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With all the struggles that ӣ����Ƶ City SC has gone through this season — the losses, the injuries, the additional losses — success is not that far away. At least physically.

While City SC sits near the bottom of the Major League Soccer standings — it was briefly tied for last place over the weekend — City2, not just in the same building as City SC but in some cases in the same room, sits atop the MLS Next Pro standings. The team in the MLS developmental league set a league record Friday by winning its eighth consecutive game and while that streak ended and became a nine-game unbeaten streak with a 1-1 tie with Ventura County on Wednesday at Energizer Park, City2 has a nine-point lead on its closest Western Conference rival. City2 is averaging 2.22 points per game (out of a possible 3), while City SC is at .82, about a third of what City2 is getting.

While those points can’t be shared between the teams, players can. Six City2 players have suited up for City SC this season, with four getting into games and two starting. The most recent of those starters, 21-year-old left back Jaziel Orozco, has earned plaudits for his play in his two starts, and his second saw City SC snap a five-game winless streak. The week before that, 17-year-old Tyson Pearce made his first-team debut.

“Hopefully we can both keep on stringing some wins together,” City SC captain Gabriel Mikina said. “Whenever guys go up, I think they do well, I think Tyson’s done well. I think Jazi has obviously done amazing, and it’s great to keep seeing guys go up and win.”

Mikina is a player who has been instrumental to the club’s success, but also, at 24, not a player who would be considered a prospect. While the team has players like Mykhi Joyner, 18, tied for the Next Pro lead in goals and a regular first teamer sometime soon, those younger players give credit to the team’s “older” players (it’s all relative) for the team’s success.

“There’s obviously a group of older guys and a group of younger guys,” said forward Brendan McSorley, who is 23 but in only his second year pro so has a foot in both worlds, “and we try to lead them the right way. And they’ve been great as well. Some of these guys out there I think are 14, 15 so just try to help them, give them little tips here and there, but they’re also super talented. Not much to do.”

“The older guys need to be the most important mentors for the younger guys,” said interim coach John Hackworth. “I can be the best coach in the world — I think I am — but really it’s players when they play against each other in training, and if it’s an Eddie Niles (a 14-year-old about to make his City2 debut) or a Mykhi, and they pick up something from (Wan Kuzain), or they pick up something from Seth (Antwi) or Gabby (Mikina), Cam (Cilley), an amazing kind of leader by his actions, all these things. Emil (Jaaskelainen)’s helping Caden (Glover) so much right now, I think you have to have that balance.”

Ultimately, City2 is about developing players, not necessarily winning, but for Hackworth, who stepped in to run the team when David Critchley took over the first team after the firing of Olof Mellberg and upped the team’s defensive focus, winning is part of developing.

“We’re really proud of being able to take our player development pathway and align it with success on the field,” Hackworth said. “You need to win games in order to get some of that player development to happen to happen.”

“I like to win,” said McSorley. “Obviously getting better as a player is great, and I feel like that comes along with winning with this team. I’m learning from these guys every single day. So super lucky.”

MLS rules on callups from Next Pro limit how much first-team time these players can get. Joyner, Orozco and McSorley have already used up their allowed callups for the season — Joyner, with a first-team contract, can get six games, while Orozco and McSorley, with Next Pro contracts, can get four callups or two games — and can’t play anymore unless the team changes their roster status. Last season the team did that twice, with Michael Wentzel and John Klein, as injuries put the team in a desperate spot. Three other City2 players, Pearce, Jaaskelainen and Cilley, have suited up for City SC this season, though only Pearce got into a game.

Joyner is the player who has gotten the most attention. The 18-year-old has 11 goals this season, tied for the league lead with Nelson Pierre of Vancouver, though in about 500 fewer minutes. Joyner has a league-high six goals on penalty kicks. He started for City SC in its Open Cup win over Union Omaha.

“He’s ready,” said Hackworth, “but we need to be patient with him. While I think he’s doing great, he still has to keep making progress.”

“I’m just going day by day,” Joyner said. “I know I’ve used all my callups, but hopefully another opportunity will come up and I’ll make the most of it, but until then, I’m just gonna take it day by day, work as hard as I can.”

