St. Louis City ties Vancouver, sets MLS unbeaten record at 21 games
The club also clinched a playoff berth and is now 13-0-6 in its last 19 regular-season matches.
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis City SC extended its unbeaten streak in all competitions to a Major League Soccer-record 21 consecutive games with a 0-0 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night.
The club also clinched a berth in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs with the result. St. Louis (14-6-9) broke the previous mark of 20 games set by the New York Red Bulls in 2016.
“It’s a good box to check, but job’s not done,” Vancouver forward Emmanuel Sabbi had said before the match.
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St. Louis is now unbeaten in 19 straight regular-season games, tying the MLS record held by Columbus, Dallas and Inter Miami. The club is 13-0-6 in its last 19 league matches.
Roman Bürki made three saves for his fourth shutout of the season for St. Louis. Yohei Takaoka also had three saves for Vancouver, recording his 13th clean sheet to tie for the MLS lead.
Vancouver (15-7-7) leads the Western Conference with 52 points, one ahead of St. Louis.
St. Louis lost midfielder Conrad Wallem in the 40th minute after a head-to-head collision with Vancouver's Tate Johnson. The hosts also appeared to lose Chris Durkin to a head injury late in the match.
The Whitecaps were missing several key players, including midfielder Thomas Muller and defender Tristan Blackmon, who was suspended after a red card in their previous game.
St. Louis's streak includes a 3-1 victory over Vancouver at BC Place on Sept. 5.
“They kind of took over after we had the early goal,” Sabbi said of that loss. “They started playing their game and we didn’t meet the standard that we normally give.”
Vancouver heads into the matchup sitting first in the MLS Western Conference standings.
Locking up the top spot over the final games of the regular season is forefront in players’ minds, Sabbi said.
“We know it was a battle for us last year. We didn’t clinch that, and it became difficult for us to go away and come out with wins,” he said. “We know we can do it, but it’s better if we get that first spot, so we know it’s home field advantage.”
St. Louis coach Yoann Damet's attack has been bolstered by midseason additions Rafael Navarro and Carlo Holse. Since the club’s last defeat, to Austin FC on May 2, St. Louis has averaged over two goals a game in league play.
Vancouver's players knew they were in for a “tough game” in St. Louis, midfielder Andres Cubas said before the match.
“But I think we are also a good team,” he said. “We prepare well for this game. We know we have to do something else than what we did the last time we played with them.”
St. Louis has one more match before facing the Columbus Crew next Wednesday for the U.S. Open Cup title, playing at Minnesota United this Saturday.
With files from Sportsnet, The Globe and Mail and The New York Times