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A year ago, St. Louis City SC got everyone’s attention by winning its first five games, an unprecedented feat for an expansion team.

In Season 2, through four games, the team still hasn’t lost an MLS game, though, as coach Bradley Carnell notes, “it’s not quite as firework-y as last year.�

That’s because while the team has yet to lose in its first four games, it’s won only one of them. Three of those matches have ended in ties, by scores of 1-1, 2-2 and last week in Los Angeles, 3-3.

So, it’s good but no match for last season.

“This team set a high expectation last year and we want to maintain and keep that,� said midfielder Chris Durkin. “And you know if we can go 5-0 in wins in the first year and then 5-0 undefeated the second year, I think that’s a pretty good standard. Just want to keep it calm.�

City SC will put that undefeated (not winning) streak on the line Saturday when it faces D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. at CityPark (MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s a return home for the team after back-to-back road games and it’s a day for reunions, after a trade in December brought Durkin to St. Louis from D.C. United while Jared Stroud and Lucas Bartlett went the other way.

The reunion won’t be quite as big for Durkin as it will be for Stroud and Bartlett. While almost all of the City SC team is back from last season, it’s an almost all-new team for D.C. United. Only four of the top 10 players in minutes for the team last season are back.

“Seeing a couple old friends,� Durkin said, “but honestly a pretty new face of a team as well. A lot of new players, so I’m viewing it like any other game. I don’t want to be too emotional coming into it. Just excited to get back home, to be honest. It felt like we’ve been away from CityPark for a while.�

That’s one of the reasons City SC is OK with its recent ties, particularly last week’s. Going into Los Angeles and getting a tie with the Galaxy, which looks to be one of the top offensive teams in the league this season, figures to be no small feat.

“The one tie that I’m disappointed in is the Salt Lake tie,� Durkin said, referencing the team’s opening day result amid matches in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. “Other than that, I think those ties have been really important for us, especially away. If you can average close to a point on the road, you’re doing a really good job. So just the mentality of the group in those two games away, I think is incredible. So we’re proud of being undefeated still and we want to keep it that way.�

“That’s a really good record,� said goalkeeper Roman Burki. “I mean, unbeaten still. We had a lot of away games too. And yeah, we just try to keep going, try to keep improving. It’s not the same start that we had last year, obviously, but also the teams, they’re getting better and better. They know how we want to play that they can react to it. And so I’m happy that we’re still unbeaten and I think six points. It’s not bad.�

“You take two points in these environments, it’s massive,� Carnell said. “It’s really massive for momentum, for the belief in the group, the way we come back and the way it leaves us leaving that field. That leaves us thinking, yeah, unbeaten after four. Collecting points along the way. Road trips are never easy. Just take a look at the league, look at the away results. They’re never easy playing away from home. Then you come back to CityPark. We know this is a special place.�

City SC is one of nine teams in the league yet to lose, and four weeks in, there are no teams that have won all of their games. City SC is tied for fourth in Western Conference with six points, even with the Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City.

City SC will be without midfielder Eduard Lowen (hamstring) and center back Tim Parker (back) as they get over what the team hopes are minor injuries. Carnell said Lowen has resumed running, which is a first step on him returning to action. Carnell said Njabulo Blom, who has missed the past three games with a knee injury, should be available.

But those absences pale compared to D.C. United, which is without two starters and two others because of international team callup, and another because of a red-card suspension. United has a win, a loss and two ties to start its first season under new coach Troy Lesesne, who is trying to get the club back in the playoffs after not qualifying the past four seasons. Lesesne, like Carnell a former interim coach of the New York Red Bulls, has also brought that team’s pressing style to United.

“It was a pretty big overhaul,� Durkin said, “but looks like they had a decent start so far. Obviously I’m happy for them. I’ll always be watching the club, it’s my boyhood club, so I’ll always be kind of looking at them. But yeah, my focus obviously now is here and I think it’s definitely going to be a battle on Saturday. It’s kind of like looking ourselves in the mirror, both high pressing teams. So it’ll be a fun game.�

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City SC broadcaster Joey Zanaboni's Kate Middleton-Roman Burki comparison draws smiles

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ST. LOUIS — After a conference title-winning inaugural year, St. Louis City SC’s return to the pitch has nearby businesses bolstering their game-day offerings, hoping to continue their soccer-related revenue.

The area surrounding CityPark saw over $73 million more in taxable revenue between January and September 2023 than in the same period the year before, bolstering hopes that the Major League Soccer stadium would flood nearby businesses with customers and spur economic regeneration in the neighborhood.

