St. Louis CITY’s fourth season brings in fresh faces to the front office as well as the sidelines. After 10 weeks (70 days) without a Sporting Director, Corey Wray was hired November 3rd to take over the role; while Yoann Damet followed six weeks later, being announced as CITY’s 3rd Head Coach on December 16th. CITY had been without a permanent head coach for 29 weeks (203 days).
Damet filled out his coaching staff prior to pre-season starting, bringing in David Sauvry and Marcelo Sarvas to serve as assistant coaches, along with St. Louisan Colin Rooney as Director of Scouting. Baggio Hušidić joins as Individual Player Development coach.
Furthermore, after serving as Interim Head Coach of CITY for the remainder of 2025, fan and player favorite David Critchley returns to his former role as Head Coach of CITY2. Along with that, former first-team assistant coach Elvir Kafedžić will stay with the club and join Critchley’s staff as an assistant coach for CITY2.
Key Offseason Moves
OUT: João Klauss (Cash trade w/ LAG), Henry Kessler, Rasmus Alm, Akil Watts, Alfredo Morales, Michael Wentzel, Joey Zalinsky, Jayden Reid and Seth Antwi (Options declined), while Selmir Pidro was out of contract.
IN: Daniel Edelman, Conrad Wallem, Rafael Santos, Mamadou Mbacke Fall, Dante Polvara, Lukas MacNaughton.
Season Summary
February (0-0-1)
Feb 21 v. Charlotte – Tie 1-1
Yoann Damet’s managerial debut ended in a draw — CITY’s second-ever meeting with Charlotte, both held in St. Louis. Marcel Hartel gave CITY the lead in the 60th minute, but Charlotte equalized in the 73rd. A late flurry of chances couldn’t separate the sides.
TRANSACTIONS: On February 24th, CITY picked up Sergio Córdova on loan from Swiss side BSC Young Boys. The loan is good through June 30, 2026 with an option to purchase. He will occupy an international spot on the roster and be registered as a DP during the loan period. On February 25th, the team announced a contract extension for Chris Durkin which runs through June 2028 and has an option for the 2028/29 season. On February 26th, CITY announced a contract extension for Simon Becher. It will run through June 2028 with a club option for the 2028/29 season.
March (1-3-0)
Mar 1 @ San Diego – Loss 0-2
San Diego struck early through Anders Dreyer in the 3rd minute and added a second in the 54th. CITY were missing both center backs — Mbacké and Fallou Fall — along with midfielders Eduard Löwen and Marcel Hartel, the latter on paternity leave. INJURIES: Tomas Totland, abdomen (72′).
Mar 7 v. Seattle – Loss 0-1
CITY remain winless against Brian Schmetzer, now 0-6-0 all-time. A Kossa-Rienzi goal in the 47th minute was all Seattle needed to leave town with three points yet again.
Mar 14 @ LAFC – Loss 0-2
Closing out their toughest stretch of the season, CITY held their own at LAFC for over 70 minutes — but Mathieu Choinière broke the deadlock in the 73rd and added a second in the 81st. CITY had their chances, but without a true finisher they remain winless against LAFC all-time.
On March 20th CITY announced the hiring of Romain Marée as Lead Team Analyst. He joins from French Ligue 2 side AS Saint-Étienne where he had been since 2020.
Mar 21 v. New England – Win 3-1
New England made their first visit to town but found themselves trailing by halftime. Ilay Feingold gave the Revs an early lead in the 14th, before Simon Becher (29′) and Chris Durkin (45’+3) put CITY ahead for good. Marcel Hartel added a golazo from 42 yards, catching goalkeeper Matt Turner off his line to make it 3-1. NOTABLES: First win for Head Coach Yoann Damet and Sporting Director Corey Wray.
NEW GRASS: With time before the next home game, April 25th against San Jose, CITY will be replacing the entire playing surface with new sod. The last time they swapped out the entire field was nearly two years ago (Apr 25-26, 2024).
INJURY: The club announced March 30 that Célio Pompeu had suffered a non-contact ACL injury in training the week prior. No timeline was given for his return.
April (1-1-2)
Apr 4 @ NYCFC – Tie 1-1
An escape from New York — Brendan McSorley came off the bench in the 80th minute and equalized at 90+6′, securing a road point in CITY’s first (and only) visit to Citi Field. Roman Bürki stood tall with 6 saves to keep CITY in it.
Apr 11 @ Dallas – Tie 1-1
Having never scored or gotten a result in Dallas, CITY faced a tall task after going down 1-0 in the 48th minute. An Edelman cross found Timo Baumgartl at the back post in the 61st minute, giving CITY its first-ever point in Dallas. NOTABLES: First CITY goal for Timo Baumgartl. INJURY: Orozco, concussion (76′).
Apr 15 v. Tulsa (USOC Rd. of 32) – Win 4-0
CITY’s first U.S. Open Cup game of the season came in the Round of 32 against FC Tulsa at CityPark — the first-ever matchup between the two clubs. Goals from Hartel (20′), Sang-bin (36′), Joyner (61′), and Ostrák (78′) sent Tulsa home and advanced CITY to the Round of 16 against Chicago Fire.
Apr 18 @ Seattle – Loss 1-4
Riding a four-game unbeaten run, CITY were looking for their first-ever result in Seattle against a rotated Sounders side. It was not meant to be. Cristian Roldan struck twice early (22′, 37′) on carbon copy corner kicks before Albert Rusnák (49′, PK) and Osaze De Rosario (86′) put the result beyond doubt. Eduard Löwen, returning after missing the first seven games of the season, pulled one back at 90’+2 to spoil the Sounders’ clean sheet.