But being around would help in the race for the Golden Boot as the league’s top goal scorer. Joyner was second last season with 16 goals, two behind Chicago’s David Poreba, who played 700 more minutes.

“It would mean a lot,” he said. “It’s actually one of my goals. It’d be really nice to see the (championship) trophy as well as the Golden Boot, and it just means that all my hard work has come together.”

The win streak is nice, but winning the league is what they want. City2 has come close to winning the league title before. It lost in the final in 2022 and lost in the Western Conference final — to the eventual champion — in 2024.

“I know some people might be like, ‘Oh, I want to move up,’ ” said McSorley, who has five goals and five assists, “but I’m content, because I want to win a championship here with this group of guys, and we’ll see what next season holds. But right now, I’m focused.”

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC signs young defender from Senegal to start summer transfer window

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

Hartel scores twice, Lowen returns to action and ӣ����Ƶ City SC snaps its 5-game winless streak

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC reportedly finalizing deals for attacker Jeong, defender Padelford

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

City SC finds the recipe for a win

City SC beat writer Tom Timmermann and guest co-host Jen Siess of Y98 and KMOX talk about two things that happened in City SC’s win over Portland that are essential for the team’s future success: offensive production from Marcel Hartel, who scored two goals, and the return of Eduard Lowen, who boosted the team’s offense from his first touch of the ball. Plus, the impact of new acquisition Fallou Fall, a center back from Senegal who was playing in Norway and what his addition means.

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ӣ����Ƶ City SC made its first move of what looks to be an important summer transfer window on Tuesday, signing Senegalese center back Fallou Fall, who had been with Norwegian club Fredrikstad FK.

Fall, 21, will be a U22 Initiative signing, the MLS program that gives salary-cap relief for clubs to sign young players. Fall is signed through the 2028 season, with a club option for 2029. He comes on a permanent transfer and will require an international roster spot. Fall will join the team after getting his visa and the transfer paperwork is completed.

Fall represents a significant investment from City SC. His transfer fee, at 3 million euros according to (about $3.48 million), is the second-biggest transfer fee paid by the club, after the fee for Klauss in 2022. (City SC has acquired many of its players on a free transfer after their previous contracts had expired.)

“An exciting player,” said interim City SC coach David Critchley. “He’s aggressive; he’s good in the air. He’s got a left foot, which helps with having different qualities when we build on the left side, just having a natural left-footer there. So we’re very happy with what we see in him. Now it’s just about getting him over and getting him accustomed to the MLS.”

The summer transfer window opens July 24, so Fall’s first possible game would be against Minnesota on July 26. At that point, City SC will have 11 games left in its season, though a playoff berth is a long shot at this point. The Norwegian league runs on the same calendar as MLS, so it’s midseason for Fall, which should make him available as soon as he’s eligible, and Critchley said he’ll “try to integrate him right away into the group.”

That Fall is left-footed has a specific appeal to the team. While City SC has a bunch of center backs, the only one who is left-footed is Joakim Nilsson, who has missed more time than he has played since joining City SC. Fall will give the team an option on moving the ball up the left side, and while Fall has played center back almost exclusively, he has morphed into a left back and played wide on occasion. That’s a position City SC has rotated players extensively through in its three years and Critchley indicated could be an option, especially if City SC gets back to full health at center back.

“Very excited to get a player with such high potential,” said sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel. “This is a guy for the future. It’s an investment for us. This is another U22 signing. I want to maximize out the roster rules and getting there with the two DPs and the four U22s.”

Fall ranks high in analytics when it comes to progressive passing by left-footed backs for players his age, as well as overall, and the team likes the way he can break lines and move the ball up the field. He joined Fredrikstad on a loan from French club Reims in July of 2024, helping the team win the Norwegian Cup, and signed with the club last week. He has played in 12 games for Fredrikstad, which is in eighth place in both league and cup play. Fredrikstad has allowed the fourth-fewest goals in the league and has five shutouts.

Fall jumped from Senegal to France in 2023 (after a brief stop in Serbia), playing mostly with Reims’ reserve team but getting one game in France’s Ligue 1.

