狐狸视频

When teams get eliminated from playoff contention, it鈥檚 often time to start bringing on young players. For 狐狸视频 City SC, they may not have a choice at some spots.

Defensive midfielder Chris Durkin and center back Henry Kessler were both absent from practice as City SC returned to work following its loss to Minnesota that all but officially knocked it out of playoff contention. Both left the Minnesota game at the half, Durkin with a knee injury and Kessler because he was in the concussion protocol.

Interim coach John Hackworth stressed that he wasn鈥檛 saying Durkin was out for this Saturday, when City SC plays at last-place San Jose, but considering the team鈥檚 situation, there鈥檚 no need to rush him back.

鈥淗e鈥檚 hurting right now,鈥� Hackworth said, 鈥渁nd hopefully we will get him back in time, but his body鈥檚 got to heal up. Thank goodness there鈥檚 nothing really terribly wrong with him. He went through an MRI yesterday and got an X-ray too. So our medical staff did a fantastic job, and he has a very inflamed knee right now. So that鈥檚 another one of those things. He鈥檚 so important to what we do, and you take Durkin off the field, and it changes us, so then other guys will have to step up. But you also want to be protective about Durkin and his future because there鈥檚 no sense in putting him in harm鈥檚 way for nothing.鈥�

Durkin is the team leader in minutes played among field players with 2,237, and the only two games he hasn鈥檛 appeared in this season, over all competitions, were ones he had to sit out because of accumulated yellow cards.

鈥淒urkin鈥檚 a tough, tough kid,鈥� Hackworth said, 鈥渁nd he will do anything to get back on the field. So it helps that I know him so well, but I鈥檓 also going to be very protective of him, because ... I know him, if I asked him to come train right now, he would come train. ... I just don鈥檛 want to put him in a position where he could injure himself worse. And if we take a little bit of caution on that, it might give somebody else an opportunity like JGR.鈥�

JGR is Jake Girdwood-Reich, the 20-year-old Australian signed in the summer transfer window. He replaced Durkin at the half against Minnesota for his most playing time this season. Even if Durkin wasn鈥檛 hurt, Girdwood-Reich is one of the players who would be expected to get a look over City SC鈥檚 final five games. He has played in eight of nine games over all competitions since he鈥檚 been eligible, but prior to Saturday, only one of those games was for more than 10 minutes.

鈥淗e鈥檚 got to earn (the minutes),鈥� Hackworth said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to give anything out to anybody. Players have to come out here and compete and beat out their relevant competition. So that鈥檚 the best way to build an environment and culture of accountability. But at the same time, JGR is a guy that we invested in, and we need to give him some opportunities too. So there鈥檚 a balance to all of this.鈥�

Kessler was jogging during practice on Tuesday, and Hackworth said they wouldn鈥檛 know for sure what his status would be until Friday as he worked his way through the concussion protocol.

Joakim Nilsson, who has missed 15 of the past 16 games with a hamstring injury, took part in a little more than half of practice and told the Post-Dispatch that he would need about a week and a half of training before he was ready to get in a game. That would make him available for the final four games of the season, though the team still has to determine if it鈥檚 worth playing him in those games or letting his frequently injured hamstring take more time off.

Return of Pidro

Selmir Pidro, the first player signed by City SC, made his return to American soccer on Sunday night, coming off the bench for City2 in the 61st minute of its 2-2 tie with Minnesota 2. It was just over a year ago, on Sept. 3, 2023, that Pidro made his most recent appearance in America, also for City2.

Pidro, expected to be the team鈥檚 starting left back in its inaugural season, never found a spot with City SC, appearing in only two MLS games, and the longer he went without playing, the less likely he was to play. Eventually, he was loaned to a club in the Czech Republic, but when that club was relegated, it didn鈥檛 keep Pidro. Sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel couldn鈥檛 find another home for Pidro, so he came back to America.

Pidro is on loan to City2, so he won鈥檛 count against City SC鈥檚 roster limit or its international player count.

