3 things we learned from NYCFC's late draw with St. Louis City SC

On Saturday night, New York City FC returned to Citi Field for the first time in 2026 to host St. Louis City SC.  The Boys in Blue wanted to win the match, and they almost did.  However, a late goal by the visitors led to the teams sharing the points in a 1-1 draw.

What makes the draw difficult to accept is that NYCFC played well for most of the fixture.  They dominated offensively until the end, but struggled to score more than one goal.  That lone goal was thanks to Hannes Wolf at the beginning of the second half, in which the winger’s quick feet and unique angle sent the ball into the back of the net.

And while St. Louis grew into the match, the Boys in Blue were strong defensively all the way until the final few minutes of stoppage time.  Unfortunately, they could not hold on to the win, for Brendan McSorley scored, shocking Citi Field and the players.

This was not a good draw based on how the result occurred.  Here are three things we learned from NYCFC’s game with St. Louis.

NYCFC must not repeat what they did in 2025

During the 2025 season, NYCFC won some games that were not expected, like both wins over FC Cincinnati.  There were also matches that they lost when they should have beaten their opponents on paper, like both meetings with CF Montréal.  Yes, they still did better than expected, but those losses stung.

While the Pigeons did not lose against St. Louis, the draw is similar to those losses.  The team should have won and had just a few more minutes of play to do so.  This could be one of those games that could make the difference between where NYCFC finishes in the Eastern Conference.  Losing two points is detrimental to the mission to do better in 2026.

It is vital that the Queens side does not repeat dropping points to teams they should not drop points to.  They also cannot give up late goals like they did on Saturday.  This is something Pascal Jansen must ensure as the season progresses.

Pascal Jansen should have made earlier substitutions

After NYCFC scored, the visitors slowly began to gain momentum, but it was very obvious very quickly.  St. Louis City grew into the match, and it would not have mattered if the Pigeons had scored more goals.  They were doing well defensively, but the risk was still there.

Hence, it was not a smart move on Jansen’s end to make his first substitutions in the 75th minute.  He should have made the changes about 10 to 15 minutes earlier.  Bringing on Jonathan Shore for Keaton Parks was a solid move, but it was an interesting choice to take over Tayvon Gray for Raul Gustavo.  The right-back might have had an off night going forward, but he was still doing well defensively. 

Arguably, the head coach should have taken Wolf off for Talles Magno.  Adding in stoppage time, the Brazilian only had about ten minutes of play, and added to the attack.  But he did not have enough time to make a difference.

Perhaps if NYCFC made changes in the 60th minute, especially if Magno came on at that time, then the Pigeons could have stopped St. Louis and at least kept them from becoming a threat.  This was a rare error by Jansen, and hopefully, this will not happen in the future.

Hannes Wolf still needs to be better for NYCFC

Wolf might have scored the lone goal for NYCFC, and it was nice to see.  The winger has to be better and more influential in the attack.  To be honest, even his goal was not enough to show that he deserves to start.

It is not to say that the forward is terrible; he is actually a solid player on the wings and does well in moving the ball up the pitch and impacting play.  But when one watches him, the passes and crosses are not good enough, and he has missed out on too many scoring chances.

That is why NYCFC needs to give someone else a chance, like Magno.  This discussion should happen soon, for Wolf’s lack of consistency could make or break a game.