![St. Louis City SC vs Colorado Rapids](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=150%2C104 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=200%2C139 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=225%2C157 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=300%2C209 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=400%2C278 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=540%2C376 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=640%2C446 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=750%2C522 750w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=990%2C689 990w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C721 1035w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C835 1200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C928 1333w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C1028 1476w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/e2/5e25a37f-faf3-5621-960b-079c0ef270e3/6673d2594d717.image.jpg?resize=1725%2C1201 2008w)
City SC coach Bradley Carnell complains about a call in the first half of a game against Colorado on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at CityPark. He was fired on Monday, July 1, 2024, just months after signing a contract extension.
City SC, mired in a nine-match winless streak, dismissed coach Bradley Carnell on Monday morning.
Technical director John Hackworth will take over on an interim basis.
Carnell guided the team to a first-place finish in the Western Conference last season, with a 17-12-5 record, in its first year of existence. He finished second in voting for the Major League Soccer Coach of the Year award last season and signed a contract extension early this year.
St. Louis City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and president/GM Diego Gigliani held a press conference after announcing the firing of coach Bradley Carnell on Monday, July 1, 2024. Video by Beth O'Malley
But City SC is just 3-7-10 this season, partially because of spate of injuries. It sits in 12th place in the Western Conference, nine points out of a playoff berth with 14 matches remaining.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to performances,” City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said. “We didn’t win enough games this season; we didn’t pick (up) enough points. We had a clear goal for this season that we want to make the playoffs. We believe that goal is now in danger.”
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St. Louis City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and president/GM Diego Gigliani held a press conference after announcing the firing of coach Bradley Carnell on Monday, July 1, 2024. Video by Beth O'Malley
The team has not won since beating Chicago 3-1 on May 11. It wasted a 2-0 lead in a 4-3 loss on Saturday in Vancouver. That setback appeared to be the final straw.
City SC President Diego Gigliani said the decision was a tough one, but he thought it had to be made .
“We don’t make these decisions based on a short run,” Gigliani said. “We’re 20 games into the season, and you can even go back a little bit more into the last stretch of last season. I think you are all the time looking at what you are seeing on the pitch but also what you’re seeing off the pitch. And you’re trying to make those judgement calls of when is the right moment to make a change, if a change is needed at all.”
St. Louis City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and president/GM Diego Gigliani held a press conference after announcing the firing of coach Bradley Carnell on Monday, July 1, 2024. Video by Beth O'Malley
Gigliani thought the move had to be made in time to give the team a shot at making the postseason.
“Do we have confidence in believing in the process and just giving everything more time, or do we think that it requires a bigger change to cause more of a mental reset among the team?” Gigliani asked. “In this case, 20 games in, we thought that that moment had arrived.”
Gigliani was disappointed in the nine-match skid in which the team earned just three out of a possible 27 points.
“This feels like the moment where the decision had to be taken,” Gigliani said. “We are encouraged by the thought that we have 14 games to go. ... That’s why we thought this was the right moment.”
Injuries have played a key role in the struggles this season. Forward Tomas Ostrak suffered a season-ending injury before the campaign even began. Leading scorer Klauss is out for at least six weeks because of a sprained knee. Defender Tim Parker, who scored the first goal in team history, missed Saturday’s match becasue of a hamstring injury.
Another top gun, forward Celio Pompeu, suffered a broken ankle/leg on June 15 at Dallas. Forward Eduard Lowen missed time after his wife was diagnosed with cancer.
Key players Joakim Nilsson and Josh Yaro also have missed time because of injuries.
Defender Kyle Hiebert is away from the team while playing for the Canadian national team in the Copa America tournament.
The losses forced Carnell to use players in positions at which they were not comfortable, and they struggled at times.
“We did have injuries, but we had injuries last year as well,” Pfannenstiel said. “At the same time, we still won enough games.”
Pfannenstiel says he hopes to get a few new players during the upcoming transfer window.
“We still can rectify things,” he said. “That’s the responsibility that I have to take to sign players, which will work out.”
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City SC technical director John Hackworth, shown here when he was the coach of the team's MLS Next Pro team City2 in September 2022, has been named City SC's interim coach in the wake of former coach Bradley Carnell's firing.
Hackworth has more than 30 years of coaching experience, including a pair of assistant coaching stints with the United States men’s national team. He also coached MLS’ Philadelphia Union.
“We will definitely analyze the coaching market and see what’s best out there for us,” Pfannenstiel said.
City SC will try to rebound when it takes on last-place San Jose (3-15-2) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at CityPark.
In today’s 10 a.m. “Ten Hochman” sports video — brought to you by Siteman Cancer Center — Ben Hochman discusses Bradley Carnell, the St. Louis City SC coach who was let go on Monday.