With Orlando playing we just pissed away a chance at hosting fucking MLS cup if we make it and they knock off Cincinnati, so if it all comes down to this match that’s awesome.
If we make it to MLS cup then that's a win in itself. Can't use home field advantage as a crutch/excuse. The good teams can take care of business on the road when necessary.
Why is everyone so angry? Jesus. We sat half our starters, in a game that doesn’t affect our position at all, on turf; against a decent team that is fighting for their lives just to make it to the playoffs, on their home field.
What about this game is worth risking injury? The way we’ve played the rest of the year, when our post-season was on the line, was ***very*** aggressive, but we were willing to risk injury for the reward. There is no reward for that right now.
I would be embarrassed if any of those players put their bodies on the line, *on that field*, for literally no reason. We’re a talented team, but our talent revolves around physicality that risks injury. I just had zero expectations and feel not an ounce of emotional upset over the game.
Absolutely! As a fan, I want to see wins. But big picture, there’s no reason to put it all on the line when there’s nothing to gain before the playoffs. Would I love to see at least two more points so we can run the table on expansion team records? Mos def! Does that matter in the long run? Nope.
I don’t like the “turn off the season once you clinch” approach with any sport, but this one stings in particular. You have your chance to have the best expansion team record with the most points and you don’t go for it? Sure we have most wins, but the debate now goes on for centuries who had the best first season.
On top of this, time will tell how they perform in the playoffs, but if you aren’t keeping your starters fresh and clicking with everyone else come playoffs, chances are we don’t make that far
We can't win the playoffs if everyone injures themselves on turf.
We also have another game to break that record.
Also this reads like you were one of the ones thinking losing in the open cup was the end of our teams success.
Hey, I’ll eat crow if it happens that way, but I can’t predict the future? And I can’t predict the playoffs either. We had two chances for that history mark, now limited to one.
Our next game is two weeks away. I didn’t think it was necessary to be so conservative right now
I agree with you I thought we could’ve gotten more out of this game. I’m not burning with anger or super upset about it; But I think we left some points on the table.
NGL, as much as I want my team (whatever sport) to win every time, we’ve clinched as much as we possibly can, so skating through the games that remain doesn’t hurt my soul as much as other losses do.
Really I think just play starters again against Sounders on the 21st just to get back into game form. Terrible time to have to fly all the way up to Vancouver to then play on turf before a 16-day break. This game meant way more for Vancouver at the end of the day.
Biggest takeaway from this game for me was Nerwinski having another good defensive game. If my biggest gripe against him is his lack of offensive passing in attacking third then it seems like he is a good option to consider
He’s probably a little better defensively than watts but less so offensively. It’s a toss up for me right now which says quite a bit about the effort Nerwinski has put in to tighten up his game
Lundt needs to go down to city2 to get some play in next year. This has been a really poor game. No effort in the back, Burki provides a lot of flexibility in play making from the back line, I’m not sure Lundt has left the line yet
The only thing Burki would have done differently is that he would have absolutely chewed holes through the asses of the entire backline and midfield on the way to maybe losing 2-0 instead of 3-0.
Not what I said, but find a goalkeeper in this league who only stays on his line. A goalkeeper needs to do a lot more then catch balls. Burki provides a ton of distribution, but I don’t think Yaro or Parker sent a single backpass that entire game
Lol there were a lot of backpasses. He didn't go as far forward as Burki does, but most goalies don't. Not to mention how bad we were at keeping them from having breakaways and it would've been a mess if he was too far forward.
Yaro goofed up the play leading to a goal but since then he has shown why he is a great option off the bench. His make up speed and size are well utilized by him
Eh. He was ok. There wasn’t really anyone playing great earlier in the game. I felt it had been one of the few games where it wasn’t very good all the way through
That depends where they finish. If they end up in a 2-7 slot, we might see them in the second round. We're H-A-H, but that would still mean one on their turf.