Pidro wore No. 17 with City SC last season, but that number has been given to Marcel Hartel, so Pidro is wearing No. 70 with City2.

Notes

Eduard Lowen is 13th and Klauss is 14th nationally in uniform sales through . A year ago, when far fewer people had City SC jerseys, Klauss was second to only Lionel Messi in sales and Lowen was ninth, so the two are showing some staying power.

Detailed numbers aren鈥檛 released, so there鈥檚 no clue as to how far Messi is ahead of his Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez, who is second in sales. Sergio Busuets is No. 11, and Jordi Alba is No. 15 as Miami has four players in the top 15.

• City SC can鈥檛 be officially eliminated from playoff contention until Saturday, but Sporting Kansas City, which is tied for 12th in the West with City SC, can be eliminated Wednesday based on results in games involving SKC, Portland and Minnesota.

LAFC, Colorado and Real Salt Lake can all clinch Western Conference playoff spots on Wednesday.

狐狸视频 City SC

MLS Commissioner Don Garber talks about the City SC franchise, the Open Cup and more

• Tom Timmermann

狐狸视频 City SC

狐狸视频 City SC's playoff chances all but done after it can't hold another lead, falls 3-1

• Tom Timmermann

狐狸视频 City SC

Klauss is back, ready to do what he can to help 狐狸视频 City SC's desperate playoff push

• Tom Timmermann

狐狸视频 City SC beat writer Tom Timmermann and co-host Beth O鈥橫alley discuss the team鈥檚 loss to Minnesota United and the loss of hopes to make the postseason.

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Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber was in 狐狸视频 over the weekend, to see how Year 2 of the league's newest franchise was going and meet with ownership and staff.聽

Garber has just celebrated his 25th anniversary as MLS commissioner, and the league 鈥� and the sport in America 鈥� have both seen substantial growth in that time, including placing an expansion team in 狐狸视频.

About an hour before kickoff of City SC's game with Minnesota on Saturday, he and I pulled up a couple of folding chairs in a tunnel just off the field at CityPark and talked about a variety of topics for about 10 minutes, with others that time precluded getting to.聽

Here's a transcript of that conversation. His answers are virtually untouched. My questions are edited to be more concise and coherent, as I often don't speak that way.

Timmermann: Have you been at CityPark since opening day 2023?

Garber: I was here for a lot of time getting it all put together, and then the opening game, and then here for the Gold Cup match (in 2023). And I was scheduled to come here earlier in the year, and then that got moved to now.

It is a great time of the year to be here too. Games matter a bit more and there is a lot of stuff going on.

I had breakfast with (new U.S. national team coach Mauricio) Pochettino yesterday. It was interesting. And there's a lot going on in a positive way.

Timmermann: Twenty-five years on the job with MLS, did you think it would lead to where you are, not just in American soccer but global soccer?

Garber: No, I don't think I could have sat 25 years ago and thought that we鈥檇 be in a stadium and in a complex that is probably among the best in the world, with an owner that is so passionate about how a team could drive opportunity for a city. So it wasn't just about owning a sports team, it was about a team that could actually drive value for a community, and in the early days of MLS, that was unimaginable.

(City SC) is a brand that resonates. I walked around all day today, and people are wearing the jersey and passionate about their club. They have a great staff that really believes in this career opportunity for themselves. I met for the first time with guest services staff today. I think of how many team visits I've had and how many stadiums I've been a part of, and today, I met with the people that are dealing with fans every game. They have smiles on their face and are excited about being part of the 狐狸视频 City experience.

So I'm not yet taking a step back to look at what was, got a busy two years to look at what can be, but it's been a journey.

Timmermann: You probably look at Year 2 for a club differently than most people. What do you see in Year 2 in 狐狸视频?聽

Garber: This club is teaching a master class from start to finish on how to build, launch, manage and operate a club at the highest level, and how everyone in the league recognized that, but nobody really understood what drove that level of excellence.

