New York City FC will have an empty feeling after a 96th minute goal from St. Louis SC substitute Brendan McSorley forces a draw at Citi Field on Saturday night. The game saw City with a majority of the chances and controlled the game in almost every aspect except for the final scoreline.
Coming into the game, NYC was looking to regain their early season momentum after dropping their first loss of the season to Inter Miami two weeks prior. St. Louis, on the other hand, had won their first game of 2026 with a 3-1 win over New England Revolution. Still, City entered the game as heavy favorites given their ability to score and their stout defense. All of this was on display in the first half as the home team peppered goalkeeper Roman Burki and looked poised to dominate the game.
To St. Louis’ credit, their strategy of bunkering and looking for moments on the counter attack did prove effective. While none of their first half chances were incredibly deadly, they showed that a lack of focus could force a mistake. NYCFC was composed during these moments and quick on the ball when in transition as well.
The game’s first goal came in the 51st minute when veteran Maxi Moralez found Hannes Wolf for NYC’s opening salvo. From there the field felt slanted towards the St. Louis keeper as the blue side of New York continued their onslaught. The few moments that St. Louis did find were marked by a lack of sharpness, leading to urgency late in the contest.
Eventually City did make the ultimate mistake in the 96th minute. A ball crossed into the box from Lukas MacNaughton found the foot of substitute McSorley for the deciding effort in the game. The away side grabbed a point in an unlikely scenario, frustrating NYC and continuing a trend of unpredictability in MLS.
City will now have to travel to face Western Conference champions Vancouver Whitecaps next weekend, kicking off a busy week that will also see them play midweek against Westchester SC. While the team continues to show strong signs in possession and chance creation, their ability to finish those chances will be brought into question heading into next week’s clash.
STARTING XI:
New York City FC: Freese; Gray (75′ Gustavo), Martins, Trewin, O’Toole, O’Neill (88′ Cavallo), Moralez, Parks (75′ Shore), Ojeda (88′ Magno), Fernandez, Wolf
St. Louis SC: Burki; Orozco, Baumgartl, Polvara, Wallem, Durkin (65′ Perez), Edelman (71′ MacNaughton), Santos (79′ Joyner), Becher (80′ McSorley), Cordova (71′ Teuchert), Hartel
SCORING SUMMARY:
51′ (New York City FC) Hannes Wolf (2) assisted by Maxi Moralez
90′ (St. Louis FC) Brendan McSorley (1) assisted by Lukas MacNaughton & Conrad Wallem
DISCIPLINE:
43′ (St. Louis SC) Daniel Edelman – YELLOW CARD
56′ (St. Louis SC) Jaziel Orozco – YELLOW CARD
58′ (New York City FC) Hannes Wolf – YELLOW CARD
61′ (St. Louis SC) Dante Polvara – YELLOW CARD
photo from NYCFC