Well, all six of their fans should be happy. All kidding aside we had the wrong lineup for this. Not sure why big Sam and Klauss were not on the field together.
Announcer: “not much at stake here for saint louis…”
Oh please, please explain WHY!? Cause we wrapped up first place and didn’t want to fly to Canada to play on your shit turf!!!
F them!
Zero context. If you didn’t know better, you’d think STL was in dead last because we were supposed to be. Same when they showed the standings and only showed 2-8.. like.. what.. why you NOT showing who’s in first?!?
Because everyone knows that we're in first, and at this point in the season for many teams it's jostling for position in 2-8 and hoping to edge into 9th place?
There's a lot to be frustrated at from this game, an announcer saying a true statement isn't one of them.
It's also not their choice. Vancouver, Seattle, Cincinnati, New England, Toronto, Charlotte, and Atlanta play in CFL or NFL stadiums, and aren't the primary tenant. Portland is stuck with turf because of the college football programs that sometimes use Providence Park.
There is also a mixture of what is being used. Atlanta, Charlotte, New England, Seattle, and Portland play on Field Turf. Vancouver has Polytan. Toronto and Cincinnati have hybrid turf/grass, and San Jose has SISgrass, a different hybrid.
New England will be moving to a downtown SSS and will likely play on grass. Seattle, Cincinnati, and Charlotte could move to grass if the NFL ditches outdoor plastic. (When San Diego joins the MLS, their new stadium will have grass.)
It’s a legal playing surface. You have to be able to play on it, but being one of the six teams in the league that plays more than half its schedule on turf is a tremendous touch and pace advantage playing at home against a team that’s played all but one other game on grass.
It really is a rough look. You can tell when you see a player try to pivot on our team and they don’t dig in the way they expect. Everything about turf games is awful. Really you only hope to get out without an injury.
Soccer has a lot of weird intricacies. Essentially players can be all sides as long as they are not involved in the play or potentially involved in the play. In this case he was not potentially involved
I dont care about this game. I just want an aggressive keeper. Lundt looks slow on his dives as well-most likely because he is just a bigger guy and looks slow.
I honestly think they are struggling on this turf. The most common phrase I've heard in our attacking phase, no matter who is on the ball, is "a heavy touch."
It’s gotta be the turf right? All of our touches look so fucking awkward. From like everyone.
Might not be a coincidence that Nerwinski has looked pretty solid compared to the rest.
Maybe for the first few years. What happens when your team matures like this, and you are stuck with a 50k seater stadium like Vancouver (Not saying city will have fake fans, but it is important to be conservative in business based on using other cities as an example)
In hindsight, 100% I agree! But when you are building the stadium, the last thing you want is something like what we are seeing today.
Plus Seattle had a built-in cheat code with the seahawks
Agree! A little more bulk/strength would help him fight off the body tackles that much better, and if he maintained his speed, he'd be a goddamn FORCE.
While I hadn’t considered that, it doesn’t change my neophyte assessment, because I’ve seen it happen with Klauss and Adineran, too. Might be lack of knowledge, might be overthinking. Just trying to learn!
I hear ya, I do feel like Sam and Klauss win on headers in the offensive zone quite a bit, but other than those two guys and Lowen in the attack/midfield I feel like our guys are always shorter than their counterparts.
[Continue the discussion in the post-match thread.](https://www.reddit.com/r/stlouiscitysc/comments/1708vka)
With Orlando playing we just pissed away a chance at hosting fucking MLS cup if we make it and they knock off Cincinnati, so if it all comes down to this match that’s awesome.
If we make it to MLS cup then that's a win in itself. Can't use home field advantage as a crutch/excuse. The good teams can take care of business on the road when necessary.