I spent some time with Andy Taylor today, and you realize that that's just the way the Taylor family operates their core business. They just took some of those principles about putting the customer first, having quality be indisputable, showing good leadership with staff, making big financial commitments and expecting them to pay off. I would say it's the Andy Taylor way.

I don't think I quite realized what that could mean for Major League Soccer, and I realize that now.

Timmermann: That shows the importance of finding good ownership?

Garber: Yeah, one of the things that I am probably proudest of, and I think MLS has this reputation, is we have among the best ownership group of any league in the world, and that's been a key driver of what's made MLS what it is today: a big belief in the sport, made big commitments and big bets, and we have a partnership approach off the field and competitive spirit on the field.

And every now and again, you have an owner that kind of in his own run-silent-run-deep way, joins that group and doesn't have to shout from the mountaintop. They just delivered.

And I think it's just really awesome. I love it. It makes me super proud. We waited a long time for this team, there were a lot of different iterations of what it could have been. And I will say as I take a step back, we have the right formula here, the right owner, the right stadium in the right location, and this ought to be good for a long time.

Timmermann: The U.S. Open Cup is a big deal in 狐狸视频. Anything new?聽

Garber: You probably don't know this: I got heckled when I was walking past the supporter section.

The most difficult aspect of being in the soccer business globally is managing the calendar. Fans shouldn't have to understand that because that's not their job. It's our job to make the right decisions that sometimes are the tough decisions to ensure that we're managing that calendar, managing our player health and safety and building the value of our league on so many different levels. And globally, at some point, some things have to change in order to fit square pegs in round holes. ...

I've been on the U.S. Soccer board for a long time, and I understand the legacy value of the U.S. Open Cup, and I want to be sure that we can do what we can to continue to build it and get it right. But that path isn't linear. It might have to be a bit circular until we can get to a point that's going to make sense for every stakeholder, not just MLS, our players, our fans, the other leagues and all the other objectives we have to satisfy.

We are committed to the U.S. Open Cup. We will participate in it, and we are working with U.S. Soccer on the details of that. It's going to get finalized soon. And know that the league is going to make the right decision with all the input we've been taking in, including from our fans, from our technical folks, from our business folks and from U.S. Soccer.

Timmermann: Fans have been boycotting Leagues Cup because of it.聽

Garber: Listen, fans have every right to speak, and we should be listening to what our fans have to say. But there are a wide variety of factors that we have to consider, and we've got to continue to work closely with U.S. Soccer, to have an outcome that makes sense for everyone, including for our fans.

Timmermann: Doesn't Leagues Cup add to the congestion?

Garber: I don't think it's about U.S. Open Cup vs. Leagues Cup. Somehow it's been painted that way. I don't believe in that.

The situation really is all aspects of our schedule. It's the fact that we have to play 34 games. We have to play it in a weather and geographic and travel dynamic that no other league in the world has to contend with. We have FIFA breaks, and we have the CONCACAF Champions Cup. We have player call-ups that impact our schedule.

We have to ensure that we're building proper competition that over time we think could be valuable for our teams, including for our fans, and we have to find the right way to participate in the U.S. Open Cup.

Timmermann: What's next for the league? How do you build off Messi?

Garber: Next year, we'll have our 30th team in San Diego. That's got a lot of energy and a lot of momentum and will have us pause for a bit after that in terms of adding any new teams in the league.

We have the Club World Cup coming in this summer (2025) and the World Cup coming in the next summer (2026), which will impact our schedule. It will impact the way we're thinking about how to manage a schedule dynamic in the next two summers.

We've got to continue to build on our partnership and relationship with Apple.

We have to work very closely with our clubs to give them the support and tools to be able to grow their fan base, and we鈥檝e got to find ways that we're growing our revenues so that we can continue to support all the things that our teams and our players and our fans expect.

We have a new stadium in New York City coming in 鈥�27 and a new stadium in Miami coming in the next couple years. I mean, there is nothing but opportunity and momentum over the next couple years.

