51黑料

Turn the standings upside down, though, and this is a game with a whole lot on the line.

City SC is in 29th among 30 teams in MLS, two points ahead of the last place Los Angeles Galaxy. Montreal is tied for 28th, two points ahead of City SC, four points ahead of the Galaxy, which has one more game left on its schedule than the other teams at the bottom.

The loser of the game may not be the favorite for the Wooden Spoon, the unofficial award that goes to the team that finishes in last, but it will strengthen its position as the number of games remaining gets smaller and smaller. A City SC loss and a Galaxy win would put City SC in 30th. Montreal wouldn鈥檛 fall into last with a loss, but it would be awfully close.

So the stakes are high for two teams that, if you combined their point total, would only be tied for 11th overall.

鈥淚t鈥檚 huge. It鈥檚 huge,鈥� said City SC center back Henry Kessler. 鈥淲e鈥檙e playing against a team that鈥檚 struggling as well, so we鈥檙e hoping to take advantage of that. But no one wants to finish last, so we鈥檙e trying to avoid that.鈥�

鈥淣o one wants to be in that position,鈥� said left back Devon Padelford. 鈥淎nd I think we all have set a clear message for ourselves that we don鈥檛 want to be that team, so just coming out (to practice) and trying to figure out how to get results. So hopefully we can do that this weekend in Montreal.鈥�

Of course, those last two words 鈥� 鈥渋n Montreal鈥� 鈥� are what will make this game into a challenge for City SC. City SC has a league-low five points on the road this season (out of a possible 42 so far) and has won just twice on the road in the past two seasons. City SC has lost nine straight road games (10 if you throw in the Open Cup loss at Minnesota), and interim coach David Critchley is 0-6 on the road, being outscored 15-7. So it may not matter that Montreal has the fewest points at home of any MLS team.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 go on the road for this many games and pick up so little of points,鈥� Critchley said. 鈥淪o we鈥檝e put a lot of time already analyzing that. But right now we鈥檙e looking at Montreal is hopefully our first away win under myself.鈥�

Though City SC has been eliminated, in any practical sense for about a month now, it can become a mathematical certainty this weekend. A loss to Montreal is the most direct way for it to happen, but it can also happen if City SC ties and San Jose gets a win or a draw against LAFC or Houston beats Colorado. Even a win won鈥檛 necessarily keep City SC alive. Wins by San Jose and Colorado, or a win by San Jose, a tie by Colorado and a win by Real Salt Lake would end it.

If City SC goes out this weekend, it would be one game earlier in the season than last year鈥檚 team was eliminated. City SC was eliminated in match 31 last season, even though it won that week, beating Kansas City 3-1. Meanwhile, Minnesota was beating Colorado 3-0, giving it more points than City SC could get.

鈥淚 think you always have hope until you鈥檙e officially eliminated,鈥� Kessler said. 鈥淏ut realistically, we鈥檝e been at that point for a little bit, but when it鈥檚 official, it鈥檚 official. There鈥檚 no changing that. But nothing will change from our point of view, we鈥檒l still try to put our best team out there and perform as best as possible.鈥�

鈥淭here is (a lot riding on this game),鈥� Critchley said, 鈥渂ut it shouldn鈥檛 be anything new. There鈥檚 been stakes riding on this team in our games every week for now the last eight weeks or so. So, the focus I demand from these guys, the attention to detail that I demand, it鈥檚 the same as it鈥檚 been all other the games.鈥�

Sangbin Jeong and Mykhi Joyner are back this week from international duty and available for City SC. After taking 41 shots against Dallas last week, the second-most in league history, and getting only one goal, Critchley said he would be happy to have even half as many scoring chances against Montreal.

鈥淚f we create 20 chances in a game, that鈥檚 still a very high number,鈥� Critchley said, 鈥渂ut we still have to score more goals. We can鈥檛 be given that amount of chances and not score more than one.鈥�

JGR loaned out, Antwi signed

Midfielder/defender Jake Girdwood-Reich was loaned to Auckland of Australia鈥檚 A-League through June 2026, as City SC continues to look for ways for unused players to get playing time. JGR, as he鈥檚 known, hasn鈥檛 made the game-day roster the past two weeks and the potential for making it in any of the team鈥檚 remaining games was low. The former Australian youth international played in only 10 MLS games this season, starting five. The A-League season starts in October, and he would have a chance to play in 10 games there before City SC has an option to bring back before Jan. 1. The club recently loaned defender Joey Zalinsky, in a similar position with regards to playing time, to Indy Eleven of the USL Championship for the remainder of the season.

The team signed City2 midfielder Seth Antwi, 25, for the remainder of the season, with options for 2026 and 2027. Antwi has been a regular with City2 the past two seasons and has frequently trained with City SC when they were short a player.

鈥淗e brings good intensity,鈥� Critchley said earlier this week. 鈥淗e brings good passion and good voices. He鈥檚 a good communicator. That鈥檚 something that this group鈥檚 been missing.鈥