Match Report | St. Louis CITY SC Begins 2026 MLS Regular Season Earning a Point against Charlotte FC at Energizer Park

St. Louis CITY SC opened the 2026 season at Energizer Park with a 1-1 draw against Eastern Conference opponents Charlotte FC on Saturday afternoon. In first half action, CITY SC outshot Charlotte 10 to three but it took the second half to end the deadlock, as Marcel Hartel scored his first goal of the season and the first of the 2026 MLS regular season. Both Simon Becher and Daniel Edelman earned their first assists of the year. The Crown followed up with the tying goal 13 minutes later from Pep Biel. CITY SC remains undefeated in home and season openers, with a record of 1-3-0. St. Louis will head to San Diego FC on Sunday, March 1 with kickoff slated for 8:15 p.m. CT on Sunday Night Soccer on Apple TV and FS1.  

Postgame Notes 

• Marcel Hartel scored his first goal of the season for CITY SC 

• Hartel’s goal was the first of the season in the 2026 MLS regular season 

• Hartel has scored five goals in his last six regular season matches 

• Simon Becher earned his first assist of the year and fourth of his MLS career 

• In his debut with St. Louis, Daniel Edelman picked up his first assist of the season and third of his MLS career 

• Rafael Santos and Lukas MacNaughton also made their CITY SC debuts 

• Dante Polvara made his MLS debut with the start this afternoon 

• Roman Bürki played in his 100th career game with St. Louis CITY SC across all competitions 

• Bürki is the first player in club history to hit the 100-match mark 

• CITY SC remains undefeated in home openers, moving to a 1-3-0 record in those contests 

February 21, 2026 – Energizer Park (St. Louis, MO)  

Goal-Scoring Plays 

STL: Marcel Hartel (Simon Becher, Daniel Edelman), 60th minute – Marcel Hartel scored with a right footed shot from the central position outside the box to the bottom left corner. 

CLT: Pep Biel (Wilfried Zaha, David Schnegg), 73rd minute – Pep Biel scored with a left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. 

Scoring Summary 

STL: Marcel Hartel (Simon Becher, Daniel Edelman), 60’ 

CLT: Pep Biel (Wilfried Zaha, David Schnegg), 73’ 

Misconduct Summary  

CLT: Andrew Privett (caution), 7’  

STL: Timo Baumgartl (caution), 40’ 

STL: Jaziel Orozco (caution), 67’ 

CLT: Wilfried Zaha (caution), 71’ 

Lineups  

STL: GK Roman Bürki ©; D Jaziel Orozco, D Timo Baumgartl, D Dante Polvara (Lukas MacNaughton, 84’); M Conrad Wallem, M Chris Durkin (Miguel Perez, 83’); M Daniel Edelman, M Sangbin Jeong (Brendan McSorley, 59’), M Marcel Hartel, M Rafael Santos (Tomas Totland, 90’+4); F Simon Becher (Cedric Teuchert, 90’+4) 

Substitutes not used: GK Ben Lundt, D Kyle Hiebert, M Célio Pompeu, F Mykhi Joyner 

TOTAL SHOTS: 22; SHOTS ON GOAL: 11; FOULS: 12; OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 2 

CLT: GK Kristijan Kahlina, D Harry Toffolo (David Schnegg, 69’), D Andrew Privett, D Tim Ream, D Nathan Byrne; M Pep Biel, M Luca De La Torre (Djibril Diani, 69’), M Ashley Westwood ©; F Wilfried Zaha, F Idan Toklomati (Tyger Smalls, 88’), F Liel Abada (Kerwin Vargas, 69’) 

Substitutes not used: GK Tyler Miller, D Jack Neeley, D Morrison Agyemang, M Brandt Bronico, F Archie Goodwin 

TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 9; OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 10 

Referee: Ismail Elfath 

Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Kyle Atkins, Fotis Bazakos 

VAR: Carol Anne Chenard 

AVAR: Tom Supple 

Venue: Energizer Park