最新杏吧原创

Here are five things to know about City SC鈥檚 showdown with Dallas:

The streak goes on

City SC is undefeated in its past 11 MLS games, its past 12 overall. With a win or a tie, City SC would push its unbeaten streak to 12 games, tying it for the fifth longest streak in the league in the past 10 seasons.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really motivated to keep on going,鈥� said center back Jaziel Orozco. 鈥淚n the beginning of the season, it was tough to get results, and now that you get them, it鈥檚 easier to go play. Now we鈥檙e believing ourselves more that we can beat anyone and compete against anyone, which is the most important thing. 鈥� Just watching the team compete 鈥� it鈥檚 just so good to see and now we鈥檙e just enjoying it.鈥�

鈥淥f course, I see progress,鈥� said coach Yoann Damet. 鈥淚 see guys understanding better what we're trying to do, but also evolving in the system, evolving in the game model, and it's good to see, but we know that it's step by step. Right now, just another day in our journey, and we need to keep focusing on what's ahead.鈥�

City SC has won six of its past eight games and with the 2-1 win over Houston last Saturday, it has 33 points this season in 21 games, more points than it had all of last season, when it finished with 32.

Holse ready?

Alex Matan made his first start with City SC on Saturday against Houston and the team鈥檚 other summer transfer window pickup, Carlo Holse may be ready to join him.

After playing 28 minutes against Houston 鈥� and 55 in the week 鈥� Holse has had a full week of training and could be ready to make his first start for the club.

鈥淗e's always been at the point where he could start,鈥� Damet said. 鈥淚t's a matter of discussing how everybody feels about him starting, how he feels, how physically he is, what we see with the plan as well. So yeah, he could potentially start this weekend.鈥�

The team could use more minutes from Holse. Palmer Ault, who has appeared in six straight games, was hurt in practice and is out, while Brendan McSorley has resumed training but isn鈥檛 back yet. Tomas Ostrak left practice early on Monday and didn鈥檛 practice on Thursday, putting his status in doubt.

The Musa challenge

Petar Musa leads MLS in goals with 16 in 21 games and in five career games against City SC, he has three goals and an assist. Fifteen of his 16 goals have come from inside the penalty area; 14 of them have come in open play.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a matter focus to be really locked in and knowing and studying the opposition pretty well,鈥� Orozco said. 鈥淢usa is a great player, great goal scorer, and we know what we鈥檙e going up against. Just stay tight with him, be fully concentrated on transitions and we know that he鈥檚 a full threat, but hopefully we get ready for it.鈥�

Lay of the land

Dallas and City SC come into the game with identical records of 9-6-6 (Dallas鈥� goal difference is +4, which City SC鈥檚 is +3) and Dallas is coming off a 5-0 loss to Vancouver last Saturday. Dallas, City SC and San Jose all went into the weekend with 33 points. City SC is also tied for eighth overall in the league. The teams met earlier this year in Frisco, Texas, and played to a 1-1 tie.

Lowen lands in San Jose

Eduard Lowen met with San Jose media on Thursday and was asked about the healing process after his wife died.

鈥淚t is helpful for me being rooted in community,鈥� he said 鈥淚 think when you go through something that, it's very very dangerous. There's definitely something inside of you that wants to isolate, but I think that is a very difficult and dangerous path. I just continued to be rooted in a community. When you show up every day, you have teammates around you. I had that in 最新杏吧原创. I had a community that was absolutely amazing. They took care of me, they loved me 鈥� cared for me. Then you have teammates around you that are caring for you, and so many other people. I think it's a game-changer, and I'm very thankful for all those people. I hope I can find that also here in San Jose.鈥�

Said Damet, who held off comment until the deal was official: 鈥淔irst thing I can say is, I said that to him directly, and the group did as well, is how thankful we are for Edu and his contribution to the club. He鈥檚 someone that has touched many people within the club and outside the club, for what he鈥檚 done on the pitch, but also off the pitch. We're all really grateful for having been able to work with him, and we're wishing nothing but the best for his next journey.

鈥淭hat being said, for us as a group, it's about focusing on the people that are there, our journey together, and the next game to prepare. So, we've got a group that understands that sport is like that, life is like that. People move on, people take different directions. It's part of the game. It's gonna keep happening. Guys come, guys leave. It's part of the sport, and at the same time, right now, we've got a collective goal for the season. We know where we're going, what we want to do, and right now, that keeps all our focus for training and for the game.鈥�

At Saturday鈥檚 home game, some fans even聽 about team president Diego Gigliani.

City SC is unbeaten in its past 11 Major League Soccer matches, but the team sold top player Marcel Hartel to a German club and then traded the best non-goalie in club history, Eduard Lowen, to San Jose, a move that still had still not been made official as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Hartel transfer to Hannover 96, a second-division German team, was announced by City SC on Aug. 11. Finally, 14 days later, City SC sporting director Corey Wray did his first interview about Hartel聽鈥� with me and Post-Dispatch colleague Tom Timmermann.