Taxable sales collected within the 63103 ZIP code — bounded roughly by Grand Boulevard to the west, Tucker Boulevard to the east, Chouteau Avenue to the south and Delmar Boulevard to the north — totaled nearly $441 million, nearing pre-pandemic numbers.

This is over $73 million more than what was reported in 2022 for the same period, according to the Missouri Department of Revenue.

During St. Louis City SC’s home opener last month, Schlafly Tap Room saw over 2,500 people on game day, similar to what they had last year, but the company said sales improved significantly, especially outside in the improved pre-match area, which was reconfigured for better flow and access to points of sale, said Dan Jameson, Schlafly’s head of brewpub operation.

After seeing the success of last season’s tailgates, Schlafly Tap Room puts up drink tents and serves a match day menu with snacks like soft pretzels with cheese, pulled pork, bratwursts and Red Hot Riplets pork rinds.

“I want the pubs to be more fun because if the pubs are more fun, more people come,� said Jameson. “If more people come, sales are up.�

The Tap Room plans to add additional televisions in the bar for away game watch parties.

“We never in our wildest dreams would think that we’d become a soccer pub,� Jameson said.

After a rocky start hosting soccer fans last season, The Pepper Lounge, about three blocks north of CityPark, has ramped up its soccer-related events. General manager Kelly Clark said the nightclub is transforming its front lounge into a sports bar, offering featured drinks and hosting different food trucks on match days.

Clark has noticed one side effect of the soccer development — there is less criminal activity around the nightclub compared to last year and the year before. Still, the business remains vigilant when it comes to safety, especially on match days, adding security on busy days, walking people to their cars, calling Ubers for guests who have had too much to drink and encouraging folks with valuables in their cars to park close to the venue.

“Everything doesn’t change because of soccer,� Clark said. “Things don’t change because of money. We’re still focused on safety.�

The London Tea Room, an English tea shop and events space, relocated to Locust Street from Tower Grove in late 2022 with hopes of capitalizing off of the area’s shiny new soccer stadium and other revitalization, said owner Jackie James.

Since then, some customers have told James that they are unwilling to travel to her new location because of assumptions of a violent and crime-ridden downtown, she said.

“They’re very much the minority,� James said. “But they’ll say ‘I don’t come downtown for anything.’�

The tea shop owner said she hopes this will change and estimates that the neighborhood will be completely revitalized within five years.

“It’s really up and coming, just so much going on here and people moving in,� James said.

Other businesses are also going all in this year to capitalize off of the soccer buzz.

Nearby on Olive Street, dispensary Viola STL just celebrated its one year anniversary downtown and sales are about what they anticipated, co-founder Dan Pettigrew said.

Soccer fans have been supportive of the business during games and Pettigrew estimated that the dispensary saw about 65,000 customers last year. He said they hope to grow sales by 30% in 2024.

“We work with vendors to get as much activity around the game as possible,� Pettigrew said. “We want to be an institution in that area. We focus a lot of our attention on events.�

Pettigrew said they will continue to offer specials and discounts during soccer matches and other downtown events such as festivals, concerts and parades.

More broadly, Pettigrew said he is excited for the downtown resurgence St. Louis City SC is contributing to and he anticipates increasing growth in the area.

“It’s crazy,� he said of St. Louis’ soccer mania. “Soccer is huge in the area. It’s good to see it manifest for the team. We’ve really enjoyed fans coming by.�

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City SC radio play-by-play announcer Joey Zanaboni’s style certainly doesn’t emanate for Broadcast 101 classes. Rambunctious is an understatement. So is boisterous.

Zanyboni, anyone?

His wild and has earned him quite the reputation, from past roles as a minor league baseball broadcaster and as a “hype man� at sporting events to his current posts of serving as the radio play-by-play broadcaster or the City SC and Ambush soccer clubs.

His one-liners can cover the gamut of topics, from current events to pop culture to the arcane. And he might have topped all his wild lines on Saturday night, when he managed to compare a goalie’s save to a controversial picture in which the image of Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, was altered into a British Royal family recent photo at a time when her whereabouts had been a mystery following health concerns. Then on Friday she announced that she is being treated for cancer.

