St. Louis City SC wins Open Cup thriller ahead of RSL visit

St. Louis City SC ended a 38-year drought for one of America’s most storied soccer cities Wednesday night, defeating the Columbus Crew 5-3 in a penalty shootout after 120 scoreless minutes in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.

Daniel Edelman delivered the decisive kick, sending Columbus goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen the wrong way to claim the first trophy in City SC’s young history and the 11th Open Cup championship for a club from St. Louis.

St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki produced several extraordinary saves to keep Columbus at bay before a frightening second-half collision forced him from the match on a stretcher. His replacement, Ben Lundt, delivered the shootout’s only save.

Columbus turns up the pressure

The opening 10 minutes were cagey, neither side wanting to make the first mistake.

Then in the 12th minute, Burki played a goal kick directly to Columbus midfielder Brais Mendez, who quickly found Santiago Rodríguez inside the penalty area. His shot was blocked, and St. Louis dodged a cannonball they’d fired at themselves.

The contest grew chippy. Fifty-fifty balls, loose touches, picked pockets and recoveries punctuated a match in which neither side could establish much rhythm.

Columbus began asserting itself, with Méndez a particular menace in the attacking third.

In the 39th minute, Anass Zaroury unleashed a knuckling effort from 25 yards. Burki punched it away, and Zaroury’s follow-up was deflected behind for a corner.

Columbus attempted an Olimpico from the resulting set piece, forcing Bürki to palm the ball away near the crossbar. With the goalkeeper prone, Malte Amundsen pounced on the loose ball, only for Lukas MacNaughton to clear his effort off the line.

Two minutes later, Mohamed Farsi drove through the middle and fired from outside the penalty area. MacNaughton got a slight deflection, forcing Burki into a full-stretch dive to his left. The Swiss goalkeeper managed to get his fingertips to the ball, directing it onto the post.

Taha Habroune put the rebound wide of the far post.

St. Louis immediately raced the other way, where Jeong Sang-bin sent an effort wide following a fast break, and the half finished scoreless.

A frightening turn

Steven Moreira drove down the right in the 47th minute, finding enough space to take aim at the upper near corner. His shot missed by inches, striking the outside netting.

In the 69th minute, after Santiago Rodriguez went down under a challenge inside the penalty area but the referee waved away the Crew’s appeals for a penalty. Mendez collected possession and worked the ball to Zaroury on the left.

Bürki came off his line, making himself big to deny Zaroury’s close-range effort, but took an inadvertent knee to the head in the process.

The goalkeeper remained on the ground as play continued and, after attempting to stand, fell back down.

As medical personnel attended to Bürki, the Columbus crowd began chanting his name in a classy show of appreciation for the visiting goalkeeper.

Bürki was immobilized and wheeled off on a stretcher. The broadcast reported he was conscious, moving all four extremities and being taken to a hospital.

Lundt, who replaced Bürki in the 78th minute, had also come off the bench against Houston in the quarterfinals, saving two penalties in the ensuing shootout.

“Roman was a hero,” Edelman said afterward. “He had another save in the first half. He’s throwing his body on the line there. And then Ben, he started it for us in the Open Cup, big penalty save against Houston, and he did it again here today.”

The final grew increasingly fractious, with referee decisions drawing protests from both sides. Columbus continued searching for an opening, but St. Louis gradually found more opportunities on the counterattack.

Last chance saloon

Extra time became a test of endurance, with clear opportunities scarce after Hagen saved Carlo Holse’s early free kick.

St. Louis substitute Damion Downs began finding pockets of space underneath the front line, giving the visitors an outlet and pulling Columbus defenders out of position.

“We knew that Damion could bring us a bit of energy up top,” St. Louis head coach Yoann Damet said. “I think it changed the dynamic towards the end of the game.”

By the closing minutes, players on both sides were limping, clutching hamstrings and struggling to maintain the intensity of the opening 90 minutes.

In the 119th minute, with Downs breaking into space and Columbus exposed, Eric Bailly hauled the St. Louis attacker to the turf near midfield.

It was perhaps the smartest yellow card of the night, extinguishing a dangerous counterattack with penalties looming.

Lundt delivers beneath the Nordecke

The penalty shootout unfolded beneath the Nordecke, Columbus’ imposing supporters’ section behind the north goal.

Timo Baumgartl opened the scoring for St. Louis, placing his effort just inside the post with enough pace to beat Hagen, who had read the shooter correctly.

Lundt gave St. Louis the advantage, getting down to his right to turn Santiago Rodríguez’s penalty onto the post and out.

MacNaughton, Chris Durkin and Downs converted their penalties for St. Louis, while Amundsen, Gonzalo Tapia and Andrés Herrera kept Columbus alive.

Lundt nearly denied Herrera as well, getting a hand to the shot at full stretch, but the ball carried into the net.

That left Edelman with the opportunity to win the Cup, and he did so with aplomb.

“It’s all about process when you step up in the PKs,” Edelman said. “You just have to believe, have a good mindset, and just focus on how you’re gonna strike the ball, and that’s exactly what I did.”

St. Louis converted all five penalties, claiming the city’s first Open Cup title since the St. Louis Busch Seniors lifted the trophy in 1988.

“It’s the first trophy for me and for a lot of guys and for this city, because you look up there and you see that, and they completely deserve to have some silverware,” Edelman said.

“And for us as a team, what we’ve been through this year, it’s phenomenal for us to have this night and have this trophy.”

Familiar faces, familiar opponents

Columbus interim head coach Laurent Courtois guided Crew 2 to the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro championship in 2022, defeating St. Louis City2 in the final.

Damet later joined Columbus’ first-team staff, while City sporting director Corey Wray helped oversee Crew 2.

Former Real Salt Lake defender Brooks Lennon entered for Columbus in the 84th minute, while former RSL academy product Jaziel Orozco remained on the St. Louis bench.

RSL did not participate in this year’s Open Cup, but will return to the competition in 2027.

Saturday brings a trip to America First Field, where Real Salt Lake will face a St. Louis side arriving with its first major trophy.

“Let me enjoy tonight,” Damet said when asked about carrying the momentum forward. “I’m the first one always to look at the next game, but tonight I’m gonna give myself a little break.”