The reported transfer fee for Hartel was around $1 million, which is low for a player as successful as Hartel has been this year. Some fans screamed on X that 最新杏吧原创 sold Hartel for 鈥減ennies on the dollar.鈥� During the deal, Wray found himself in a delicate situation聽鈥� City had 鈥渘o desire鈥� to move Hartel, Wray said, but the player requested a move to his home country for a personal family reason.

鈥淪o,鈥� Wray said, 鈥渨hile he does have value all over the place 鈥� especially in our league, and I could have received that value if we had to trade them or sell them聽鈥� there was constraints on that from the human side, and that puts you in a pretty tough place.鈥�

From his office overlooking the City SC practice fields, Wray discussed how it was difficult to get full value for Hartel in this scenario but that the move still ended up being a 鈥済ood deal.鈥�

鈥淪o ultimately,鈥� Wray said, 鈥渂ecause there's a transfer fee that's lower than what people expected, there's still money in the deal that is being received back from us. So the value of the deal when we calculate all of that from the player's salary that he gives up, and what we negotiate out, what we can do with the agents聽鈥� and I鈥檓 speaking in my opinion聽鈥� was a good deal. But unknown to anyone else, right? So that makes it difficult, and it's the same in our league.

鈥淪ometimes you see a value of a transfer or a trade and you say, 鈥楬ey, that seems low.鈥� But remember, there's salary that has to be made up on the cap. So sometimes you see certain players who are maybe less good than a player you like as a fan receiving a deal that's worth more, and that's contract length, their locked-in salary. So a cheap player on $100,000 might command, like, a million-dollar transfer. Expensive players rarely move for a lot of money because it's almost like a double hit.鈥�

Hartel had six goals and four assists this season for 最新杏吧原创. He was making $2.4 million, a bit less than goalie Roman Burki. And his transfer opened up a designated player spot for City. As for the move of Hartel to accommodate his wishes, 鈥淵ou have to find a way to have two parties (pleased),鈥� Wray said. 鈥淎nd so the transfer of Marcel (and) with any other transfers of players who are on larger contracts, it's very rare that: someone's going to give you the value, they're going to be able to earn all the money they want, everyone's going to get paid what they want, and we're going to be all happy.

鈥淭here's clearly a calculation that has to go into it. So sometimes the money's in the transfer when you're in full control of the contract and they're on a good term. Sometimes it's on the money that you get back, which people don't necessarily know about that. But to us, it's all one pool. So we could have taken $4 million in transfer fees, but the player is not going to be able to receive the salary he wants to be able to make it all make sense for him.

鈥淪o that's the stuff that fans don't see but that we're dealing with and working with, and ultimately, we're not going to let someone just go for a bad total pool of value, but what's represented in the public is only the transfer fee.鈥�

To me, immediately communicating with fans about a controversial move could鈥檝e, at least, provided context. And would鈥檝e shown the fans that the team is taking them into consideration. If the Cardinals or Blues had moved their best player, it wouldn鈥檛 have taken 14 days to hear from the top executives.

So I had to ask. Why couldn鈥檛 Wray have shared all that weeks ago, when the deal first happened?

鈥淭here's nothing really to share,鈥� Wray said. 鈥淵eah, the player made the decision that they had to go now. This is obviously a personal matter. Then it's about the negotiation, but I can't explain the transfer fee or lack of transfer fee, other than you need to understand there's many parties at the table and everybody has to net out in a good way.鈥�

As for the Lowen deal, it triggers fan emotions for numerous reasons. He was an instant star on the inaugural team, a beloved player and, tragically, endured the death of his wife in March. But the move was a business decision. It made sense to me. Lowen wanted a long-term contract聽鈥� City, it seems, didn鈥檛 want to make Lowen, 29, a designated player. His contract was up at the end of the year. And similar to a Cardinals deal at the trade deadline, City decided to move Lowen to at least get something for him (in the form of money). It appears Lowen will get what he desires from San Jose.

The moves have been made. To paraphrase the old Calvin Coolidge quote: The business of City SC is business. Wray repeatedly said he鈥檚 building something sustainable for the long term. In many ways, he sounds like his Cards counterpart Chaim Bloom.聽

In the short-term, two fan favorites no longer play for City. But City continues to play brilliant soccer out there.聽

鈥淒efinitely tough,鈥� Wray told the Post-Dispatch.

Lowen leaves as the club鈥檚 all-time leader in goal contributions, with 20 goals and 27 assists in the regular season, and his skills on corner kicks and free kicks made him the rare player on the team who could summon a goal chance all by himself. He was also active in the community, making appearances on behalf of the club until shortly before his transfer.

