St. Louis CITY SC turned a record chase into a rout on Sunday night, beating LA Galaxy 6-2 at Energizer Park and stretching its unbeaten run to 20 matches across all competitions. The win matched the MLS record set by Red Bull New York in 2016 and left St. Louis one result away from taking first place in the Western Conference.
Carlo Holse did the early damage, scoring a hat trick in the first 21 minutes to put the game out of reach before the first half was over. St. Louis scored five goals before halftime, and Rafael Navarro finished with two goals and two assists in a night that kept the pressure on LA from start to finish.
That is why the Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs St. Louis CITY SC standings search matters now. Vancouver go into Wednesday as the Western Conference leaders, and St. Louis can pass them with a win at Energizer Park at 8:30 pm ET. The timing gives the result immediate weight: a match that begins as a chance to extend a run could end with St. Louis in first place.
The wrinkle is that the record does not bring any reward by itself. St. Louis can tie the league mark and still be forced to do the harder thing three days later — turn it into a lead. The club also has one more major date hanging just beyond that, with Columbus waiting in the US Open Cup final one week after the Vancouver match.
For St. Louis, the next match is now bigger than the one it just won. The 20-game unbeaten stretch has already put the club in MLS history; Wednesday decides whether it becomes a share of the top spot in the Western Conference as well.