City SC was playing the Galaxy in Los Angeles and when City goalie Roman Burki batted away a point-blank shot by Dejan Joveljic, Zanaboni erupted:

“Ooooh!!! Roman Burki stones Joveljic!!! Panels one away!! Ooooh!!! Roman Burki, altering that shot like it’s a Kate Middleton Mother’s Day photo!!�

He knew he had a hit.

“Like half of the western world, my eyes have been suction-cupped to the ongoing Kate Middleton drama,� Zanaboni said Thursday. “... When the line itself came to me, I knew it was special. The rising tide of royal photo drama meets an incredible athletic feat. I thought it was his best save of the game, though I could have used it on really any of the spectacular plays he made. It’s a privilege to watch him play. I’m not sure I was planning to use it in any specific moment, but I was just glad it came out when it did.�

The call drew some national attention, including from . That website covers sports broadcasting and pointed out that Zanaboni’s “creative commentary probably isn’t for everyone� because of “its focus on entertainment and laughs. But when it lands like this it’s a work of art.�

Zanaboni always is looking for drops of paint to add to his verbal brush.

“As an American, I don’t know why I am so entertained by the antiquated and stuffy drama of the British monarchy, but I’m also just like, ‘Why fight it?’ I read Harry’s memoir. I watched every episode of The Crown. I’m doing research. I’m watching film,� he said. “Everything leads up to game day. People sometimes have divided opinions but there was a lot of support for this particular line. They loved it. I guess it’s just in the zeitgeist. By next week, they’ll probably forget about all the Kate and Will Photoshop stuff. Say ’em while you got ’em!�

He takes pride in the zingers.

“When I make a call like that, I know I’ve got siblings and longtime buddies listening,� Zanaboni said. “If I can entertain them, I figure most other people will be entertained as well. It’s an honor to entertain St. Louis, my hometown, and I tear up thinking about what a great privilege it is.�

Gatter chatter

Zanaboni isn’t the only one with ties to City SC to be in the spotlight this week.

St. Louisan Nate Gatter, co-host with Jen Siess of “St. Louis City Soccer Report� that airs on KMOX (1120 AM) throughout the team’s season, called his first NCAA Tournament games this week as he did the national radio play-by-play for Westwood One of all four play-in contests in Dayton, Ohio. He worked alongside analyst and former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.

“It was fantastic,� Gatter said of the experience. “I got to work with a legend in Jim, who couldn’t have been nicer, and experience what’s always a first-class atmosphere in Dayton. I was also really humbled by broadcasters who took the time to reach out — I got a ‘welcome to the tournament’ text from Ian Eagle (the new lead TV voice of the tourney) and Spero Dedes, who was calling the First Four on TV, made a point to come over before the first game and give me some encouragement.

“For somebody in my position who’s grown up admiring those guys, it means the world to be a small part of their club.�

Gatter, 27, has broadcast a lot of Mizzou events, including men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball, women’s soccer, gymnastics and softball games on ESPN-related outlets and has an extensive resume of sportscasting at many levels.

That often leads to quite a busy schedule, but rarely if ever as hectic as he is encountering this week. After finishing his time in Dayton on Wednesday night, he traveled Thursday to Kansas City — where he will call four games on Friday and four more on Saturday in the NAIA men’s basketball tournament for the .

“It’s rare in broadcasting that we worry about the physical toll of the job — it’s not that hard to sit courtside in a suit, after all — but when you’re doing multiple games per day for multiple days in a row, you have to make a conscious effort to take care of your voice,� Gatter said. “For me, that means lots of water and usually some cough drops mixed in — but also trying to pace myself on the air. I have to be careful not to go too big with my excitement early in the day ’cause I need to have juice left if there’s high drama in the late-night game.�

Then next month he calls a bevy of Mizzou baseball and softball games for SEC Network+, an ESPN property.  

All season long, Jared Stroud has been texting back and forth with his buddies — and former teammates — with St. Louis City SC. Stroud was traded by City SC to D.C. United in December, and a frequent topic of those texts has been the match between the teams Saturday at CityPark.

This week, with the game now days away, there have been fewer texts.

“A little bit less this week as it tenses up a bit,� Stroud told the Post-Dispatch on Thursday. “But in general, just yeah, I love a lot of those dudes. It would be wrong for me to name any of them because we’re all super-close, dinners together, hanging out a lot together. .. It’s just going to be fun. I’m just happy to see their faces, and for me, it’ll feel like a home game even though it’s away.�

Stroud may have been in St. Louis only a year, but what a year it was. From the team’s very first game, where he scored the club’s second goal to tie the game, to it winning the regular-season Western Conference title, Stroud was a fan favorite. His on-field “Scary Jerry� demeanor, running all over the place, scoring goals, committing fouls and generally being the personification of the team’s high-pressing style made him stand out. He was fifth on the team in goals with five, second on the team in yellow cards with eight.

