City Loses 3-2 At Real Salt Lake, Fifth Straight Game Without A Win

SANDY, Utah - St. Louis City SC has not had an ideal 2025. Making the playoffs is possible, but it would take a colossal turn of fortune. On Saturday evening, City took to the field in Utah against Real Salt Lake, looking to kickstart a turnaround.

Instead, City fell behind early and spent the first half under fire. The second half was an improvement, but again it was a case of “too little too late,” as City fell 3-2.

Again, St. Louis City was forced into a unique lineup thanks to a raft of injuries to regular starters and reserves alike. Three CITY2 players were drafted into the matchday squad: winger Mykhi Joyner, Tyson Pearce, who primarily plays as a right back but was listed as a midfielder Saturday night, and defender Jaziel Orozco.

Orozco, a 21-year-old and former product of the Real Salt Lake academy, started as a left back in his City debut against his former club. Joining him along the City back line was Josh Yaro, who has fallen out of favor under interim manager David Critchley, unlike his center back partner, Jake Girdwood-Reich. Tomas Totland started at right back.

Tomas Ostrak returned to the starting lineup, paired with Conrad Wallem in central midfield. Marcel Hartel started as a “10” or as an attacking midfielder, and was flanked by Simon Becher to his left and Cedric Teuchert to his right.

João Klauss started up top and is in the best run of goalscoring form City has ever seen from the striker position. Klauss finding the goals has been a glimmer of hope in the darkness that St. Louis City has been mired in for much of 2025.

For the second time in three games, David Critchley found himself managing out of a hole created by an early goal. Real Salt Lake grabbed the lead in the 6th minute, when City cleared a corner kick only as far as RSL’s Noel Caliskan, who corralled a bouncing ball just outside the 18-yard box on the right side, and smashed a half-volley across the face of goal and into the top left corner, beyond a leaping Roman Bürki.

While the clearance of the corner was not ideal, the shot from Caliskan was world-class. When a team is struggling, it feels like goals like that just have a habit of finding their way into the net.

“Even though I think Roman [Bürki] is the highest quality of goalkeepers, that might be unsavable.” David Critchley admitted following the game. “I’ll give them all the credit for the quality there.”

Buoyed by their early advantage, Real Salt Lake kept Roman Bürki busy in the first half. City found themselves defending in numbers for long stretches of the first half as they slowly grew into the game.

The weaknesses of a back line that hadn't worked together before began to show under Salt Lake’s continued pressure, and in the 43rd minute, RSL took a 2-0 lead. A turnover in midfield from a City backpass turned into a three-on-two break going the other way for Real.

Former Sporting Kansas City attacker Willy Agada started the break and found teammate Diogo Goncalves flying up the left channel. Goncalves collected Agada’s ball as he crossed into the St. Louis 18-yard box, where he took a few touches to get the ball on his right foot, and curled a beautiful shot just inside the far post.

Goncalves celebrated sitting down and mimicking playing video games, a tribute to Diogo Jota, the Liverpool star and fellow Portuguese national who tragically passed away in a car accident over the weekend.

“Two fantastic goals,” said David Critchley of RSL’s first half offensive output. “But they can still be preventable. We have to analyze those finer moments and figure out where we can improve.”

City were two goals down at halftime, and needed to act quick to stay in the contest. Six minutes into the second half, Klauss gave them a lifeline. Marcel Hartel swung in a corner kick to City’s big Brazilian, who Real Salt Lake seemingly forgot about at the edge of the six-yard box. Klauss nodded a header home and City were down just a goal.

The second half was an inverse of the first, with St. Louis City looking more likely to equalize. City were outshooting, outpassing, and out-possessing RSL, but in the 64th minute, the hosts reclaimed their two-goal advantage.

A momentary lapse in defense saw Diogo Goncalves racing up the left wing unmarked, looking for a white and navy checkered shirt also running towards the City goal. Goncalves slid a pass across the face of goal in hope, and had his prayers answered when City center back Josh Yaro pushed the ball into his own goal in an attempt to clear the pass away.

Not the goal that Josh Yaro wanted on the scoresheet, but in the 81st minute, Yaro got just enough on a Marcel Hartel corner kick cross to deflect the ball into an open Real Salt Lake goal. Yaro was locked up with an RSL defender and likely didn’t know the ball was coming until it hit him, but the ball took a fortuitous bounce into the Real goal.

St. Louis’s best chance to equalize came with their final touch of the ball in the 98th minute, deep into second half stoppage time. Marcel Hartel, who had a fabulous game in midfield, danced around some Real Salt Lake defenders and opened up enough space to swing a last-ditch cross into the box, and that cross fell to the forehead of Joao Klauss, who couldn’t put his header on target from point-blank range.

Referee Allen Chapman blew the whistle for full-time on the ensuing Salt Lake goal kick. Another loss for St. Louis City, another comeback effort that falls short, another game where City are without half of their regular starters.

If there is a positive to injury-forced turnover, it is giving young players a chance to play, and Jaziel Orozco put in a great shift in his City first team debut Saturday night. Orozco played out of his typical center back position, but was a bright light on the left wing, especially as City played with more offensive purpose in the second half.

Orozco was second on the City roster with 49 passes completed, and third in passing percentage, completing 91% of his passes all over the field. On the back end, he was never dribbled past, made four tackles, and won eight of nine defensive duels.

“Was such a weird but really exciting experience at the same time,” Orozco expressed his feelings of making his City debut at his former home. “Not getting confused about going to the home locker room, going to the visiting locker room and being so grateful for the opportunity… Now I’m just glad to be here, glad to represent this club with all my heart.”

City has fostered a new atmosphere around the locker room and training ground under David Critchley, but the results still aren’t coming. Postgame, Klauss contemplated what more the team needs to win.

“I think we have everything that we need,” Klauss said. “The club provides everything we need. I think we have a good coaching staff that is helping us every single day, they bring a lot of energy, they have good ideas, they’ve implemented a new philosophy in the team.

“We have this structure, and we enjoy playing this way. We have to have more consistency during the game, we have to be cleaner in a few moments, but I really enjoy playing the way we play. I really enjoy working with Critch [interim manager David Critchley], Aidan [Reynolds, first team assistant/analyst], and Baggio [Husidic, interim assistant coach].

“We have everything that we need, and we have the fans behind us every single game. What more do we need to be motivated every single day? We do what we love. We live in an amazing city, with amazing fans behind us, we have an amazing facility with an amazing stadium. I mean, what more do we need?”

City will spend the rest of 2025 trying to answer that question. They return to MLS action next Sunday, July 13, hosting the Portland Timbers.

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