St. Louis CITY SC carry a 12-game unbeaten streak across all competitions into Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire against FC Dallas (7 p.m. ET | Apple TV). The run has lifted the club from the bottom of the Western Conference to sixth place, putting CITY firmly in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs race during Yoann Damet’s first season as head coach.
St. Louis have played some of MLS’s most progressive, possession-focused soccer during the surge, using quick combinations and sweeping switches of play to stretch opposing defenses. MLS on Apple TV analyst Bradley Wright-Phillips called them “one of the best teams to watch, on the eye” during an interview with Damet last week.
The transformation has come despite a roster largely assembled around a more frenetic style introduced by Lutz Pfannenstiel, the club’s former sporting director who led CITY into MLS as an expansion side in 2023. Less-heralded players including Simon Becher, Dante Polvara and Daniel Edelman have become important contributors while producing some of the best form of their careers.
“I’m very pleased with where we’re at in terms of our identity,” Damet told MLSsoccer.com earlier this month, “and the way we defend and the way we attack, and the way we’re creating chances. I think it fits perfectly the group we’ve got, and their qualities.
“I think the players enjoy the way we play,” he added. “That’s the environment we’re trying to create.”
Building belief in St. Louis
Some fans have dubbed the team ‘The Ravioli Boyz,’ a reference to the fried pasta dish that is a cherished local staple. The nickname also reflects a side of CITY that has shown considerable resilience.
St. Louis produced a 2-1 comeback victory over an in-form Houston Dynamo FC last week, knocking the Texans out of first place in the Western Conference. The club also mounted two dramatic comebacks during its ongoing U.S. Open Cup run, which resumes next month with a semifinal against the Colorado Rapids.
“We spoke about belief, making them believe that they can play this way,” explained Damet, whose approach reflects his time working with Wilfried Nancy at CF Montréal and Columbus Crew, as well as a year under Greg Vanney with the LA Galaxy and their second team.
“When you arrive in front of the players and you tell them, ‘OK, we’re going to work and play a little different,’ there is always a period of acclimation and also a period of questioning. Can we do it? Are we confident enough to do it? And that’s where it’s been very fun for me to see the players embrace it.”
St. Louis CITY departures test fan patience
The team’s progress has been harder for some of its most passionate supporters to appreciate. The mood around the CITY fanbase has become conflicted as positive results have coincided with the departures of two of the club’s most productive and popular players.
Designated Player Marcel Hartel, St. Louis’ leading scorer this season, left after expressing a desire to return to his native Germany with his young family for personal reasons. STL transferred him to 2.Bundesliga club Hannover 96 earlier this month for a reported $1 million, a deal that, in current sporting director Corey Wray’s words, prioritized the “human” side over business considerations.
Eduard Löwen, STL’s all-time assists leader and a beloved figure since the club’s inaugural season, then moved to the San Jose Earthquakes in a trade made official this week. The German playmaker had developed deep ties to the community, particularly while his wife Ilona battled brain cancer, a fight that claimed her life earlier this year.
Löwen and the club could not agree on a new contract as his current deal entered its final months. They therefore worked with him to find a new team, further testing the fans’ faith. With only days remaining in the summer transfer window, impatience is growing as supporters await reinforcements for the two high-profile departures.
“Every time you post I get angry,” wrote one CITY supporter in reply to one of the club’s social-media channels. “Which shouldn’t be the case because we haven’t lost since May.”
A column by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Lynn Worthy described the moves as a “unique way to entertain and provoke fans” during the unbeaten run.
The club’s decision-makers can likely understand the skepticism. The start of the season tested their own belief, with the current surge following a difficult opening stretch that produced just one win in the first 10 games and included several brutally unlucky breaks.
“The process, the underlying metrics, the things we’re looking at just watching the game, and the chances we’re creating, were all super positive,” explained Wray, Pfannenstiel’s successor, to MLSsoccer.com last week. “Then it’s about, how much appetite for losing do we have as a group? Do we blow it up? These are all, like, human challenges that you have to really believe in the project.”
Evidence of progress
As St. Louis worked to find its footing, Wray received what he jokingly calls “a crappy award” from executives at opposing clubs.
“People are coming up to us [saying], ‘Wow, you guys are going to be good. Sorry we beat you, but that was the hardest game we’ve played,’” he recalled. “It doesn’t get you so far, but it makes us feel like, OK, our peers can see.
“Thankfully, it turned when it did.”
Wray was a behind-the-scenes contributor to successful projects at Toronto FC, Columbus and Montréal. He met Damet during his time with the Crew and was impressed by the Frenchman, who at 36 is MLS’s youngest manager. Their working relationship has helped St. Louis become competitive faster than initially expected.
CITY have already added one Designated Player this summer in Danish winger Carlo Holse and would like to sign another player to lead the attack in the No. 9 role. Wray’s broader priority, however, is to build a club capable of sustained success.
“This club had a tremendous launch, but very much is in its infancy when it comes to the process, when it comes to everything we do day to day,” said Wray. “I think we provide that in terms of identity. There’s been a big shift in how the team plays on the field, aligned with some of my thoughts, and obviously aligned with how Yoann sees the game.
“Now we’re doing a lot of stuff also behind the scenes to improve the effectiveness of our recruitment, to build a high-performing culture, to really align with how this ownership sees organizations being run.”
St. Louis CITY target MLS Cup Playoffs and Open Cup success
Although St. Louis have not been among MLS’s biggest spenders since entering the league three years ago, Wray says the ownership group has fully supported the club’s ambitions.
“I don’t see any limitation to what we can do, or what we’re looking to do from this ownership group. It’s never been a discussion with me. It’s all been about finding the right people, the right fit to elevate this project,” he said. “We want to be competitive. When you win, you’re relevant, and winning does cost a little bit of money.
“So there’s definitely been a renewed sense of ambition when it comes to that side since our arrival and planning and presentations.”
St. Louis is one of North America’s historic soccer centers, and CITY’s leaders are acutely aware of the sport’s deep roots in the region. That tradition helps drive the loud crowds at Energizer Park each week while also raising expectations, as the reaction to the Hartel and Löwen departures demonstrated.
Damet and Wray want to reward those supporters with an Open Cup title and a deep postseason run. They also believe the club must pursue success through a model that can be repeated year after year.
“There is a very strong fan base and very strong community that has a strong soccer heritage, and I think having that makes things exciting,” said Damet, “We’ve got a very unique setup where the stadium is packed every time, they’re pushing the team – at the same time they are demanding, which is good.
“It comes as a privilege to be able to do that, and to create something sustainable here in the city,” he added. “It comes with also some pressure that I enjoy and embrace, and I think the players and the staff do as well.”