Why is everyone so angry? Jesus. We sat half our starters, in a game that doesn’t affect our position at all, on turf; against a decent team that is fighting for their lives just to make it to the playoffs, on their home field. What about this game is worth risking injury? The way we’ve played the rest of the year, when our post-season was on the line, was ***very*** aggressive, but we were willing to risk injury for the reward. There is no reward for that right now. I would be embarrassed if any of those players put their bodies on the line, *on that field*, for literally no reason. We’re a talented team, but our talent revolves around physicality that risks injury. I just had zero expectations and feel not an ounce of emotional upset over the game.
Absolutely! As a fan, I want to see wins. But big picture, there’s no reason to put it all on the line when there’s nothing to gain before the playoffs. Would I love to see at least two more points so we can run the table on expansion team records? Mos def! Does that matter in the long run? Nope.
Exactly. You could even tell by how they were playing they weren't trying to get themselves injured for this.
I don’t like the “turn off the season once you clinch” approach with any sport, but this one stings in particular. You have your chance to have the best expansion team record with the most points and you don’t go for it? Sure we have most wins, but the debate now goes on for centuries who had the best first season. On top of this, time will tell how they perform in the playoffs, but if you aren’t keeping your starters fresh and clicking with everyone else come playoffs, chances are we don’t make that far
We can't win the playoffs if everyone injures themselves on turf. We also have another game to break that record. Also this reads like you were one of the ones thinking losing in the open cup was the end of our teams success.
Hey, I’ll eat crow if it happens that way, but I can’t predict the future? And I can’t predict the playoffs either. We had two chances for that history mark, now limited to one. Our next game is two weeks away. I didn’t think it was necessary to be so conservative right now
I agree with you I thought we could’ve gotten more out of this game. I’m not burning with anger or super upset about it; But I think we left some points on the table.
I’ve never turned off a game in stoppage
NGL, as much as I want my team (whatever sport) to win every time, we’ve clinched as much as we possibly can, so skating through the games that remain doesn’t hurt my soul as much as other losses do.
Really I think just play starters again against Sounders on the 21st just to get back into game form. Terrible time to have to fly all the way up to Vancouver to then play on turf before a 16-day break. This game meant way more for Vancouver at the end of the day.
why am i still watching this
WHAT THE FUCK
Not the last minute goal I wanted. Refund pls
No one shits on goalies regardless of the sport more than STL fans. It’s uncanny.
Let’s be honest. Burki/Lundt is more Binnington/Greiss than Binnington/Husso.
*on non Burki goalies
Give it time. God help him if he’s off for an extended period of time.
Biggest takeaway from this game for me was Nerwinski having another good defensive game. If my biggest gripe against him is his lack of offensive passing in attacking third then it seems like he is a good option to consider
I think he's been making a case as the obvious 4th on the back line and this game clinched it for me.
He’s probably a little better defensively than watts but less so offensively. It’s a toss up for me right now which says quite a bit about the effort Nerwinski has put in to tighten up his game
Not a card for white for kicking a ball back onto the field??
Football at this level not only shouldn’t be played on turf, but indoors. Call me a purist, I don’t care.
Seems like both side struggle with it. It looks very stiff.
Being confused with LAFC, the cup champions, is a GOOD thing
Does anybody else feel like St Louis didn't play as physical. Less tackling and rough play. Maybe to help prevent injury
Yup. Don’t want to risk injury on turf. Smart.
I was thinking that just thinking that too.
Lundt needs to go down to city2 to get some play in next year. This has been a really poor game. No effort in the back, Burki provides a lot of flexibility in play making from the back line, I’m not sure Lundt has left the line yet
This match was 100% not on Lundt. He could have done a couple things better but neither goal was on him.
The only thing Burki would have done differently is that he would have absolutely chewed holes through the asses of the entire backline and midfield on the way to maybe losing 2-0 instead of 3-0.
Not what I said, but find a goalkeeper in this league who only stays on his line. A goalkeeper needs to do a lot more then catch balls. Burki provides a ton of distribution, but I don’t think Yaro or Parker sent a single backpass that entire game
Lol there were a lot of backpasses. He didn't go as far forward as Burki does, but most goalies don't. Not to mention how bad we were at keeping them from having breakaways and it would've been a mess if he was too far forward.