Timmermann: Speaking of crowded schedules, any thought to a Central Division, so City SC could play more Midwestern teams on a regular basis instead of making seven trips to the West Coast?

We have to think about what a new format could look right now that we have an equal number of teams. I can't comment about what that's going to look like, but we have to be sure we look at every aspect of what a different competitive format might look like.

It鈥檚 all over but the mathematics.

The numbers may say it鈥檚 still possible for 狐狸视频 City SC to make the playoffs this season, but the reality is its 3-1 loss to Minnesota on Saturday night at CityPark pretty much killed off City SC鈥檚 already remote playoff chances. With an opportunity to pull within five points of the ninth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, City SC鈥檚 loss left it 11 points back with just five games to play, while Minnesota has six left.

鈥淭his hurts,鈥� said right back Jake Nerwinski. 鈥淭his hurts a lot.鈥�

One of the reasons it hurts is that, like so much of City SC鈥檚 season, the team showed promise at the start and then took a sour turn and couldn鈥檛 recover. A bad pass by Eduard Lowen turned into the tying goal, a defensive mix-up led to the fall-behind goal and a VAR-reviewed handball produced the penalty-kick goal that sealed it for Minnesota.

Meanwhile, after going ahead 1-0 in the fourth minute, City SC, with Klauss back in the starting lineup, had some chances to extend the lead that would have changed the complexion of the game but didn鈥檛. In six of City SC鈥檚 past seven games, including Leagues Cup, it has scored first, and it has won only two of those games.

鈥淒isappointed,鈥� interim coach John Hackworth said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear in that locker room, we鈥檙e all feeling that disappointment. We believe that we could come into this game and not only win the game but put on a really good performance, and for a lot of crazy reasons that happened in the game, some things didn鈥檛 happen for us, and we lost the soccer game.鈥�

City SC鈥檚 predicament is now this: Even if it wins its five remaining games, all Minnesota needs from its last six games is a win and a tie, and that seals it. And even if somehow Minnesota couldn鈥檛 muster that, Austin and Dallas each would have to win no more than two games of their final six. Even Hackworth, who often refers to himself as 鈥淧ositive Pete,鈥� wasn鈥檛 going there on Saturday. The official end could come as early as next Saturday.

City SC also played the decisive second half without two of its key defensive players, center back Henry Kessler and defensive midfielder Chris Durkin. Durkin鈥檚 knee bothered him for most of the first half, and in first-half stoppage time, he couldn鈥檛 go any longer and was down on the field with a concerned look on his face. He eventually walked off the field and reentered the game for the final few minutes of the half but didn鈥檛 do much. He didn鈥檛 return in the second half. Kessler took a knock to the head in the first half but, after clearing the concussion protocol, went back into it during halftime and couldn鈥檛 return.

That led to a scrambled defense 鈥� Jannes Horn moved from left back to center back and Jayden Reid came into the game, while Jake Girdwood-Reich replaced Durkin. The back line of Reid, Horn, Kyle Hiebert and Nerwinski was not one that has been together much, even in training, and that lack of familiarity could have been a factor when Minnesota took the lead in the 52nd minute.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to change that in-game,鈥� Nerwinski said. 鈥淚 know guys obviously did the best they could. I think the guys that came in did well. It just messed with us a little bit, I think.鈥�

It all started so well. Cedric Teuchert scored four minutes in after a pass from Nerwinski to Simon Becher in the box led to the ball dropping perfectly for Teuchert, who one-timed it in for his third goal in four games. It was everything City SC could have asked for: coming out attacking, getting an early goal, putting the opponent on its heels.

But in the 23rd minute, Lowen tried to change the point of attack from the left side, but his pass was blocked almost immediately after leaving his foot by Bongokuhle Hlongwane. He got the ball to Kelvin Yeboah, who dribbled down the middle of the field to the top of the arc and took a shot that goalkeeper Roman Burki could only parry away. But Hlongwane had kept his run going and was first to the rebound, putting it past the sprawled Burki from about 6 yards.