Center back has turned into a complicated position for City SC this season, with the team’s top three choices at that spot — Henry Kessler, Timo Baumgartl and Nilsson — all having missed significant time to injuries. Nilsson’s three seasons in ӣ����Ƶ have been overshadowed by a knee injury suffered while playing for the Swedish national team and then a series of other injuries that have limited him to just 34 games over 2 1/2 seasons. The team hopes to have Baumgartl back in the lineup this weekend, but in the absence of those three players, the team has been using youngsters Jake Girdwood-Reich and Michael Wentzel and veteran Josh Yaro.

Injury updates

Good news may have had a slight edge over bad news as practice for City SC resumed Tuesday. Baumgartl is expected to be back on the roster for the game Saturday against Dallas after missing three games with a knee injury, which is good news, while defensive midfielder Chris Durkin will miss his seventh game in a row with a knee injury that isn’t quite good enough for him to play on yet. That would count as bad news.

Uncertain for the weekend is midfielder Celio Pompeu, who took a hard hit to the shoulder in the Portland game and had to be subbed out. He was seen on the field after the game with his arm in a sling. Critchley said there was no structural damage to Pompeu, but he was in serious pain.

“It’s more of a pain tolerance for him,” Critchley said. “He’s pretty banged up. He’s pretty bruised up, but I’m optimistic he could get to the weekend for us.”

Eduard Lowen came through his first game fine and is ready for more minutes, but how many that might be is up in the air. He entered in the 66th minute against Portland.

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

Hartel scores twice, Lowen returns to action and ӣ����Ƶ City SC snaps its 5-game winless streak

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC reportedly finalizing deals for attacker Jeong, defender Padelford

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC looking at Lowen's return for a boost as club tries to salvage season

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

City SC finds the recipe for a win

City SC beat writer Tom Timmermann and guest co-host Jen Siess of Y98 and KMOX talk about two things that happened in City SC’s win over Portland that are essential for the team’s future success: offensive production from Marcel Hartel, who scored two goals, and the return of Eduard Lowen, who boosted the team’s offense from his first touch of the ball. Plus, the impact of new acquisition Fallou Fall, a center back from Senegal who was playing in Norway and what his addition means.

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Wins have been so few and far between for ӣ����Ƶ City SC that they have become events to celebrate extensively, to savor like the rare treat they are.

So there were hugs all around and a roar from the crowd after City SC snapped a five-game winless streak and a three-game losing streak on Sunday night with a 2-1 win over Portland at a sold-out — but not full — Energizer Park. As much jubilation as there was when the team snapped its 11-game winless streak in David Critchley’s first game as interim coach, this one resonated at a whole other level.

“I think it’s because the performances have been so good,” Critchley said, “but we couldn’t quite get across the line with the result. But I asked these guys to be emotionally connected with the game. That’s what I think helps winning teams: be emotionally connected with the game while also applying the discipline and the tactics and all of these things. My message to them was get 1% better last week, which we’ve done, and now the message is go be consistent. So now we have to pick up consistent results now moving forward.”

The way City SC got the win was significant too. It won for the first time after falling behind — City SC came into the game 0-9 when allowing the first goal — and did it with two goals by Marcel Hartel, who scored two goals in the team’s first 21 games before getting two in 13 minutes in Game 22. And it did it with Eduard Lowen back on the field for the first time since May 31, coming off the bench in the 66th minute to a huge ovation from the crowd and making a pretty much immediate impact, taking a free kick that required a diving save but which put in motion the events that led to the go-ahead goal.

“It was very emotional,” Hartel said. “It was very important for us as a team. We put so much energy every week in training, in the games. You can see the turnover was there. We played good games, but we never get the result. And today was an amazing game. From the beginning, we played a very, very good first half, but we don’t show the goal, then we concede a goal.

“We go into halftime, Critch had a good halftime talk to us, and we come out, continue playing forward. And we turn the game in our direction. And in the end, was just like defending with our heart to get these three points. And after the whistle from the ref, you can feel this emotion from the whole team and also from the crowd.”

“Everybody knows what situation we were in,” said goalkeeper Roman Burki, who made two big saves, one in the first half, one in the second half, to keep it a one-goal game, “and it feels good to win at home. To give something back to the fans and also to reward ourselves for the hard work we put in. So we’re very happy about that.”

