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St. Louis City SC opened its season Feb. 10 at CityPark, playing the Houston Dynamo in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match, and as City SC prepares to meet Houston again Saturday in the final home game of the season, that first game seems like a lot more than eight months ago.

“We put a clip of that game in our scout today,� interim coach John Hackworth said Friday, “and I’m like, ‘OK, he’s not here, he’s not here, he’s not here.’ Different.�

For that game, City SC’s starting lineup included Tim Parker, Samuel Adeniran, Aziel Jackson and Anthony Markanich, with Njabulo Blom coming off the bench, and Bradley Carnell as the coach. Also starting in that game was Tomas Ostrak, who suffered a season-ending injury in May.

The curtain comes down on City SC’s home season on Saturday. City SC is 6-5-5 (W-L-T) at home this season, compared to 11-4-2 in its debut season. with the team no longer battling for a playoff spot but now making a run at, well, 11th place in the Western Conference and building for 2025

“What we’re doing right now is momentum for next year,� Hackworth said. “I know the whole group, the club, our fans, should be real positive in that regard, that we have a good team and that we can potentially be a really good team next year. I know that’s not what some people want to hear right now, but that’s the reality, and that’s a good thing that we’ve established.�

A lot has changed for City SC defensive midfielder Jake Girdwood-Reich. Back in February, he was in Australia, playing center back for Sydney FC, which was on its way to finishing in fourth in the A-League.

Girdwood-Reich made his first MLS start Wednesday, playing alongside Eduard Lowen in the midfield against the tough offensive attack of Los Angeles FC. JGR had appeared in 10 games before that, six in MLS play and four in the Leagues Cup, but had yet to be in the first 11.

LAFC was not an easy opponent to make one’s first start against, with some of the league’s most dangerous offensive players, highlighted by Denis Bouanga, who led the league in scoring in 2023 and Olivier Giroud, the all-time leading scorer for France in international play. Meanwhile, Girdwood-Reich is 20, the youngest player currently on City SC’s first-team roster.

“Obviously it was a good challenge for myself,� he said. “I’m a young player that kind of needs to get that experience, coming up against the likes of Bouanga and Giroud and those types of players. It was challenging, but I’ll kind of grow on this experience.

“I’m pretty harsh on myself. I can’t lie, but I think I did OK. Not bad, not good. But I think the City fans haven’t seen the best of me. I’m still growing. I’m still getting used to the league. For me, I’ve never played in three games in a week, so I’m getting used to that.�

“He’s a young player, and he needs these kind of opportunities in order to grow,� said Hackworth. “So I’m hoping that (LAFC) can be a really good catalyst for him to get the experience that he needs, and then take that next step in his own development.�

The defensive midfield spot looks to be open again. Chris Durkin is questionable for the game with his inflamed knee and was in the training room riding a bike while the team worked out. Indiana Vassilev, who has missed the past two games with a concussion, worked with the team and is available, according to Hackworth.

While much of the focus is on players like Marcel Hartel and Cedric Teuchert getting used to the play in 2024, the same goes for Girdwood-Reich. His three months of playing will help get him set for 2025, where a bigger role may be coming.

“I think coming here for the second half of the season, for me, was just kind of to get used to it, see how the playing style is, see how the league is,� he said. “Obviously, I want to play as much as I possibly can, but I think this was kind of just to fit in and just see how I am, and I’ll be really ready to go next year. But I would like to do my part for the last two games of the season.�

One thing he’s learning is how challenging the MLS schedule can be, with a game in Los Angeles on Wednesday night and then one in St. Louis on Saturday night. Rather than flying home immediately after the game and arriving in the wee hours of the morning, City SC stayed over in Los Angeles on Thursday, did regeneration work there and then flew home during the day, arriving before sunset so the team wouldn’t lose a day. “The reality is that this is a really difficult transition,� Hackworth said.

And now another transition as they say goodbye to CityPark for the season.

“I’m going to be cliché,� Hackworth said. “Thank you, fans, you were awesome. I sat with Stevie (Cherundolo, the LAFC coach) after the game. When you have an opposing coach who says, ‘Wow, watching you guys play Sporting, that was, one, a really good game, but the fans were incredible.’ And that is special to St. Louis. … I would suspect that tomorrow it’s the same way. This place is going to be rocking. Whatever happens pregame or a corner kick in the 90th minute, it’s going to be loud, it’s going to be passionate. And we are very fortunate to have the support that we do, and we are all just very thankful that we have it, and we want to do the same thing we did last time we played here at home, which is repay our fans and the support by putting on a good performance, playing some entertaining soccer, and essentially going for the win here.