St. Louis CITY SC earned a huge 3-1 win over San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night at PayPal Park. Brendan McSorley put CITY SC on the board in the tenth minute, scoring his first career MLS goal. Nine minutes later, McSorley was a part of Marcel Hartel’s goal that gave St. Louis the 2-0 lead. The Earthquakes got one back in the 31st minute but it was McSorley once again, scoring in the 45th minute as he picked up his first career MLS brace. CITY SC kept San Jose off the scoresheet in the second half, earning the three points and second consecutive road win. St. Louis CITY SC returns to Energizer Park on Saturday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. CT as they welcome LAFC.
Postgame Notes
- Brendan McSorley made his first career MLS start and scored his first career MLS brace
- Additionally, McSorley recorded his first career MLS assist
- With his two goals tonight, McSorley became the first player from CITY2 to record a brace
- Chris Durkin notched his first and second assists of the season
- Marcel Hartel earned his seventh goal of the MLS season and eighth across all competitions. Hartel has registered goals in back-to-back matches
- Hartel picked up his sixth assist of the 2025 season. In his last six matches, Hartel has six goal contributions
- João Klauss recorded his second consecutive assist in back-to-back matches
September 20, 2025 – PayPal Park (San Jose, CA)
Goal-Scoring Plays
STL: Brendan McSorley (João Klauss, Chris Durkin), 10th minute – Brendan McSorley scored with a right footed shot from the center of the box to the upper right central zone.
STL: Marcel Hartel (Brendan McSorley, Chris Durkin), 19th minute – Marcel Hartel scored with a left footed shot from the central position outside the box to the middle right zone.
SJ: Cristian Arango (penalty kick), 31st minute – Cristian Arango scored from the penalty spot with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
STL: Brendan McSorley (Marcel Hartel), 45th minute – Brendan McSorley scored with a header from the center of the box to the bottom left corner.
Scoring Summary
STL: Brendan McSorley (João Klauss), 10’
STL: Marcel Hartel (Brendan McSorley, Chris Durkin), 19’
SJ: Cristian Arango (penalty kick), 31’
STL: Brendan McSorley (Marcel Hartel), 45’
Misconduct Summary
SJ: Ronaldo Vieira (caution), 45+2’
SJ: Preston Judd (caution), 72’
Lineups
SJ: GK Daniel; D Bruno Wilson (Josef Martinez, 63’), D Daniel Munie, D Dave Romney; M Vitor Costa (Jamar Ricketts, 79’), M Ronaldo Vieira, M Mark Anthony-Kaye (Benji Kikanovic, 63’), M Cristian Espinoza ©; F Ousseni Bouda, F Preston Judd (Beau Leroux, 79’), F Cristian Arango
Substitutes not used: GK Earl Edwards Jr., D Max Floriani, D Rodrigues, M Ian Harkes, M Jack Skahan
TOTAL SHOTS: 23; SHOTS ON GOAL: 11; FOULS: 16; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3
STL: GK Roman Bürki ©; D Conrad Wallem, D Timo Baumgartl, D Kyle Hiebert, D Devin Padelford; M Chris Durkin, M Eduard Löwen; M Brendan McSorley (Tomas Totland, 79’), M Marcel Hartel, M Célio Pompeu (Mykhi Joyner, 46’); F João Klauss (Simon Becher, 78’)
Substitutes not used: GK Ben Lundt, D Jaziel Orozco, D Tomas Totland, D Josh Yaro, M Tomáš Ostrák, M Seth Antwi, M Alfredo Morales
TOTAL SHOTS: 18; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 9
Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
Assistant Referees: Ryan Graves, Felisha Mariscal, Ricardo Fierro
VAR: Michael Radchuk
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson
Venue: PayPal Park
Postgame Video: Footage (Passcode: @A&2xPmh)
Interim Head Coach David Critchley
On the performance tonight:
The performance was really good in the first half, we’ve done enough to score some goals and to be very dangerous. And then we knew in the second half, there momentum with San Jose at times. And that’s one of the biggest things we’ve been addressing lately in the training environment, is during these moments. How? How do we understand how to manage these moments as a team? And we’re starting to really do that now very, very well. So limiting a very dangerous team, the one the highest teams in the MLS at scoring goals, limiting them in them opportunities. I know there was one penalty today, but we’ve limited them from open play again. So I’m just very, very proud of the players. First and foremost, what we’re starting to really see now is the process that we have talked about for several weeks, the process is now starting to become results as well for us. So I was very proud of them tonight.
On the decision to start Brendan McSorley:
I think. So, yeah, two goals and an assist is a is a fantastic accomplishment for him. You know, he’s trained well for a long time now. He’s been training well with this team. He’s took his opportunity with it with a great performance for himself, and then, even after scoring the goals again, getting an assist as well, he worked extremely hard for the team and putting the team first. I think he might have had one cleared in the in our box as well, deep off the line. So I’m super proud of Brendan today.
Forward Brendan McSorley
On where this night ranks among others in his career:
Yeah, it’s definitely a special night, and probably one that I’ll talk about for a while. I remember I scored with my brother in the state final in high school, so you know, it’s up there with that one. So yeah, it’s a special night for sure.
On if he felt confident leading up to the match:
Yeah, you know, I always believe in myself, and every time I’m on the field, I think I’m going to score. And, you know, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it’s two goals. So yeah, I’ll take it, and yeah, I’m extremely confident in myself, but also try to stay grounded and understand what’s gotten me this far. And you know that hard work is only going to keep going and hopefully bring me more success and this team more success.
On Klauss’ assist on his first goal:
I just think of that moment like so special, because Klaus was the guy who took me under his wing when I first came in two years ago, and for him to assist it, I was going to celebrate in the corner, and then I saw him, and I was like, I have to go run over to him, because he’s the guy who’s, you know, made me feel so comfortable here from the start, and I owe him so much, and for the rest of my career, I’ll remember how he treated me when I first came in.