Of course, this one win makes only a slight impact in the big picture. City SC came into the game tied with the Los Angeles Galaxy and Montreal for the worst record in the league at 15 points, so the team needed some kind of result to move out of that designation. City SC remains in 14th place in the Western Conference and is three points behind 13th-place Dallas, which it conveniently plays Saturday to put catching Dallas solely within its grasp. City SC is nine points behind the last playoff team in the West and is looking at winning eight to 10 of its final 12 games to have a shot at a playoff spot.

And as improbable as that may sounds, the only possible path to it would seem to require a healthy Lowen and a productive Hartel, both of whom appeared on Sunday.

Hartel had two goals in MLS play, plus one in the U.S. Open Cup, coming into the game, with his most recent MLS goal coming on May 3. Hartel had three goals in nine MLS games when he joined the team from Germany a year ago, plus two goals in four Leagues Cup games. The scoring was not as plentiful this season as Hartel was called on to fill multiple roles this season, some of which moved him far away from the opposing goal.

“It was important for me to get confidence,” he said. “But the goals were especially (important) for the team.”

“Super-important,” said Critchley. “He’s been super-impactful for this team in all spaces on the field. So to finalize his game, he needs to build off this now and continue to score goals. I was super-, super-happy for him. He comes in every single day. He covers so much ground in his intensity in the way he runs and the way he trains. So to see him get two today, I was very, very happy for Marcel.”

“He’s the type of player that is a game changer,” said Wallem. “So in our moments, for example, the moments today, we are playing a game changer, a game changer that steps up and helps the team and wins the game. So that’s massive.”

The first goal came in the 54th minute after Tomas Ostrak broke away from the Portland defense to start the play, Hartel got the ball to Celio Pompeu, who got the ball into the box and back to Hartel, who almost collided with Klauss before roofing the ball from about 5 yards out.

And then in the 67th minute, he headed in a pinpoint ball into the box from Wallem to put City SC in the lead for the first time in a month.

That play began with a free kick by Lowen that required a diving save by goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. It was the first appearance for Lowen since May 31 because of a hamstring injury. Coincidence or otherwise, City SC is 4-2-2 in games Lowen has played in this season.

“Edu’s presence is contagious,” Critchley said.

“He came onto the field because he’s supposed to help us, and he did,” Burki said. “Edu is an extraordinary player.”

And the other big takeaway was that for one of the few times this season, City SC outplayed a team and won, though at halftime, it looked like business as usual. City SC led in almost every stat category except the most important one: the score.

“Today was, in my opinion, so far our best game in every way,” Hartel said.

Maybe so, but Burki didn’t see it as a complete game.

“No, we missed some chances,” he said. “We conceded the goal. So it’s far from the game that we want to have, but I think we did a really good job mentality wise and not giving up and keep staying true to our plan.

“To be honest, the atmosphere wasn’t the best in the locker room, with 1-0 down again. After we invested so much, the reaction afterwards was very good. We didn’t panic. We didn’t just throw everything overboard just because we were 1-0 down. We stayed true to the plan and we executed it very well.”

Pompeu left the game in the 67th minute after being hit hard by Portland’s Kevin Kelsy, who was trying to stop a charge upfield. Pompeu was holding his right shoulder, and when he returned to the field after the game, his arm was in a sling.

“It’s almost a perfect picture that we come off injury-free from that game with the result,” Critchley said. “He’s got it in a sling right now, but I assume it’s just precautionary for him. ... Hopefully it’s not too bad and just a mild strain or something.”

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

Eduard Lowen looks ready to return to lineup for ӣ����Ƶ City SC on Sunday

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC puts midfielder Rasmus Alm on season-ending injury list because of hip trouble

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC lets another chance to catch up get away, falls to Real Salt Lake 3-2

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

Photos: ӣ����Ƶ City SC snaps winless streak, beating Portland

Marcel Hartel scored twice — as many goals in 13 minutes as he had in the first 21 MLS games of the season — as ӣ����Ƶ City SC finally took advantage of all the chances it couldn’t in the first 50 minutes of the game and snapped a five-game winless streak with a 2-1 win over Portland on Sunday at Energizer Park.