Which was one of the things that made his trade, going to D.C. United along with Lucas Bartlett and $300,000 in exchange for midfielder Chris Durkin, a bit of a surprise, including to him.

“Yeah, it was unexpected, for sure,� he said. “Coming off of last year, the season I had, I thought I was going to stay. Told the club that I was OK with committing my future there. But I just think sometimes life takes unexpected turns and things happen the way they did, and ultimately, I wanted to go somewhere where I was valued the most. As a player, you have to look out for yourself in that respect and go somewhere where they see you as long-term future player, and for me, D.C. popped up as that team. Ally Mackay popped up as that GM that was looking.

“And yeah, for sure, a little bit unexpected, but once I kind of gathered my bearings and figured out what was the best solution for myself — and of course, I’ll miss St. Louis and had really good times there and thought I was going to go back and have another good year — but ultimately, this is the sport, this is the job. And I’m super-, super-excited to be here, and this project is super-exciting for me. But obviously, I have a lot of love for Brad (Carnell) and for the boys.�

Stroud and Bartlett have both started all of D.C. United’s first four games, and Stroud got his first D.C. United goal Saturday, a line shot into the back of the net from about 12 yards out. While it is his third team in three seasons — and his fourth in five seasons — this may be the one that sticks. This one also puts him closer to his parents in New Jersey, who have been thrilled by the opportunity to see either Stroud or his younger brother, Peter, who plays for New York Red Bulls, in person each weekend.

“They’re living in a dream world right now,� he said.

It wasn’t quite a dream world for Stroud when he was traded, just as he was getting settled in St. Louis. But that disappointment can’t change one thing: His one season in St. Louis breathed life into his career.

“Yeah, massive,� he said. “I mean, experiences that I will never forget. That first year, you can’t replicate that again, going 5-0 to start an expansion team, winning the West. The fans were incredible, the people were so kind to me and my girlfriend and my family when they came in. Brad revamped my career, essentially. He gave me the opportunity. He was the one who played me; he picked me up after a season where I didn’t play much. He called me and said, ‘Yeah, you’re going to be great here.’ I owe my entire career to Brad for sure. At least a massive portion up until this point.

“And I owe a lot to the club as well. So it will be very emotional coming back on Saturday because the club has given me so much and propelled my career forward, and there’s so much that goes involved with that. I only have positive things to say about St. Louis and Brad and the boys. So thankful for the club for giving me that opportunity to be a part of the history for them and to give them so much happiness last year. If I ever have time sometimes, I’ll watch videos of some of those games, and yeah, it gives you chills.�

If Stroud got to be part of the foundation in St. Louis, he’s getting to do it with D.C. too. New coach Troy Lesesne was, like Carnell, an interim head coach with New York Red Bulls and with a pretty thorough turnover of the team’s roster has installed a high-pressing style, with which Stroud is all too familiar and has, once again, turned him into an on-field leader.

“He’s given us exactly what I would hope for,� said Lesesne, “which is a really intelligent player against the ball. He understands exactly the type of identity we want to put in place, and where I challenged him was trying to continue to create attacking moments for us, chance creation has to be a little bit higher, and this last weekend, we got to see him score a great goal for us and I’m hoping he gets into those areas and continues to maximize those areas as often as possible.�

There have been a few conversations this week between Stroud and his former teammates. Stroud had a text exchange with Joakim Nilsson, who had the MLS goal of the week last week with his bicycle kick against the L.A. Galaxy.

“I said, ‘What a goal man,’� Stroud said, “and then he said the same thing, and he said, ‘Don’t do it again next weekend.’ I said, ‘Yeah, well, we’ll see Joakim.’�

Benjamin-hochman

Hochman: It's Save Louis with Blues’ Jordan Binnington, City’s Roman Burki. So who’s better?

• Benjamin Hochman

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Workload for Burki has been light this season, but Galaxy game showed he's ready when needed

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St. Louis City SC

City SC gets a tie out of game with LA Galaxy thanks to Roman Burki’s play in goal

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It was one of those flabbergasting plays you watch again and again and conclude that a human could not have actually done that — and thus the only logical explanation is that your favorite player might not classify as one.