鈥淔rom the moment I arrived, this city and club welcomed me and my family with open arms,鈥� Lowen said, via the club. 鈥淚鈥檝e had the privilege of experiencing some unforgettable moments here 鈥� moments I鈥檒l carry with me for the rest of my life. I want to thank the owners for the opportunity to represent this club and their constant support, as well as my teammates, coaches, and every staff member behind the scenes. And most importantly, to the fans 鈥� thank you for your incredible support and love for me. 最新杏吧原创 will always be an important part of my story and I wish the club nothing but the best. Thank you for everything, 最新杏吧原创!鈥�

And while Wray realizes the important place Lowen holds in the club鈥檚 past and present 鈥� 鈥淓du has meant a lot to this club and to the people of 最新杏吧原创. 鈥� Edu is beloved by everyone around the club and has earned the respect of our supporters and so many others around the world through his character, strength and resilience,鈥� he said聽鈥� he also knows the bigger challenge is the future.

Soccer may be called jogo bonito, 鈥渢he beautiful game,鈥� but it鈥檚 also a business and, at times, a particularly unforgiving one. Lowen was the third-oldest field player on the team, behind center backs Lukas MacNaughton and Timo Baumgartl, and will be 30 at the start of next season. He started the season as the fourth-highest-paid player on the team at $1.444 million and, with the departure of Marcel Hartel and Cedric Teuchert and the arrival of Carlo Holse, was third at the time of his trade.

But for Lowen to get a raise, it would likely require him to be a designated player, which would prevent the club from being able to use that to bring in the big goal-scorer the team has been so far unsuccessful in acquiring. With Lowen in the final year of his contract, this was the time to move him and get the best possible return. City SC will get $425,000 of general allocation money and $500,000 of general allocation money in add-ons from San Jose if performance metrics are achieved.

As Wray continues the process of turning the club around, it became harder to fit Lowen into the team鈥檚 salary structure at a price that worked for both sides. Under new coach Yoann Damet, Lowen was used more as an attacking midfielder rather than as the box-to-box central midfielder he had been when he was the engine of the team鈥檚 attack over its first three seasons.

鈥淥bviously, went through the worst part of it with him,鈥� Wray told the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淲as at the funeral, tried our best to support the guy as much as possible. But ultimately, we're still in a building phase of the team, and we're trying to align many different pieces of the team as much as possible. And (Lowen) coming back from the whole situation and wanting clarity, our timelines were not matched exactly, and so then we have to figure out what makes the most sense while working with the player, while working with the head coach on what's best for the club and making a decision for what's best for everybody. We thought this was what's best for us.鈥�

鈥淚 can tell you, Edu is very excited about the opportunity as well. And so for us, it鈥檚 difficult because of the history, but we're ultimately trying to move forward with what we're doing with this project, and if the player is not necessarily guaranteed the things that you would like as far as the team 鈥� or potentially contract status or whatever 鈥� then we have to do what's best. 鈥� I'm not disregarding the emotional attachment of the fans, but we're really trying to create structure and squad balance and profile balance that makes sense for us, not just for this year but also for the future. But working with the player to do that as best as we can is also something that we felt like was important and just landed in the right place, I think, for all parties.鈥�

The move comes at an awkward time for the team, as it has an 11-game unbeaten streak in league play, the longest in club history and one of the longest in MLS over the past 10 seasons. The club is contending for a playoff spot, something that it was thought might take a season to approach as Wray and Damet made over the team. The league鈥檚 summer transfer window has also been marked by the departure of the team鈥檚 best field player, Hartel, whose departure was necessitated with the player expressing a need to return to Germany for personal reasons and not something Wray would have done otherwise. With a week to go in the transfer window, Holse and Alex Matan are the main new faces, along with some signings of young players to bolster the club鈥檚 development system, but the fanbase has been hoping for more.

鈥淚 guess,鈥� Wray said, 鈥渢he question is: Would you rather just be good right now and then be bad again in the next couple years because we have a lot of constraints or a limited amount of flexibility? I want to be a consistent contender for the next five years, and these are the types of moves you need to do to advance that. And so, without any disrespect to any of the guys who have left, these are players approaching their twilight years, being replaced by players in their prime. And if I'm talking about a plan that we're supposed to be good for the next five years, ultimately that makes a bit more sense in my head, despite the immediate production people see that these players are doing. I would rather advance the long-term vision to make sure we're good like this every single year and have a core group of players that are getting better every year than potentially not.鈥�

The transfer window isn鈥檛 closed, so Wray still has time to bring in a player, like the goal-scoring forward that has long been at the top of his list.