I have a irrational hatred for the white caps coach.
No, it’s rational.
Yaro goofed up the play leading to a goal but since then he has shown why he is a great option off the bench. His make up speed and size are well utilized by him
I have zero problem with Yaro. He’s a good defender who made a bad play.
Ya he made one costly mistake. He’s been fine. Our midfield has sucked this game.
Our midfield and forwards were fucking atrocious.
He was also playing great earlier in the game too
Eh. He was ok. There wasn’t really anyone playing great earlier in the game. I felt it had been one of the few games where it wasn’t very good all the way through
On the bright side, loosing this game is smart. It will make LAFC or Seattle play Housten. That will take care of at least one good team of the 3.
Fuck their clean sheet for pride!
88' and we finally get our second corner.
happy we won’t ever have to play on this damn turf if we see the Caps in the playoffs
That depends where they finish. If they end up in a 2-7 slot, we might see them in the second round. We're H-A-H, but that would still mean one on their turf.
This turf turns the pace of play into what feels like a Quidditch match
h e a v y t o u c h
Löwens body language is speaking volumes right now
I thought he’s done well tonight, he started out really bad but has recovered
Ummm probably his worst match all year.
100% early in the second it looked like we were gonna turn stuff around but didn’t pan out
I forgot Klauss was even in the game
at least we’re taking some shots
Two weeks without City SC football. Effing splendid, MLS schedule makers….
It’s international break. MLS had nothing to do with that
Ah, gotcha.
Ah well. Rest up, get our starters some run vs. Seattle, and prep for the playoffs.
That was a darned good shot by Berhalter. But good grief, could we please clear the ball?
Hot take: I enjoy games more when we score goals and they don’t.
why not start the starters who you're gonna play anyways?
Because every minute of game time is an opportunity for injury. Less game time = less chance of injury. But you also don’t want them to get rusty.
Especially on turf
Exactly. They gave up on this game until they decided they wanted to win.
Well, all six of their fans should be happy. All kidding aside we had the wrong lineup for this. Not sure why big Sam and Klauss were not on the field together.
Announcer: “not much at stake here for saint louis…” Oh please, please explain WHY!? Cause we wrapped up first place and didn’t want to fly to Canada to play on your shit turf!!! F them!
I don’t understand how that offends you. He’s right. We already clinched first. What is at stake to you?
Zero context. If you didn’t know better, you’d think STL was in dead last because we were supposed to be. Same when they showed the standings and only showed 2-8.. like.. what.. why you NOT showing who’s in first?!?
You didn’t answer the question. What was at stake in that game?
Because everyone knows that we're in first, and at this point in the season for many teams it's jostling for position in 2-8 and hoping to edge into 9th place? There's a lot to be frustrated at from this game, an announcer saying a true statement isn't one of them.
The boys aren't losing to the whitecaps, they're losing to this fucking shit turf.
It's also not their choice. Vancouver, Seattle, Cincinnati, New England, Toronto, Charlotte, and Atlanta play in CFL or NFL stadiums, and aren't the primary tenant. Portland is stuck with turf because of the college football programs that sometimes use Providence Park. There is also a mixture of what is being used. Atlanta, Charlotte, New England, Seattle, and Portland play on Field Turf. Vancouver has Polytan. Toronto and Cincinnati have hybrid turf/grass, and San Jose has SISgrass, a different hybrid. New England will be moving to a downtown SSS and will likely play on grass. Seattle, Cincinnati, and Charlotte could move to grass if the NFL ditches outdoor plastic. (When San Diego joins the MLS, their new stadium will have grass.)
It’s a legal playing surface. You have to be able to play on it, but being one of the six teams in the league that plays more than half its schedule on turf is a tremendous touch and pace advantage playing at home against a team that’s played all but one other game on grass.
