St Louis City secured its first major trophy in club history on Wednesday, defeating the Columbus Crew 5-4 on penalties after a scoreless 120 minutes in the 109th US Open Cup final. The victory away from home ends a 38-year wait for a major national soccer title for the city of St Louis and secures a berth in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.
A Cautious Final and Bürki’s Injury
Both teams adopted a cautious approach throughout regulation time. St Louis held 60% of possession during the opening 30 minutes without recording an attempt on goal, while Columbus struggled to turn its counter-attacks into genuine threats against St Louis goalkeeper Roman Bürki. The lack of goalmouth action led referee Guido Gonzales Jr to signal halftime without adding stoppage time.
The hosts pressed harder after the restart, dominating early second-half touches inside the attacking penalty area. The match reached a turning point in the 69th minute during a Columbus attack. After an uncalled challenge on Santi Rodríguez inside the box, Brais Méndez slid a pass to Anass Zaroury, whose close-range strike was thwarted by Bürki. During the sequence, Bürki sustained a blow to the head from Zaroury’s knee.
Following a six-minute medical evaluation and a video assistant referee check that cleared the earlier challenge for a penalty, Bürki left the field on a stretcher to applause from the crowd. A CBS Sports broadcast later reported that Bürki was doing well, though he was taken to a local hospital for further testing. Backup goalkeeper Ben Lundt took his place between the posts.
Extra Time and Penalty Shootout Drama
Columbus midfielder Taha Habroune exited with a muscle problem shortly afterward, making way for Eric Bailly. Despite Columbus finishing regulation with a 16-3 advantage in total shots, the contest remained deadlocked through 11 minutes of second-half stoppage time, forcing an additional 30 minutes of extra time.
Neither side found a breakthrough during extra time, leaving the silverware to be decided from the spot. Timo Baumgartl scored the opening penalty for St Louis before Lundt denied Rodríguez with a left-handed stop on the Crew’s initial attempt. Both sides converted their next three penalties, and Daniel Edelman converted the decisive fifth spot-kick to seal the victory.
Historical Significance and Damet’s Triumph
The victory marks the 11th Open Cup triumph overall for clubs from St Louis, whose teams last won the competition in 1988 through the St Louis Busch Seniors. The triumph was achieved without striker Rafael Navarro, who was cup-tied following his earlier appearance in the tournament with the Colorado Rapids.
At 36, St Louis manager Yoann Damet became the youngest head coach to claim the trophy. Damet previously served as top assistant at Columbus under Wilfried Nancy but was not chosen for the head coaching vacancy following Nancy’s departure at the end of 2025. Columbus initially hired Henrik Rydström, who departed after 17 matches in May, before appointing Laurent Courtois.
Damet now has St Louis positioned for a top-three finish in the Western Conference as the club targets further success following its breakthrough cup win.
Source: Football | The Guardian
