SAN JOSE, Cal. - St. Louis City SC’s 2025 Major League Soccer season is coming off the final turn and heading down the homestretch. They won’t finish in the playoff places, but have a chance to show what team they can be in 2026.
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After a 2-0 win in Montreal last weekend, City were far away from home again, this time flying out to San Jose to take on the Earthquakes, who sit just outside the Western Conference playoff places.
St. Louis City opened the scoring early, and San Jose spent the game chasing from behind. Three goals in the first half propelled City to a 3-1 victory.
Workloads, illness, and personal matters shaped interim City manager David Critchley’s lineup at PayPal Park Saturday evening. Neither of the preferred center backs, Henry Kessler and Fallou Fall, made the trip to California.
Kessler was kept out of the squad in San Jose to limit his workload coming down the stretch and bouncing back from the hamstring injury that sidelined him for months this season.
Fallou Fall missed training throughout the week with a stomach bug. David Critchley told media during the week that he expected Fall to be available for the weekend, but clearly Fall was too ill to travel.
Without those two, City recalled Timo Baumgartl and the forgotten Kyle Hiebert into the center back spots. Devin Padelford again started at left back, and Conrad Wallem made another start at right back following a standout performance in Montreal a week prior.
Eduard Löwen and Chris Durkin started in central midfield, ahead of them were Celio Pompeu on the left wing, Marcel Hartel in a floating, attacking role, and Brendan McSorley, making his very first start for St. Louis City after earning a first-team contract on September 5.
McSorley’s start on the right wing came as a result of Sangbin Jeong being out of the country due to a personal matter. He had been away from the team all week after playing in the win at Montreal.
After a great performance in Montreal, where Joao Klauss set up both City goals, he remains ever-present at the top of David Critchley’s lineup.
Just ten minutes into Saturday’s contest, Klauss added another assist to his 2025 total. Chris Durkin chipped a ball into the San Jose 18-yard box, where Joao Klauss was first to meet it. Instead of a long-shot header at goal, Klauss headed the ball back across the face of goal, where Brendan McSorley had found space between two Earthquakes defenders and poked the ball into the back of the net with his right foot.
A great start for St. Louis City would get even better in the 19th minute, when Marcel Hartel turned a blind ball over the top into a brilliant goal from outside of the box.
Again it was Chris Durkin, simply sending the ball back towards the mixer in hope more than expectation. Durkin, not even facing the San Jose goal, hoofed a ball over his head towards the City forward line. Brendan McSorley brought the ball out of the air, and it bounced behind Marcel Hartel.
Hartel turned to gather the ball, but instead of laying off a pass or taking a touch, he swung his left foot and hit a sweet strike into the top right corner of the goal. Quakes keeper Daniel could only watch as Hartel’s shot flew in.
Not even twenty minutes had passed, and St. Louis had found themselves two goals ahead on the road for the second consecutive week. Protecting leads has not been the team’s strong suit in 2025.
In the 29th minute, Celio Pompeu would hand the hosts a lifeline to get back into the contest. A silly foul just inside the edge of the City 18-yard box awarded San Jose star Cristian Arango with a penalty kick, which was comfortably converted.
The Earthquakes now had the momentum and the home crowd behind them as they pushed for an equalizer. San Jose winger Ousseni Bouda had a golden opportunity to bring his team level in the 35th minute, but didn’t seem prepared for a speedy cross, and ended up hitting a weak shot directly to a grateful Roman Bürki instead of the gaping goal in front of him.
Throughout 2025, and really throughout much of their short existence, St. Louis City has failed to punish teams for missing opportunities. Ten minutes after the Quakes missed their chance to tie the game, City added a third.
Conrad Wallem had possession for what felt like a lifetime on the right wing, just outside of San Jose’s 18-yard box. He dipped, twisted, turned and shuffled his way to a bit of space with Ousseni Bouda marking him closely. Wallem laid a pass off to Marcel Hartel, who hit a cross towards the edge of the six-yard box where Joao Klauss and Brendan McSorley were waiting for a delivery.
