You can not completely give up on a disappointing season but still quietly surrender to the practical implications of a daunting situation. You’d give the appearance of continuing to fight the good fight, but in your heart and your head it’s already over.
Then there’s the very different approach of convincing yourself, as if by mind control or hypnosis, that you’re capable of the unlikely and the incredible despite a mountain of odds stacked against you. That sort of belief may be borderline delusional, but it takes real conviction.
I’m beginning to think that ӣƵ City SC falls into the latter category. That thought only got reinforced by a come-from-behind win against Portland in front of the home crowd at Energizer Park last Sunday.
There’s a certain level of gall and nerve required to sit in the where the players and staff of City SC sit — on their second head coach of the season, near the bottom of the MLS Western Conference standings, needing an improbable run to even get back into the playoff picture and in the midst of a season that has included winless streaks of 11 matches and five matches — and remain all-in on turning this season around.
I’m not sure I can fully buy into it the way they have, but there’s a certain charm to that underdog team with a chip on its shoulder.
At least, it’s a reason worth staying tuned.
Midfielder Tomas Ostrak, who worked his way back from a season-ending ankle injury last season and played through a balky leg and a barking adductor issue that required him to get fluid drained from it this season, certainly hasn’t put his body through the various trials and obstacles in the name of simply playing out the string.
“I think that was the important thing, to prove and show to people that we can play, that we can perform, that we have quality on the ball — I believe we have,” said Ostrak, a native of the Czech Republic. “I think we have to believe even more because that’s what it is taking.”
Ostrak echoed sentiments that have become part of interim head coach David Critchley’s common refrain. That being that the focus remains game to game, one opponent at a time and chasing three points (the amount earned for a win) each time out.
Entering the weekend, City SC has 18 points with an overall record in MLS play of 4-12-6. If the season ended today, 29 points would earn the last Western Conference wild card spot.
What City SC faces isn’t just an uphill climb. It’s scaling a wall of ice several miles straight up into the sky with little more than some gloves and a plucky attitude.
That’s why, as Ostrak said, belief is so important.
Having not earned a win in the previous five matches and then going down 1-0 to Portland surely put City SC’s faith to the test.
Following the match, captain and goalkeeper Roman Burki, midfielder Marcel Hartel and midfielder Conrad Wallem each acknowledged a level of frustration at halftime. They’d played better, controlled the game in almost every way, but were losing.
City SC midfielder Conrad Wallem, left, leaps and heads the ball during a match against San Diego FC on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at Energizer Park. The shot hit the goalpost and bounced out, but it was put in for a goal by defender Kyle Hiebert.
Their coach’s message was to stay the course. No, really. He urged them to keep doing what they were doing with some tweaks in their offensive end.
Ultimately, City SC came out the other end with a win.
“It feels even better,” Wallem said of the comeback win. “You can — like Critch said after the game — you can win the game in so many ways. You can win it the scrappy way, but I felt like today we really showed what we can do.
“Even one down at the half. We felt like we were superior than them, but we just kept going. Then, for us, it’s even bigger when we put out that performance and giving the fans and everyone that’s supporting ӣƵ, finally, victory. We need to build on that.”
But what does a team that’s already dug such a deep hole build towards?
“We know, objectively, what we have to get, but we want to take every game as the most important game for us, as it comes,” Critchley said. “So my vision, my focus has been nothing past Dallas.
ӣƵ City head coach David Critchley, right, congratulates midfielder Eduard Lowen after the win against the Portland Timbers on July 13, 2025, at Energizer Park.
“I’ve watched no Minnesota games. I’m not excited about the Aston Villa friendly right now. All my attention, focus, time, energy, is how do we get three points against FC Dallas. That’s where the players’ mindset has been as well.”
Again, the one opponent at a time theme. Ah, but there’s something more beneath the surface of the underdog team out to prove they’re better than they’ve showed.
There’s the future of City SC soccer, not in the sense of a playoff berth. It’s as hyper-focused as getting the most out of the current group this season, but it’s also as big-picture as progressing the club’s overall brand of soccer.
“While I sit in this chair, I try to build a style that I think is going to be good, not only for the next game, but for the long-term success of this club,” Critchley said. “I know we’ve always been very aggressive against the ball. We’ve always had a mentality to defend high up the field and aggressive. That’s something that I’ve brought back into this team.
“Now, it’s trying to evolve us with the ball, create more chances, score more goals, be an entertaining, attacking team as well. That’s something that we should be for the rest of this season. Going past this season, I’m not too sure yet. We haven’t had any of those conversations yet. Right now, my focus goes game-by-game to try to pick up points and try to help them for the rest of the season to play the system and the style that I think will make these guys successful.”
There’s undeniably more going on with City SC than playing out the string, last Sunday’s win was just one indication.