That goal dampened the mood in the locker room at the half. It鈥檚 not the first time City SC has gone into the half feeling it had played better than the score indicated.

鈥淚 think we controlled the game in every situation,鈥� Teuchert said. 鈥淚 think they had no chance to make it 1-1. A mistake from Edu, but mistakes happen in the game, so it鈥檚 no problem, but I think we have to come out of the of the locker better. And I think Minnesota was beatable. It鈥檚 not a good feeling.鈥�

With the scrambled back line, Minnesota attacked to start the second half. A long ball out of the back found Yeboah, challenged by Horn. Yeboah got around Horn and then avoided Horn鈥檚 slide-tackle attempt to stop the play. Yeboah came in on Burki and then passed to Hlongwane making a run toward the net, but the ball never got there. Reid slid in to break up the play but knocked the ball into his own net for an own goal.

鈥淚 think (Horn) tried to take a foul,鈥� Hackworth said. 鈥淚 wish he would have taken more of a foul, and then we would have given up a restart and maybe given up a yellow card, but that would have been it. Now we鈥檙e scrambling. ... So just one of those things, very unlucky on our part, and we have to own it.鈥�

Now the situation had gone from bad to worse. One of the fears for City SC was that if it needed to play catch-up, it would leave itself exposed in the back. In the 58th minute, a ball played by Minnesota into the City SC box was cleared away by Hiebert and Teuchert, but video referee Ismail Elfath saw what referee Marcus DeOliveira had missed, that the ball had been headed by Michael Boxall off the arm of Hiebert.

It didn鈥檛 look all that different from the handball that wasn鈥檛 called against Hiebert the week before in New England, but this time, when the referee was told to give it a second look, he changed his mind and awarded Minnesota a penalty kick. DeOliveira said in a pool report that Hiebert鈥檚 right arm was above his shoulder when it touched the ball, and he had made himself unnaturally bigger. Yeboah converted the PK to make it 3-1 in the 62nd minute and pretty much settle things.

鈥淚 think them getting that second goal was a bit deflating for us,鈥� Nerwinski said. 鈥淲e wanted to come out on the front foot those first 15 minutes, and unfortunately, we didn鈥檛. I think 2-1 it鈥檚 still manageable to come back into, and then we get some kind of handball call again. And I think that deflated us even more.鈥�

City SC almost had a chance to close the gap when Klauss was fouled outside the box in the 67th minute, though he protested that he had been fouled in the box. Elfath again told DeOliveira to take another look, but this time, the referee stayed with original call, saying in a pool report that there was no evidence that the foul against Klauss had continued inside the box.

Lowen took the free kick from just outside the box, but it was blocked and quickly cleared.

That was pretty much it.

City SC needed three goals to get the win it desperately needed, and that wasn鈥檛 happening.

鈥淚 think it was a really bad day for us,鈥� Teuchert said, 鈥渂ut we have to keep going. Have to work hard every day, and I think we have to work hard every day for next season. But I think today was a really hard day.鈥�

狐狸视频 City SC

No denying it for City SC: Win Saturday against Minnesota United or playoff hopes are gone

• Tom Timmermann

狐狸视频 City SC

Klauss is back, ready to do what he can to help 狐狸视频 City SC's desperate playoff push

• Tom Timmermann

The end is at hand for 狐狸视频 City SC and its 2024 playoff hopes.

City SC lost to Minnesota United 3-1 on Saturday night at CityPark, and while five games remain in City SC鈥檚 season, the loss dropped City SC 11 points back of Minnesota, which holds the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. City SC's hopes were pretty long to begin with, and while the math says it鈥檚 still possible, the reality is Minnesota needs just a win and a tie from its final six games to lock out City SC, even if it won its remaining games. And there are two other teams in between, Austin and Dallas, that would have to have an equally bad finish as Minnesota. So this loss pretty much ends it.

