Belief and Hope. In The US Open Cup, you get what you put in.

The US Open Cup, the country’s oldest soccer tournament, has transformed into a “get out of jail free” card for MLS clubs on the ground zero of a retool. None of this should be too surprising given the USOC’s status as the “other” tournament for teams that haven’t qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup or Leagues Cup in this modern era. 

It’s still a disservice to the competition, but the top teams becoming unavailable to the competition should have also been a boost to the ability of USL Championship clubs to reach the later stages of the tournament. No USL club has made the quarterfinals since the competition changed format ahead of last season. Some of that is just the basis of no lower league vs lower league matchups in the round of 32 in either of the past two seasons, but it also speaks to the importance of a trophy to these clubs that are either struggling and looking for a purpose or looking for a trophy to jumpstart a new era. 

Nashville’s run in 2025 was a proof of concept. 

After missing the playoffs in 2024, Nashville found new life under BJ Callaghan. The Coyotes were clearly improved in 2025, but a 6th placed finish in the Eastern Conference wouldn’t have given them a foundation to build from in the same vein as their 2025 US Open Cup trophy. They turned that CCC qualifying spot into a semifinal appearance against Club América and, potentially, the top spot in the Eastern Conference heading into the World Cup break. 

This year’s semifinalists are all hoping to capture some of that magic. The Colorado Rapids and St. Louis CITY SC will be facing off with an eye on delivering a final in the first season under their new managers and new style of play. While Orlando City and Columbus are trying to keep the ship trudging forward and have, for the time being, found the path under interim managers Martin Perelman and Laurent Courtois (albeit in Courtois’s first match).

So, how did we get here?

Ben Lundt and Dante Polvara write their names in the STL Sports clutch performance pantheon.  

Houston visited St. Louis Tuesday night and decided to stay a while. Both teams came into the night with their best XIs and finished level, 2-2 after 90 minutes. In extra time, both had their chances, but it was Dante Polvara’s last ditch lunging tackle that kept the match 2-2. Ondrei Lingr was loose in transition and dribbled backup keeper Ben Lundt in on goal. However, Lundt did just enough to force Lingr wide, and predictable enough for Polvara to time his recovery run and cleanly win the ball.

“I knew the guy was right footed, and he did what I probably would have done on the finish, take it around to the left, and which is what I was hoping for.” Polvara said on Thursday, recounting the pivotal play. “I just needed Ben [Lundt] to buy me a second, and I had to avoid running into Ben. That was my biggest thing, because there was one earlier this season where against San Diego, I thought I caught up and I probably could have slid, but I would have went right into Roman [Burki], and then that would have been a disaster too, Maybe I've injured him, so trying to find the right angle to get round Ben, and then the touch was big enough that I knew I could most likely get there. I was ready to dribble up the whole pitch, and then I remembered I'm a center back, so I just gave the ball.”

It was the exclamation point on a masterful performance from the converted CB that included 6 interceptions, ⅘ duels, a goal line clearance, and 83/89 passing.

That was enough to give Ben Lundt time to shine. Lundt replaced Roman Bürki in the 26th minute after it became clear that the slip that led to Houston’s first goal had worsened the keeper’s ongoing hip flexor injury. Lund came in, allowed a goal on Houston’s first shot, and then stuffed out every Dynamo opportunity over the next 90 minutes. 

(Read more on Lundt's heroism in my St. Louis Magazine feature)

Heading into the shootout, Lundt felt confident. His tall frame and great positioning make the backup keeper surprisingly good at saving PKs. Lundt stopped Guilherme to give St. Louis the lead, and up 4-3, Lundt punctuated the performance with an emphatic save on Hector Herrera to send St. Louis into the semifinal.

“I like penalties, I've been good at them in my career.” Lundt calmly recanted post match. “Yeah, but again, I'm more proud of being the guy to step in when there's an opportunity, I don't really try to judge myself on one performance, doesn't matter how it could have went today, bad game, good game, doesn't really matter, but I am proud that I show up every single day during training, show everybody that I'm the guy that gets the chance when there's an opportunity, and that's really what I'm more proud of.”

Colorado Rapids advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1999.

