Hartel Leads St. Louis CITY SC Into Austin Vs St. Louis Return
Marcel Hartel’s recent run and St. Louis CITY SC’s late-season form meet Austin FC in austin vs st. louis on Saturday at Energizer Park, with kickoff set for 1:45 p.m. CT. It is St. Louis’ final MLS match before the league pauses for the FIFA World Cup break, and it comes with a chance to answer a 2-0 loss from earlier this month.
Hartel’s Midweek Lift
Hartel scored a brace in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup win over Houston Dynamo, then watched Ben Lundt make two saves in the penalty shootout as St. Louis pulled out a 4-2 victory after a 2-2 draw in regular time. The result sent CITY SC into its first-ever U.S. Open Cup semifinal, where it will face Colorado Rapids in September.
The midfielder has 15 goals and 15 assists in 54 MLS games, numbers that have been central to St. Louis getting production in a stretch that has also included seven of nine available points in its last three regular-season fixtures. That run gives the home side a firmer base heading into the break than it had earlier in the season.
Recent Form At Energizer Park
St. Louis earned a point on the road against D.C. United last Saturday at Audi Field, though Chris Durkin’s early second-half goal was wiped out by a last-minute D.C. strike. The club has won three of its last six matches across all competitions, and it has two wins in its last three regular-season home games.
Home results have been harder to bank across the full 2025 regular season. St. Louis recorded four total wins at home in league play, and its last home win came against LAFC, so Saturday carries more weight than a normal return to Energizer Park.
Austin FC’s Recent Edge
This will be the eighth matchup between St. Louis CITY SC and Austin FC since the 2023 season, with St. Louis leading the series 4-2-1. Austin won the latest meeting earlier this month at Q2 Stadium, 2-0, with Christan Ramirez and Myrto Uzuni scoring.
That earlier result gives St. Louis a direct target for Saturday. The chance to settle the rematch at home arrives before the World Cup pause, and the crowd at Energizer Park will see whether Hartel’s form can carry over into one more league result before the schedule stops.