It was another game where City SC couldn鈥檛 hold on to a lead and it ran afoul of the VAR twice, both times with calls going against City SC, once on the goal that made it 3-1 and another on a chance that could have made it 3-2. Cedric Teuchert scored for City SC early on, but City SC was blanked the rest of the way and left itself exposed in the latter stages of the game as it desperately pushed for the goals it needed to keep its season alive.

The loss snapped City SC's four-game MLS unbeaten streak. City SC will go on the road next week to face San Jose, looking for its first road win of the season.

It鈥檚 a sharp contrast to last season, when City SC won the Western Conference in the regular season as an expansion team.

City SC did what it needed to do, taking a lead in the fifth minute. After a long buildup, Jake Nerwinski, making his third straight start, played a ball into the box for Simon Becher, who was sandwiched between two Minnesota defenders. Becher went down, but the ball fell to Teuchert, who one-timed it home from about 15 yards to put City SC up 1-0. For Teuchert, it was his third goal in four games and his fifth overall.

In a break from previous games, City SC didn鈥檛 give up a goal immediately afterward, though Minnesota had a lot of time in City SC鈥檚 end, and Roman Burki was challenged a couple of times. Eventually, Minnesota broke through. A bad pass by Eduard Lowen was stolen by Bongokuhle Hlongwane, which started a quick counter that finished with Hlongwane putting in the rebound of a shot that Burki couldn鈥檛 hold on to.

Chris Durkin went down holding his right knee just before halftime and was subbed out for Jake Girdwood-Reich, and with City SC needing to win the game, interim coach John Hackworth took center back Henry Kessler out of the game, moved Jannes Horn from left back to center back and put in the more attack-minded Jayden Reid at left back.

Seven minutes into the second half, City SC鈥檚 worst fear happened: It fell behind. Kelvin Yeboah used his speed to get around Horn and cross the ball to Hlongwane who would have had an easy tap in but Reid got to it first and deflected the ball into his own net to put Minnesota up 2-1.

That meant City SC would have to score twice in the final 45 minutes to keep its season alive, and the situation became worse in the 62nd minute when Kyle Hiebert tried to head a ball away in the box but Minnesota鈥檚 Michael Boxall won it and headed the ball down on to Hiebert鈥檚 elbow from a foot or so away. There was no call in real time, but at the next stoppage, referee Marcos DeOliveira was summoned to the monitor by VAR Ismail Elfath and ruled it a handball. Yeboah rolled the ball in to make it 3-1.

VAR got involved again in the 67th minute, when Klauss was fouled and tumbled into the box, but DeOliveira ruled it happened outside the box. Elfath had DeOliveira take another look at it, but after a long inspection, he stuck with his original call, giving City SC a free kick about a yard outside the box. Lowen鈥檚 free kick was blocked.

Photos: 狐狸视频 City SC can't hang on to early lead in 3-1 loss against Minnesota United FC

As 狐狸视频 City SC does its dance with the climax of its season, teetering on the brink of playoff elimination, there is one thing that has given hope to both team members and fans that there is a solution, a path to a happy ending.

It鈥檚 called Saturday.

Saturday is when City SC, eight points out of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with six games to play, plays the first of two games with the team in that last playoff spot, Minnesota United (7:30 p.m., Apple TV Season Pass), at CityPark. Win those two games and that鈥檚 six points made up just like that, no help required. After that, there would be just a two-point difference, which seems simple enough to deal with.

All of those hopes and dreams start with one thing: a win on Saturday. A loss would be fatal, a tie would most likely just prolong the agony.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no denying,鈥� said interim coach John Hackworth. 鈥淚f we want to give ourselves a chance to be still in the playoff hunt, this is, from our perspective, a must win. There鈥檚 no sense in sugarcoating it. There鈥檚 no sense in trying to BS anybody about it. If we want to have any chance of getting into the playoffs, you can鈥檛 lose a six-pointer to the team that鈥檚 currently eight in front. That dictates it. That鈥檚 where we are.鈥�

鈥淲e need wins,鈥� said center back Kyle Hiebert.

