penalty after Simon Becher’s flick toward goal careened off KC defender Ethan Bartlow’s outstretched arm. Eduard Löwen went on to score the penalty kick in the 86th minute to seal the win for St. Louis.
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“It showed the mentality of this team that we keep going. We don’t fall out and say, ‘Let’s try to keep the tie,’” Marcel Hartel said after the game. “We go for the win.”
Over the past two seasons, St. Louis led Major League Soccer in dropped points from winning positions. Now, however, the club is on the verge of a playoff spot for the first time since April 2025.
“I like the mindset and mentality of the group,” CITY manager Yoann Damet said after the game. “We don’t get the penalty if we don’t believe that we can win the game, and that’s the most important thing. Whoever is going to make mistakes—and there are always a ton of mistakes happening in those games—the team is going to be there to make up for it.”
The mentality has set a strong baseline for a group that has preached both patience and ambition. Sporting director Corey Wray has always believed that the current group of players was better than last season’s 13th-place finish. At the same time, he’s been hard at work to improve the group over his first few transfer windows at the helm. During the winter, CITY brought in starters Dante Polvara and Daniel Edelman for more than $1 million in transfer fees. St. Louis also recently signed free agent and former Columbus Crew attacking midfielder Alexandru Máțan. Now, CITY is reportedly on the verge of spending around $6 million on DP attacker Carlo Holse from Samsunspor. It’s a sign of intent, with a U22 initiative spot still available for Wray.
The reinforcements arrive at a time when CITY is unbeaten in the team’s last six matches. A win over the Los Angeles Galaxy tonight and another win against the Colorado Rapids this weekend could help them make the playoffs for the first time since early 2025.
“It gives us a lot of confidence,” Löwen said. “Now, we want to go for the next win and the next win. We want to get as close as possible and as soon as possible to the playoff spot and not be chasing that spot at the end of the season.”
Damet believes CITY’s surge is rooted in a growing belief in the team’s approach. “The process is the biggest focus,” Damet says. “I think the players feel that they’ve made steps since the start of the year, and I think they feel more confident. They feel they are improving, individually and collectively. They find more joy in day-to-day, in getting better, in reflecting on games, in feeling more control in games.”
According to CITY players, the World Cup break helped them build on the momentum. “I think we’re confident because we’ve been fighting hard and going after it in this break,” defender Tomas Totland said. “I think everybody on the team is feeling better than what they did when we left.”
