Full Breakdown
St. Louis City SC Captures First U.S. Open Cup Title
By Drooid · · How we work
The Final Showdown
On Wednesday, October 21 the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final was decided at Scotts Miracle-Gro Field in Columbus, Ohio. After 120 minutes of scoreless play, St. Louis City SC prevailed 5-3 in a penalty-kick shootout. Starting goalkeeper Roman Bürki was forced off in the 78th minute after a head-collision with Anass Zaroury; backup Ben Lundt entered and saved Santiago Rodríguez’s first spot-kick. Midfielder Daniel Edelman converted the decisive fifth penalty, earning the club its first trophy, a $600,000 prize and a berth in the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Historical Context
St. Louis has a storied Open Cup pedigree: ten titles between six clubs from 1920 through 1988, most recently by the Busch Seniors. The city’s 38-year drought ended as the newest MLS franchise, founded in 2019 and beginning play in 2023, lifted its inaugural silverware. Head coach Yoann Damet, 36, guided the side from a bottom-of-the-West start to a record-setting 21-match unbeaten run across all competitions.
Match Statistics
- Shots: Reports vary—The Guardian cites a 16-3 advantage for Columbus, the Dispatch 19-5, U.S. Soccer 16-5.
- Shots on target: Three each.
- Possession: Columbus held a slight edge in the first half (?55 %).
- Fouls: 23 for Columbus, 22 for St. Louis.
- Stoppage time: 11 minutes added in the second half after Bürki’s injury review.
Official Reactions
St. Louis’ camp highlighted the win as a culmination of season-long resilience.
Verbatim Quotes
- “You always want to fill the trophy cabinet, and it takes time. Success is not built overnight, so we started the team thinking, let's implement a clear vision and a clear identity of how we want to do things, and see how far we can go in year one,” — Yoann Damet, St. Louis manager
- “It's just the next guy up. Roman was a hero. He had another save in the first half, and he's throwing his body on the line there. He's done it in Europe, and he's playing here now in MLS, and he's still doing what he did in Europe,” — Daniel Edelman
Impact and Future
St. Louis City SC’s victory secures the club’s first major honor and guarantees participation in the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup, marking the city’s 11th Open Cup win. The triumph validates Damet’s rapid transformation of an expansion side into a Western Conference contender, with the team now eyeing a possible MLS Cup run.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Shot totals differ across outlets, preventing a definitive count.
- The date ledger lists October 21 as a scheduled event, yet a tweet from October 22 celebrates the championship, highlighting a timing inconsistency between the ledger and published reports.