João Klauss! St. Louis striker scores first hat trick in club history | OneFootball

By Tyler Snipes

If every game of the St. Louis CITY SC season is a must-win from here on out, watching striker João Klauss hit the peak of his powers is a welcome sign in their turnaround effort.

WATCH: Santa Klauss! João nets brilliant hat trick

João Klauss

Forward · St. Louis CITY SC

Game-changer

The 28-year-old Brazilian’s latest masterpiece, a hat-trick in CITY’s 3-3 testy tie against LA Galaxy, was the first in club history.

“I was very happy for João, and obviously his hat trick," interim head coach David Critchley said postgame. "The first club hat trick of its existence, so I'm very proud for him."

Critchley added that he felt a big performance was coming after the hydration break in the first half of the match. What he couldn't have predicted, though, is his striker beating the drum in one of the games of the year so far in 2025.

Klauss opened the scoring just five minutes after play resumed, gave his side a brief lead in the second half and stole the show with a stoppage-time stunner to rescue a point at home.

Confidence restored?

Klauss' three-goal outing raised his season total to five, matching his output from last year. Does equalling that tally in Matchday 19 mean he can now push to eclipse his 10-goal total from 2023?

“Critch has helped me a lot,” Klauss said. “He’s given me a lot of confidence. I think he’s helped me to get to my best form…

“So, I have to say thank you for him. He's always talked to me and gave me confidence, showing me videos, showing me where I can get better, how I can help the team and I'm happy to score the three goals today."

In more than one way, the timing of Klauss’ hat trick is a boost to CITY's sprint out of the Western Conference cellar, aiming towards the 2025 playoffs. They'll return to action in Matchday 20 with a road trip to Orlando City on June 25 (8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).

WATCH: Game of the year?! St. Louis & Galaxy battle in six-goal thriller