St. Louis will travel to Colorado in September after the Rapids outlasted San Jose’s early dominance. The Quakes had 4 shots in the box over the first 15 minutes as San Jose racked up corner kick after corner kick. However, the Rapids ground the game to a halt and took advantage on the counter. Darren Yapi’s 39th minute goal followed up on Raphael Navarro’s earlier goal that was ruled offside, only for Navarro to make good on that earlier opportunity by sealing the match in stoppage time of the first half. 

Daniel Munie missed San Jose’s biggest chance of the night on the doorstep but it was clear that injuries had caught up to a squad that had stomped on the accelerator, knowing there was a nearly 2 month long break on the horizon.

What makes this win sweeter for the Rapids is that they, too, are dealing with a small roster and a lack of sharpness.

First year manager Matt Wells has been preaching belief in his squad all season long, and now, he has a signature result to point to as his Rapids gear up for a big 2nd half. 

“Great to be in the semifinal, but we don’t want to be satisfied there. We don’t want to stop there,” Wells said postgame. “Tonight, I want to enjoy the moment of getting to the semifinal. I just encouraged the players to do that.”

The Rapids will have some revenge on their mind after St. Louis handed them their only loss at Dick's Sporting Goods Park – with the other home loss coming at Empower Field vs Miami – earlier this month. Avenging that loss would ensure the club’s first USOC final since 1999.

Orlando City is finding its level under Martin Perelman.

Orlando moved on from the Óscar Pareja era earlier this season after a rough string of results. Perelman’s appointment didn’t immediately stem the bleeding, but after 3 losses of over 5+ goals in the first 6 matches this season, Orlando has found stable ground. The club now sits 10th in the Eastern Conference, and despite the 1-1 draw to Atlanta over the weekend, the Lions drilled the 5 Stripes into the ground with Tuesday’s 4-1 win.

Atlanta failed to show up in the first half, suffering from a shocking lack of defensive commitment on all 4 of Orlando’s first half goals. The Orlando attack has been on fire lately – it has to be with the squad’s defensive liabilities – and no player signals that jump in production better than Griffin Dorsey. 

Dorsey has scored in 3 straight, including the game winning goal on the doorstep in Tuesday’s winner. It’s been a real purple patch for the veteran wingback and has been a big reason why Orlando has outscored opponents 13-11 over the past 5 matches. 

“I’m happy for our group of players because they put in a huge effort every day,” Perelman said. “Not just now, from the very beginning, they have been fighting, and I’m glad they were able to deliver a performance like this.”

May has been good to Orlando; they completed the 3-4 comeback over Inter Miami, and this win to knock out Atlanta this month. The players seem to be bought in. 

The Columbus Crew begins the Laurent Courtois era.

There has been a lot of intrigue around the Crew the past few weeks. The hiring of Henrik Rydström did not work out, and after just 14 matches, the Swede was ousted from his role in Columbus. In steps former Crew 2 manager, and Wilfried Nancy understudy, Laurent Courtois. 

The appointment is obvious. Courtois was a candidate for Corey Wray’s St. Louis project this offseason and will have immediate buy-in from the players. 

That buy-in was obvious in his first match back on the touchline against New York City FC. 

The Crew won 1-0 thanks to Max Arfsten’s 59th minute goal, and showed a bit more flexibility in the formation compared to Rydström’s ill-fated 4-4-2 experiment. 

The story of the match is how the Crew stifled the Maxi Morales-less NYCFC. Matt Freese was under pressure all night long, forced into 7 saves, 5 of them from attempts inside the box, all while NYCFC had 0 shots on target. 

Tough. 

Though the Crew has struggled this season – and didn’t end 2025 particularly strongly under Nancy – Courtois wanted his team to remember where they’ve been, to remember when they had belief. 

"I told them [we are competing for a trophy] just literally before the game started," Courtois said. "We talked a lot about the quality of their heart, but let's come back to talk about their winning mentality because we've won everything in this league. They should remind a few people. [Against NYCFC], they did that."

The Crew also announced the return of Tim Bezbatchenko today to oversee the sporting departments of both the Columbus Crew and the forthcoming NWSL club. A potential Columbus-St. Louis USOC Final would be cock full of narratives.

Conclusion

The run to the semifinal has instilled belief into all 4 of these clubs, and while each club is on a different point in their current journey, a USOC win would supercharge the journey. 

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