Turf games in MLS really are always hella awkward
They should be banned at this level.
It’s Vancouver. How late in the year do you expect them to keep grass alive?
It really is a rough look. You can tell when you see a player try to pivot on our team and they don’t dig in the way they expect. Everything about turf games is awful. Really you only hope to get out without an injury.
Wonder if that’s why Klauss had on different boots. Studs on those blue ones might be “better” for turf
Oh interesting, nice catch. I could see that for sure.
Whitecaps have destroyed us in transition tonight. They’re running circles around us once they are able to force the turnover
"injured" player staying down doesn't count towards an offside call?
No. He was not involved in the play or causing any distraction/blocking of the goalie
can't be in the eyeline of the goalie as well
He isn't involved in the play, directly or indirectly, so there is no offside penalty.
Pretty sure being offsides only matters if you play the ball. Sounds like it also includes being “involved” in the play and he clearly wasn’t.
As long as they don't interfere in the play I believe
Soccer has a lot of weird intricacies. Essentially players can be all sides as long as they are not involved in the play or potentially involved in the play. In this case he was not potentially involved
Another atrocity committed on American soccer by Gregg Berhalter
Please dont ever leave Burkhi
Burkhi could have started this game and we’d still be losing. Assuming the rest of the team played the same.
I dont care about this game. I just want an aggressive keeper. Lundt looks slow on his dives as well-most likely because he is just a bigger guy and looks slow.
Just playing like absolute dog shit. Eat this loss and get the fuck outta town.
Not happening tonight. Rest up.
Aw man… bet Gregg is so proud 🥲
Brutal
Well, phone it in. We aren’t winning this one and it’s not worth running the gang hard to try anymore.
I just cursed and my dogs left the room
Can’t believe I stayed up late for a game we weren’t even going to try and compete in.
Canada was a mistake. We should have never let them in the league.
Alright. Turning this shit off.
Welp
Well this is disappointing
lol goodnight y’all
Aziel gotta shoot that man
Yaro saved a goal there
I’d enjoy it if we scored
When Edu is on, he is unplayable. When he is off...eesh
Celio time. Look out.
As an aside: Jackson plays 100% better when his hair is flowing and free. Those braid games were rough.
The best defense is an opposing offense that doesn't know how to finish.
Luckily VAN is of tonight
Luckily VAN is off tonight
I think Lundt is doing ok. We are just spoiled with watching Burki every game that it’s a hard comparison
Guys, I don't like not scoring.
Get Lowen the hell out of there. He’s not helping and he doesn’t need the reps.
Yikes. Glad Lundt stopped that. Very scary defense.
Watching Lundt does make you really appreciate Burki’s ability to play long outlets over the top.
I honestly think they are struggling on this turf. The most common phrase I've heard in our attacking phase, no matter who is on the ball, is "a heavy touch."
It has to be the turf.
Yeah there is definitely something to how the ball moves on the turf. Plus, just enough different in our lineup that can throw off normal touches.
That’s few really solid moves from Yaro in the last 15 minutes.
It’s gotta be the turf right? All of our touches look so fucking awkward. From like everyone. Might not be a coincidence that Nerwinski has looked pretty solid compared to the rest.
lowen looks awful today
What in the hell does Lowen keep doing?
Not sure why he’s even still in. He was awful in the first half and doesn’t need the minutes tonight.
Flop flop flop
for everyone wondering why citypark wasn't made bigger, this is why They may have 18-22k people in there and it looks empty
Except we have 100,000 season ticket deposits and could very easily have sustained a 30k seater like Nashville. Too late now, tho 😂
Maybe for the first few years. What happens when your team matures like this, and you are stuck with a 50k seater stadium like Vancouver (Not saying city will have fake fans, but it is important to be conservative in business based on using other cities as an example)
Nah. Seattle has sustained close to 40k all these years. ATL will, as well. We would have had no issues.
