St. Louis CITY SC walks into Wednesday night with a streak that has already matched MLS history and a chance to make it longer. Vancouver Whitecaps FC visits Energizer Park at 7:30 p.m. CT, with CITY carrying a 20-match unbeaten run across all competitions and the top spot in the Western Conference in sight.
The reason Carlo Holse is part of the conversation is what he did Sunday night. The Designated Player scored three times in the opening 21 minutes of a 6-2 win over the LA Galaxy at Energizer Park, a burst that brought his first career MLS hat trick and made him the second player in CITY SC history to post a regular-season hat trick. He was later named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA for Matchday 29 of the 2026 season, while Rafael Navarro added two goals and two assists, Chris Durkin had two assists and Lukas MacNaughton also scored.
That Sunday result was the kind that explains why Wednesday matters now. CITY SC has four representatives in MLS's Team of the Matchday after the win, with Holse, Navarro and Durkin recognized and Yoann Damet named Coach of the Matchday. Holse's 21-minute hat trick was also the second-fastest from the start of a match in MLS history, and his six goals and two assists in 477 regular-season minutes since joining CITY during the summer have turned a short stay into a direct factor in the race at the top of the conference.
What keeps the unbeaten run from becoming a clean headline, though, is the number it has already matched. The 20-match streak ties the MLS record set by the New York Red Bulls in 2016, so Wednesday is not just another test of form. It is the game that decides whether CITY SC moves alone into record territory or leaves Energizer Park still sharing it.
The margin for that answer is as simple as the calendar. Kickoff comes Wednesday night on Apple TV, and the first 10,000 fans through the gates will get a Petey Bobblehead courtesy of Purina as Soccer For All Night adds another layer to a match that already carries the weight of the Western Conference race. By the end of the night, CITY SC will either own the record outright or remain tied to it, and that makes Vancouver the most important opponent on the schedule right now.