Hartel’s cross found McSorley, and again he found the back of the net, this time with his head. After scoring plenty of goals with CITY2 in MLS NEXT Pro since being drafted in the offseason before the 2024 campaign, Brendan McSorley had two in his first MLS start.
Two goals to the good at halftime, David Critchley’s City side were tasked with holding a two-goal lead through the second half. That has proven to be quite a difficult task in 2025, with last week’s 2-0 win in Montreal more of the exception than the rule.
Sure enough, San Jose huffed and puffed. They held 70% possession in the second half, and fired twelve shots, seven of which were on target. Roman Bürki was equal to all seven.
Perhaps the best save of the bunch was an effort from Quakes midfielder Ronaldo Vieira in the 49th minute, who was denied from point-blank range as Bürki leapt to his right and put a big glove up to keep the score 3-1.
After scoring two goals of his own at the other end, Brendan McSorley produced a moment of magic standing inside the City goal in the 61st minute. A San Jose corner kick routine resulted in a bouncing ball in the City six-yard box. Instinctively, McSorley occupied some of the open goal on the cross as Roman Bürki faced the attackers leaping to get a head on the cross.
No one got a solid head on the ball, but the ball trickled beyond Bürki. McSorley was in perfect position to smack the ball clear before it crossed the goal line, much to the chagrin of the Quakes fans in the supporters section behind the goal.
Despite their best efforts, San Jose couldn’t break down the brick wall that was Roman Bürki Saturday night. Cristian Arango would have thought his 87th minute header was good enough to do the job, but again Bürki made a lunging save, one that rivals his save earlier in the half for one of his best of the season.
Referee Sergii Demianchuk blew his whistle for full-time, and for a second consecutive week, City had won on the road, and for a second consecutive week, they held onto a two-goal advantage throughout the second half.
“We knew in the second half, the momentum would be with San Jose at times,” said St. Louis City interim manager David Critchley. “And that's one of the biggest things we've been addressing lately in the training environment. How do we understand how to manage these moments as a team? And we're starting to really do that now very, very well.”
With two wins in a row for the first time since the Olof Mellberg administration, Critchley believes the process in training is starting to pay dividends.
“What we're starting to really see now is the process that we have talked about for several weeks,” Critchley explained. “The process is now starting to become results as well for us. So I was very proud of the team tonight.”
But one man stole the show Saturday: Brendan McSorley, who had a night he’ll never forget in his first MLS start.
“It's definitely a special night, and probably one that I'll talk about for a while,” McSorley said to media postgame. “I remember I scored with my brother in the state final in high school, so you know, it's up there with that one. So yeah, it's a special night for sure.”
McSorley took time to thank Joao Klauss, who assisted his first MLS goal, but has been instrumental in his growth as a player since joining the St. Louis City fold.
“I just think of that moment as so special,” McSorley said. “Klauss was the guy who took me under his wing when I first came in two years ago, and for him to assist [my first goal], I was going to celebrate in the corner, and then I saw him. I have to go run over to him, because he's the guy who has made me feel so comfortable here from the start, and I owe him so much. For the rest of my career, I'll remember how he treated me when I first came in.”
While it was Sangbin Jeong’s absence, and perhaps Cedric Teuchert’s prolonged injury struggle, that saw Brendan McSorley work his way into the team sheet and Saturday’s lineup, David Critchley said the man nicknamed “McScorely” had earned his way into the team.
“He’s trained really well for a long time now,” said Critchley. “He’s been training well with this team, and he took his opportunity with a great performance for himself. Scoring the goals, getting an assist, he’s worked extremely hard for this team and he’s always putting the team first.”
McSorley doesn’t know if he’ll start again with Sangbin Jeong presumably back in the squad next weekend, but he’ll always stay ready for another opportunity.
“I’m extremely confident in myself,” McSorley expressed. “But I also try to stay grounded and understand what’s gotten me this far. I’ll keep working hard, and hopefully bring myself more success and this team more success.”
St. Louis City SC returns home on Saturday, September 27, hosting LAFC and their new star signing, Tottenham and South Korea legend Heung-min Son.
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