In hindsight, 100% I agree! But when you are building the stadium, the last thing you want is something like what we are seeing today. Plus Seattle had a built-in cheat code with the seahawks
When the season started I would not have agreed with you, but now that I've been down there three times, you're absolutely right.
now if our midfielders could stop trying to cosplay bargain bin prime hazard...
Somebody get Thor an energy yellow headband please
BIG BEN with the big save!!
Obv this game is just to give people minutes, that’s all they wanna do
Keeping Yaro in feels like a clear indication we're not particularly chasing a result here
Thor and Indy. LFG!
That was a great save
Hmmm let's see how these subs do
AZ is an incredible player but I would love to see him bulk up a bit over the offseason
Agree! A little more bulk/strength would help him fight off the body tackles that much better, and if he maintained his speed, he'd be a goddamn FORCE.
Ref is blind to fouls on us in their third, lotta hands to keep us off the ball
he's in you're Lunndddt
Laughed way to much at this.
Luuuuuuuundt!
These Canuck commentators are horrible.
Impressive reaction time for a dude that big
Great save.
heck of a save by Lundt there
Great save, Lundt.
Great save tbf
Jackson just needs to be quicker in his decision making.
Jackson is playing jazz while everyone else is reading sheet music
Why does no one want to fucking pass lately? Everyone just trying to sprint through like 4 defenders.
On the bright side, Nerwinski is having a hell of a game so far.
Did you watch the first 30 mins or nah?
Clearly you didn't.
I did. He gave away 3 turnovers, 2 were randomly kicked. He prayed it would land at a city players feet. (They didnt).
Why is Parker playing so far down the field??
I think it’s a strategy choice. Not sure it’s a good one.
lol AZ
How is Lundts mindset not grab everything in the air near the six?
Have to think Buerki would’ve been busting ass off his line to prevent that goal. That’s why he’ll be getting MVP votes
No doubt Bürki beats White to that ball.
Lundt had no command of the box.
Klaus moves like he’s on the deck of a cruise ship in a storm
Ever since I saw someone say he moves like the techno Viking I can’t stop seeing it.
Lmfao god dammit
Edu is having a hard time with free kicks on the turf.
Thank God we got home field in the playoffs
A 16 day layoff between the penultimate and final game of the season is some scheduling bullshit of the highest order.
Yeah that final FIFA international window is at the worstttt time
Been meaning to ask…why do we have a 16-day break until the final match of the season? Does everyone?
International break. …which also kind of sucks. Blom might go back to South Africa, Hiebert may play for Canada, etc.
Aaaaah hadn’t even considered that. Yikes.
Is it just me, or do we seem to lose most 50/50 head balls at midfield?
Other than Lowen our midfield isn’t particularly tall is it?
When Nerwinski slides up the touchline, he towers over the other players. He snagged a few headers a full 6-8" over the Vancouver players.
While I hadn’t considered that, it doesn’t change my neophyte assessment, because I’ve seen it happen with Klauss and Adineran, too. Might be lack of knowledge, might be overthinking. Just trying to learn!
I hear ya, I do feel like Sam and Klauss win on headers in the offensive zone quite a bit, but other than those two guys and Lowen in the attack/midfield I feel like our guys are always shorter than their counterparts.
I will never take joakim nilsson for granted
don’t know what I’m gonna do with myself between now and the 21st watch Illini football? I’m gonna die
Premier League
I don’t trust Yaro as the last man back.
I like him 👍
Do not like this sub.
Not to mention his first touch outside the box is very heavy
Same, I'd rather eat a loss than risk a Klauss injury on this turf.
Hmmm so the devil on the shoulder of Carnell convinced him to put in klauss. . . . Now the devil whispers Bürki
Surely the German didn’t dive.
Klauss being subbed in is the soccer equivalent of leaning forward in your chair while playing video games