Last Saturday night, an LA Galaxy player stood about 20 feet from goal, wide open. He received a cross pass and one-timed a shot. But St. Louis City SC goalie Roman Burki flung his left hand in the air and thwarted the shot.

“This one, with the arm?� said St. Louis coach Bradley Carnell, trying to imitate the save, which looked like it was from “The Matrix� or something. “I don’t know how he did it. Because that’s at point-blank range. And to think about the anticipation — and, you know, goalkeeper is processing so many things. He’s thinking, ‘Where are my teammates? Where is the ball (passer)? Where are the runners coming in from?’ And what is the short projection — and he has to take a gamble. At that moment, great reflexes. I mean, it’s just incredible what these guys do.�

Burki’s save against the Galaxy was galactic.

Yet it wasn’t even the best save by a St. Louis goalie this month.

Against LA’s hockey team, the Blues’ Jordan Binnington made a sliding kick save to the left, lost his stick, then made a diving save to his right.

“Sometimes you don’t even think, right?� Binnington told reporters. “You’re just reacting.�

These saves are elite examples of what these two guys can do. Last season, Burki led Major League Soccer goalies in the hockey equivalent to baseball’s WAR (which measure’s a player’s value relative to a replacement-level player), per American Soccer Analysis — and so far this year, he’s seventh as St. Louis is 1-0-3. And Binnington, who deserved statue-status after his 2019 run, has a save percentage of .912 — that’s his best since 2019-20. And in the past 25 games, it’s a stupefying .921.

“I’m far from being an expert at hockey goalie, but all I hear is that he’s amazing,� said Burki, who recently attended a Blues game along with his fellow City SC goalies. “And he saves them a lot of games.�

With Burki and Binnington, St. Louis is Goalieville. Or, perhaps, Save Louis. You might as well be reading the Goalpost-Dispatch.

OK, but who’s the better goalie?

We’ll get to that.

But for now, consider this an appreciation for the goaltender and goalkeeper dominance this city hasn’t seen since the days of the St. Louis Arena, when Mike Liut was between the pipes for the Blues and Slobo Ilijevski defending the goal for the indoor St. Louis Steamers.

Burki, for those who don’t know his status, is one of the best goalies on the planet. For years, he played at a high level in Germany’s famed top league, Bundesliga. The 33-year-old Swiss goalie is like, well, an Army knife. He can make tactical saves and acrobatic saves utilizing his agile body.

As for “The Matrix� save against the Galaxy, Burki joked that, “These are things we are doing in training every day — maybe it doesn’t look like it, but we are actually doing something.�

Per Carnell, “I know Alex (Langer, the team’s director of goalkeeping) does all the peripheral training with the blinkers on and the glasses and everything, so we do (prepare) guys a little bit to put the guys in those positions. But nothing will replicate that (in-game moment). You can do as much training as you’d like. But if you don’t have that built in, it’s never going to work. Roman is sharp and agile.�

At the recent Blues game, Burki said he met some of the Blues coaches and discussed the concept of getting in rhythm. One similarity between goalies in both sports is they want action early. Make a great save, get it under your belt and then you’re psychologically equipped for the game. Alas, unlike in hockey, a soccer goalie might go a whole half — or even a whole game — without facing a shot. That’s what makes the saves even more incredible — snap of the fingers, you must turn on brilliance.

As for Binnington, 30, he has kept this inconsistent Blues team in so many games because of his personal consistency. And if you want a fancy WAR-like stat, Evolving Hockey has goals saved above average. He’s eighth — and he’s fourth in the league in expected goals saved above average.

Even if the Blues don’t make the playoffs, Binnington’s resurgence this season is a reminder that St. Louis is in good hands (and pads) with him in the net.

OK, so who’s the better St. Louis goalie right now, Binnington or Burki? Per the WAR-like stat, “Binner� is eighth-best and Burki seventh. But City has only played four games so far. But it’s reasonable to say that Burki is still harnessing last season’s prowess — and last season, he won goalkeeper of the year in MLS.

And so, in a winner-take-all sporting contest of St. Louis vs. the aliens, I’ve got Burki in goal.

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When Major League Soccer announced its team of the match day for the weekend’s games on Monday, there was Roman Burki as the goalkeeper of the team.

It’s not often that honor as the week’s best goalkeeper goes to someone who gave up three goals.