Hartel’s second goal, off a header from a long cross by Conrad Wallem, came just a minute after Eduard Lowen had entered the game as a sub, his first playing time since May 31, which was also the last time City SC won a game. Lowen’s first touch of the ball was on a free kick on which Portland goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau had to make a diving save at the near post, but that shot set the play in motion that led to the go-ahead goal.

Roman Burki had to make two tough saves while City SC was trailing to keep it a one-goal game. At the final whistle, there were hugs all around for City SC players as they had a rare celebration on the field.

The result keeps City SC out of a tie for last place in the league. A win by the Los Angeles Galaxy and a tie by Montreal on Saturday night would have left all three teams with 15 points on Sunday morning. But even with the win, City SC has got some ground to make up. It’s three points back of 13th-place Dallas, which it plays Saturday in Texas.

Hartel tied the game in the 54th minute. Tomas Ostrak fought off a couple of attempts to foul him to slow him down and got the ball across midfield. Eventually, it came to Celio Pompeu, who put the ball into the box. Hartel and Klauss got to the ball at the same time, and the ball popped into the air, with Hartel then moving forward to volley it in from about 5 yards out.

Hartel had last scored on May 3 against Seattle on a penalty kick. In addition to his two previous MLS goals, Hartel also had a goal in the Open Cup game with Minnesota.

City SC controlled the ball at the start of the game and had three decent scoring chances in the first 10 minutes but couldn’t finish any of them. That was the opening Portland needed as David Da Costa took a pass near midfield, dribbled toward the City SC box and from about 21 yards out shot through traffic and inside the far post just out of the reach of a diving Burki to make it 1-0.

It was the fourth straight game City SC had allowed the first goal of the game, the third time it had come in the first 20 minutes.

City SC would have more chances, outshooting Portland 9-4 and having a 0.9-0.3 lead in expected goals, but the team’s finishing let them down.

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Eduard Lowen looks ready to return to lineup for ӣ����Ƶ City SC on Sunday

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC puts midfielder Rasmus Alm on season-ending injury list because of hip trouble

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC lets another chance to catch up get away, falls to Real Salt Lake 3-2

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

Photos: ӣ����Ƶ City SC snaps winless streak, beating Portland

ӣ����Ƶ City SC is making its first steps of the summer transfer window. A source confirmed a report from that the team is in the process of finalizing deals to acquire two players from Minnesota United, attacker Sang Bin Jeong and left back Devin Padelford.

Jeong would be coming on a cash trade, while Padelford would be on a loan.

Jeong had six goals and two assists for Minnesota last season but has yet to have a goal or an assist in 15 games this season. (He has started only two games.) He’s 23 and is signed to a U22 Initiative contract that runs through this season with an option for 2026. Jeong has made one appearance with the South Korean national team, in 2021. He originally signed with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League but was immediately loaned to Grasshopper in Switzerland, where he played a season before coming to MLS.

Padelford, 22, is a Minnesota United Homegrown player who played in 24 games last season, starting 19, but has played in only four this season for a total of 104 minutes, He lost his starting spot to Anthony Markanich, who Minnesota acquired from City SC in the transfer window last season. (Markanich, incidentally, has five goals this season for Minnesota.) Padelford’s contract also runs out this season, with an option for next season.

The secondary transfer window for Major League Soccer opens July 24.

Left back has been an area of concern throughout the City SC’s history, and after Jannes Horn ended his loan to return to Europe, the team is using Jayden Reid and Jaziel Orozco, who has been called up the past two weeks from City2.

Jeong would be City SC’s second try at an attacking player from within MLS who has struggled this season. In the first transfer window, the team acquired Xande Silva from Atlanta, who has been used as a substitute in 10 games but has yet to score a goal.

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC looking at Lowen's return for a boost as club tries to salvage season

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC puts midfielder Rasmus Alm on season-ending injury list because of hip trouble

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch

ӣ����Ƶ City SC

ӣ����Ƶ City SC lets another chance to catch up get away, falls to Real Salt Lake 3-2

• Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch