St. Louis CITY SC Forward João Klauss Named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 19

NEW YORK (Monday, June 16, 2025) – St. Louis CITY SC forward João Klauss was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 19 of the 2025 MLS season.

The Brazilian forward netted the first hat trick in club history during a thrilling 3-3 draw with the LA Galaxy, including an equalizer late in stoppage time to salvage a point for St. Louis (Watch MLS Wrap-Up Discuss Klauss’ Performance Here). The three-goal outburst brings Klauss to five on the year, leading the team and matching his total from 2024 just past the midway point of the 2025 campaign. St. Louis’ first-ever designated player, Klauss is the club’s all-time leading scorer with 20 regular-season goals.

St. Louis became the 31st different club to record an MLS hat trick with only the Portland Timbers and San Diego FC yet to have a player score three goals in an MLS match.

After a break for the FIFA Club World Cup this week, St. Louis will return to action with a pair of matches the following week, hosting Orlando City SC on Wednesday, June 25 (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV) and traveling to face Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday, June 28 (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

Klauss’ first goal came in the 35th minute of the match to open the scoring. As LA tried to clear a quick St. Louis attacking run, CITY managed to keep things in the final third and a nice give-and-go between Klauss and midfielder Marcel Hartel sprung the Brazilian free past the Galaxy defense. He finished with his left foot from six yards out to net the game’s first goal (Watch Here). The striker found his second just after the break when midfielder Célio Pompeu sent a long ball over the top of the defense for a streaking Klauss. He met it at the top of the 18, taking a touch and ripping a shot to the upper right corner to put St. Louis back on top in the 47th (Watch Here). LA took its first lead of the day with a goal from midfielder Gabriel Pec in the 87th, but Klauss’ final tally salvaged a point for St. Louis. Playing a long ball to the top of the arc in the fifth minute of stoppage time, defender Timo Baumgartl headed it to Klauss towards goal, and he volleyed the bouncing ball home from a difficult angle for the late equalizer (Watch Here).

The honor is Klauss’ second career Player of the Matchday award, previously winning for Matchday 35 in 2023 after bagging a brace to reach 10 goals on the season in a 4-1 win against Sporting Kansas City. He’s the second St. Louis player to take home the honors this season, following goalkeeper Roman Bürki’s win for an eight-save, shutout performance in a 3-0 victory at LA Galaxy on Matchday 3. CITY is the third club to have two players win weekly honors this season, joining Charlotte FC (Pep Biel and Patrick Agyemang) and San Diego FC (Anders Dreyer and Hirving Lozano).

The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.