But in an example of the hurdles that wait ahead, a win by City SC does not assure that it will go from eight points out of a playoff spot to five. If Austin were to beat Toronto on Saturday and City SC wins, Austin would jump over Minnesota into ninth and then City SC would be six points back instead of five, and City SC doesn鈥檛 play Austin again. And then Minnesota, Austin and Dallas all play again Wednesday while City SC is off, giving those teams a chance to rebuild someone鈥檚 lead to eight or nine points before City SC puts on its gear again.

But winning both meetings with Minnesota 鈥� the other is on the final day of the season 鈥� is merely a subset of a bigger concern: the team鈥檚 next loss to anybody could end it.

鈥淲e have two games with (Minnesota) now,鈥� said right back Tomas Totland, who is hoping to break back into the starting lineup this week, 鈥渁nd yeah, we basically have to win both of them and probably the rest of the games this year. We can鈥檛 afford to tie anymore. I think we showed at New England that we鈥檝e come a long way offensively, and that we create a lot of chances. We just have to score goals and not let in those easy ones.鈥�

With the importance of the game clear, Hackworth upped the intensity of practice this week. The team wanted to improve its defense after allowing seven goals in the past three games, but some of that was work on holding on to possession, to play defense by keeping the ball away from the opponent.

鈥淜lauss came in for treatment on Monday,鈥� Hackworth said, 鈥渁nd I said, 鈥楰lauss, I鈥檓 gonna run the (crap) out of you in training.鈥� And he was like, 鈥極h man, no.鈥� And then after training, he鈥檚 like, 鈥榊ou weren鈥檛 lying, were you?鈥� And I said, 鈥楴o, I told you what was gonna happen.鈥� So it鈥檚 a credit to the work ethic that these guys have, and it鈥檚 nice as a coach when you can push guys and joke around with them in the training room about what is coming up and the expectation that I have on them and on the training field.鈥�

鈥淥h, my God, he wasn鈥檛 lying,鈥� Klauss said. 鈥淚t was very hard, but very good and very important for us.鈥�

City SC is unbeaten in its past four MLS games and, if you include Leagues Cup, has three wins and three ties in its past six games against MLS opponents. So City SC has gotten its game together. Now it needs wins.

Facing a must-win game changes the way Hackworth and the team have to approach the game. City SC has to score at least one goal, but also has to boost its defense. City SC hasn鈥檛 posted a shutout since July 3.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of different things that that come into it when you鈥檙e in this situation,鈥� Hackworth said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of different scenarios that you go through in your mind, that you think could happen in the game. If you just look at us and our past performances, we need to get better defensively. We need to make sure that we limit a very dangerous Minnesota team with their attacking players, and contain them as much as we possibly can, to put ourselves in a position where we can be successful in this game. And then as the game goes on, there鈥檚 a lot of situations that could arise and possibilities that we would have to change tactically, because we know that we have to go for the win. That鈥檚 going to open us up, that we鈥檙e going to have to take some risk if that鈥檚 the case late in the game, because there鈥檚 no point for us to play safe and play for a draw on this one.鈥�

Minnesota is not exactly a team on a tear. After starting the season 8-3-5 (W-L-T), it has gone 2-8-1, with both of the wins coming over league-worst San Jose. While it has won two of its past three games, prior to running into San Jose on its schedule Minnesota had gone 0-7-1.

As for City SC, it needs to translate its improved play into wins and stop adding to its total of 13 ties so far.

鈥淚 think the team is in a good way right now,鈥� said Klauss, who could be returning to the starting lineup. 鈥淲e are very confident. We know that the most important game in the season for us is right now. So we will need everybody. We will need all the players. We need our fans to be very loud in the stadium. Bring the same energy, everybody on the same page. And yeah, it鈥檚 a game that we have to win.鈥�

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