鈥淲e're trying to add as much as we can,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome things are in our control, some things out. But ultimately, like the discipline for the fans to know, we don't want to ruin this positive progress that we made just because now we think we got to risk it all tomorrow. That's the hardest part for me and the coach is making sure that we don't mess up this build in a way that's going to hurt us in the future. So if we find the right one, we have support and ambition from ownership. We have alignment on the positional needs and targets from the coaching staff, but it takes two, sometimes three people to tango in these things with agents and outside forces.

鈥淏ut certainly, doing well and being competitive and being in the (Open) Cup semifinals has been an easier conversation for us than maybe at the start of the year when you ask people to just trust we're going to be competitive. Now we are, so it definitely helps.鈥�

Call it the curious case of Simon Becher. Now, again, good news: He鈥檚 netting the ball a lot lately. Thanks to his scorching score in the win against Houston, City SC鈥檚 Becher has three goals in the past three games (and four in the past six). And with that win against Houston聽鈥� No. 1 in the Western Conference at the time聽鈥� 最新杏吧原创 remained unbeaten in the past 11 MLS matches.

But goodness gracious, the data says Simon should have more goals. So does the eye test. And the groans of numerous supporters in City Red over the past couple of years.

Simon, 最新杏吧原创 says: Score!

For the year, Becher has five goals and five assists for City, which sits in a three-way tie for fourth in the West (particularly impressive considering last year City was ranked routinely in the teens). But his expected goals is 9.41聽鈥� 15th-highest in MLS. Expected goals (or xG) is the amount of goals a guy should have scored, according to data that analyzes every scoring chance in every game (or as colleague Tom Timmermann explained it: xG is the accumulation of the times a fan goes 鈥淥OOOOH!鈥� right before someone shoots).

Morsels of xG are earned by a player, depending on how good his scoring opportunity is. Becher, famously around these parts, often gets himself in great positions to score and 鈥� doesn鈥檛. Sure, he鈥檒l hit a post. Or an opposing goalie will suddenly make a save like he鈥檚 City鈥檚 Roman Burki. But other times, Becher will just shank it.

No player in MLS has a worse 鈥済oals minus expected goals鈥� than Becher in 2026.

And there鈥檚 another stat called xPlace. It shows the difference between post-shot and pre-shot xG models. Simon is second-worst (-3.60) to New England鈥檚 Dor Turgeman (-3.77), whom the Boston Benjamin Hochman surely calls Dor 鈥淐an鈥檛 Score鈥� Turgeman.

Last season, Becher scored only three goals. His expected goals was 7.6!

鈥淲ithin the lines, xG doesn't really mean anything聽鈥� and I think everything happens for me in between the lines,鈥� the striker Becher said Tuesday after training. 鈥淪o, you know, whatever numbers a computer or people or statisticians can spit out, it doesn't really affect me in a sense. 鈥� I'm sure it has some use. I don't know what goes into it. For me, it doesn't really concern how I play.

鈥淚鈥檝e worked a lot on focusing on the details of my game, holding up play, connecting. Being more vertical, spreading. You know, stretching defenses, getting in the box and always trying to finish. 鈥� Like, I don't know what my xG is, I don't know what it is compared to my goals聽鈥� and I don't really care. People can talk about it, and they're entitled to that, but it's not going to help me be a better player at all.鈥�

As City SC continues to tinker with its lineup in efforts to fit the style of blossoming coach Yoann Damet, Eduard Lowen and Marcel Hartel are out聽鈥� and Carlo Holse and Alex Matan are in. It鈥檚 possible City makes even more moves by the Sept. 2 end to the current transfer window. The team is maximizing a playing style. And the best news is Becher might be benefiting from it the most聽鈥� lately, anyway.

鈥淲e spend a lot of time and effort and energy into their individual development as much as the team development,鈥� Damet said Tuesday. 鈥淪o I think guys have made massive jumps from the start of the year聽鈥� he is also one of them. At the end of the day, guys have a lot of qualities that they need to see and believe in. But at the same time, their hard work since January has been has been paying off lately.鈥�

I was interested in what Damet, the first-year coach, saw on film from Becher regarding ability and potential.

鈥淟isten, he's always been a hardworking forward, creating chances, being in and around the box, able to run in behind but also holding up the ball,鈥� the coach said. 鈥淪o I think he's got different attributes that fit really well what we're trying to do. And I was excited to work with him as much as I was excited to work with the rest of the group. And I'm happy today. Like, he gets a reward with like with the goal this weekend again. And like I said, those guys 鈥� they're really committed to be better every single day. I think it's shown.鈥�

This City SC run has just been so much fun. City plays with a style of high-pressing, a la the coach Bradley Carnell days, and is also a team that Becher said can 鈥渟uffocate teams, keep the ball high, be patient, move teams around.鈥�

Each game features a new standout, it seems. The boys just win and win (and tie and tie). Of course, there has been much consternation about the lack of communication between the club and its fans. But the club sure seems to be onto something with its moves.

If only Becher could score more?