“I was so surprised that they chose me for the team of the week with three conceded goals,� Burki said after practice on Tuesday. “That’s crazy. Yeah, it was a good game. I think the goalkeeper union, we have video meeting now after lunch and then I will see if the game was good and (goalkeeper coach) Alex (Langer) has the same feeling that I do.�

The Los Angeles Galaxy may have scored three goals off of Burki on Saturday to get a 3-3 tie, but the result very easily would have been worse for City SC if not for some spectacular saves by the reigning MLS goalkeeper of the year and a guy planting the seeds early for award consideration again.

“We all know he is fantastic,� said City SC center back Joakim Nilsson. “He makes massive saves for us. Top goalkeeper. He keeps us in the game. They had a had a lot of shots on target and he’s back doing what he loves and doing what he’s good at.�

It was the busiest day of the season for Burki, who had to make six saves against the Galaxy, three times how many he had to make in his first three MLS games this season combined.

“Sometimes you have to do more, sometimes you have to do less but we played against a strong team,� Burki said. “I think it’s the same as last season. The first few games I hadn’t had a lot of chance to show saves and so was this season.�

A year ago, he made just six saves in his first four games, before having to make eight in the fifth game, against Real Salt Lake. Both this season and last season, he made no saves in the game at Austin; both times, Austin scored on both of its only two shots.

And Burki is fine with games where he doesn’t have to do a lot of work.

“That means we are doing really good defensive-wise,� he said, “and I’m good with that. I have to be prepared every day, all the time something can happen. You have to be ready all the time, even if you don’t face shots. So sometimes a game like the game in LA is also nice for me. I like both.�

With just eight saves on the season, Burki ranks 24th in the league in that category. (League leader Brad Stuver of Austin has had to make 22 saves already.) While the team’s save percentage of .571 is the fifth-worst in the league, the club is far and away the leader in post-shot expected goals per shot on target (.53), meaning the shots the team gives up are very hard to stop. There just haven’t been many of them.

And for Burki, there was one that got away on Saturday, or at least he felt. The Galaxy took a 2-1 lead on one of Joseph Paintsil’s dashes down the right side, outrunning Anthony Markanich to get to a long ball and then shooting under Burki’s hand.

“I should have saved the second goal,� Burki said. “The ball goes right under my hand. I was there. I had that feeling that I should have saved that ball but still I just continue my game. Soccer is a game of mistakes and it’s no shame if somebody makes mistakes. That happens and you just need to keep going and don’t let it too much in your head.�

And if anyone is in anyone’s head, it’s what Burki is doing to City SC’s opponents.

Busy weekend

City SC’s first-round draft pick Hosei Kijima played almost half an hour on Saturday (thanks to extended stoppage time). The team plane landed in St. Louis at 5:30 a.m., so players didn’t actually get home till close to 7, depending on where they live, and Kijima was back on the field with City2 for a 6 p.m. game on Sunday in which he came on as a sub at halftime and played the whole second half.

“It’s not easy, I take my hat off to him,� said City SC coach Bradley Carnell. “We commented on that specifically in the team meeting this morning. It’s doing whatever the team needs and more and Hosei showed that. And he gets his MLS debut.�

Notes

Tim Parker (back) and Eduard Lowen (hamstring) weren’t on the practice field with City SC on Tuesday. Carnell said the situation was still fluid for Parker. “He didn’t feel much better coming home,� he said. “His back has kind of just seized up on him so we’re trying to see how that back spasm, if it’s a spasm, releases, does that put any other muscle part in danger. At the moment, we’re just trying to get that balancing act of how much we push him. Do you lose a player for one or two games or do we try and risk it and lose him for nine or 10?� … Another international window has begun though Major League Soccer, like usual, isn’t shutting down. No one on City SC has been called up; D.C. United will be down four players: two starters, defender Aaron Herrera (Guatemala) and midfielder Matti Peltola (Finland) and two backups, defender Matai Akinmboni and forward Kristian Fletcher (both with the U.S. under-19 team).

Other

St. Louis teen Alex Pfeiffer becomes youngest NWSL scorer in historic KC Current win

• Staff and wire reports

St. Louis City SC

City SC gets a tie out of game with LA Galaxy thanks to Roman Burki’s play in goal

• Tom Timmermann

St. Louis City SC

As City2's season starts Sunday, John Klein looks to build on 13-goal rookie season

• Tom Timmermann

St. Louis City SC beat writer Tom Timmermann and co-host Beth O'Malley talk about the team's tie (they're undefeated), Tim Parker's back and Joakim Nilsson's bicycle.