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St. Louis City SC goalie Roman Burki lets a shot get by on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in the second half of a match against the Colorado Rapids at CityPark in St. Louis.
Before Sunday’s game began, City SC knew it wouldn’t have midfielder Eduard Lowen, who felt tightness in his adductor muscle late in the San Jose game on Wednesday and didn’t finish the game. He was listed as questionable on the weekly injury report and didn’t suit up.
Just over a half-hour into the game, City SC lost goalkeeper Roman Burki to a leg injury, with backup Ben Lundt taking his place.
In a season where little has gone right for City SC, bad things keep happening. The end result was a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. The loss snaps City SC’s winning streak at one, gives interim coach John Hackworth his first defeat and leaves the team a little more catching up to do in its hopes of reaching the playoffs in its second season. City SC remains one of two teams in the league yet to win on the road. It's the second time in three games City SC has allowed four goals.
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St. Louis City SC's interim coach John Hackworth talks to the media after the team lost to the Colorado Rapids on Sunday, July 7, 2024. Video edited by Beth O'Malley
City SC’s lone goal came from midfielder John Klein, who headed in a cross from defender Jayden Reid, two guys who have spent most of the season with City2 and wouldn’t have been on the roster on Sunday had not the team’s plague of injuries knocked out so many players.
Burki didn’t make the team’s previous trip, to Vancouver, because of what then-coach Bradley Carnell said was some knee problems that were nothing major. Burki played the San Jose game on Wednesday without incident, but looked to overextend something on a save attempt on a shot by Omir Fernandez that hit the post. Burki stayed in the game for four minutes before being subbed out for Lundt, making just his third MLS appearance in two seasons.
Burki, the MLS goalkeeper of the year in 2023, was selected for this season's All-Star Game and has been arguably City SC's MVP this season.
His departure meant City SC was without Burki, Lowen, leading scorer Klauss, midfielders Celio Pompeu, Tomas Ostrak and Rasmus Alm and defender Joakim Nilsson. Also still away from the team is defender Kyle Hiebert, who is with the Canadian national team that has made a surprising run to the semifinals of the Copa America. In Burki, Klauss, Lowen and Nilsson, City SC was without its four highest paid players.
It didn’t matter who was in goal for City SC on Colorado’s two first-half goals, which came from unmarked players in the box as Colorado quickly countered against City SC’s defense and defenders were caught upfield and couldn’t get back in time to get everyone covered. Kevin Cabral scored the first goal, in the 6th minute, off a pass from Cole Bassett; Basset scored in the 35th minute off a pass from Cabral. Jonathan Lewis slammed in a cross from Calvin Harris in the 81st minute for the third goal.
In between Colorado’s first two goals, Klein scored his first MLS goal, heading in a cross from Reid. That goal came in the 12th minute, just six minutes after Colorado took the initial lead and City SC had the better of play for the next 20 minutes but couldn’t get another goal.
As expected, the team signed Reid to a first-team contract for the rest of the season, along with options for 2025 and 2026. Reid started at left back, while right back Tomas Totland was given a break after starting all but one other game this season as Akil Watts played there. Totland came on for Watts in the 59th minute, the same time that Samuel Adeniran came on for Hosei Kijima. With Reid, Michael Wentzel and Klein, there were three players in City SC’s starting 11 who started the season with the club’s development team.
The team’s injury plight was evident in Hackworth’s ability to substitute. After he brought on Adeniran, the only other attacking option he had on the bench was 17-year-old Caden Glover. All the remaining players on the bench were defenders.
Next up for City SC is Vancouver on Saturday at CityPark.
St. Louis City SC player Jayden Reid talks to the media after the team's loss to the Colorado Rapids on Sunday, July 7, 2024. Video edited by Beth O'Malley
St. Louis City SC player John Klein talks to the media after the team lost to the Colorado Rapids on Sunday, July 7, 2024. Video edited by Beth O'Malley