"That's the spirit of St. Louis." CITY SC win the US Open Cup.

Wednesday night’s US Open Cup Final was destined to be a cagey affair. It was never going to be easy for St. Louis CITY SC in Columbus.

The shared DNA between the two sides was laid bare as two of America’s quintessential soccer cities battled on the pitch. Then, the late injury to Alex Mățan meant CITY SC would have to pivot without two — due to Rafael Navarro’s ineligibility — of their most influential players over the last 2 months.

CITY SC had to scratch, claw, and fight if the 4th year club was going to lift the first trophy in club history. Perseverance that Damet cited as a defining attribute of his side.

 “It was a proper cup game,” Damet said. “We had to grind it out. They had more opportunities than us. They were more efficient in the final 3rd than us, but at the same time, our mindset tonight, our efforts, the work rate of the guys, that's the spirit of St. Louis.”

Laurent Courtois’s Crew brought the intensity, driven by an environment fit for a US Open Cup Final. The thunderous St. Louis support couldn’t will CITY SC out of the gates, and Columbus outshot St. Louis 11-1 at halftime — 2-0 on target. 

At halftime, Yoann Damet adjusted.

Columbus were finding success after vacating the central spaces in their initial buildup before Taha Habroune, or Dylan Chambost, or Brais Méndez darted into the space and turned up pitch. CITY SC neutralized some of those movements in the 2nd half but failed to make much headway. It was the Crew who continued to find the dangerous opportunities, but St. Louis’s backline stood tall; Tomas Totland and Conrad Wallem regularly battled in the corners, and Roman Bürki made 3 clutch saves before a collision with Mo Farsi left Bürki in bad shape.

Ben Lundt prepared to step in, and Bürki was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.

A hush fell throughout a stadium that had been rocking for over 2 hours at that point, a scary scene.

Per St. Louis CITY SC:

"Following a head injury sustained during last night’s U.S. Open Cup match at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus, St. Louis CITY SC captain Roman Burki was transported to a local hospital for further medical evaluation and testing as a precaution.
 
He is currently alert and in good spirits. The club’s medical staff will continue to monitor his condition and the team will provide additional updates as they become available."

Fortunately, Ben Lundt was more than up to the task, just as he was vs Houston two rounds earlier, and provided a calming presence as St. Louis finally grew into the match. 

At full time, the match was scoreless.

St. Louis were probably lucky to reach that point but had built into the match over the final 20 minutes. Extra time also tilted in CITY SC’s favor, outshooting Columbus 2-0 over the next 30 minutes but just as it was after full time, and — to the delight of cardiologists across the Midwest — the period ended scoreless. 

“You don’t know when a game can change,” Damet said. “Tonight, in terms of fitness, we looked very strong. That’s the work that these guys have put in, that’s the staff working together, periodizing every week, pushing the guys physically. We went 120 minutes and we looked fit, we looked strong. I felt that as the game progressed, maybe on the other side it was a different feeling; it created a bit of momentum for us.”

Remarkably, Damet did not dip into his bench often. Lundt and Downs were the only subs late into the match until Tomáš Ostrák – himself becoming one of Damet’s go-to late match additions – subbed on before the 2nd period of extra time. 

“Those guys came in and did a good job bringing the energy.”

Both sides could feel the nerves, but after surviving 120 minutes, and coming out bruised and battered, CITY had the confidence of a group who had been there before. 

PKs kicked off, Timo Baumgartl stepped up and converted. 

Then, Ben Lundt saved Santí Rodriguez’s effort to the bottom right corner. 

“I’m a little bit mad I didn’t have two,” Lundt joked, after he put a hand on Andres Herrera’s take. “I like penalties, I’ve always been good at them throughout my career. I do a lot of homework before the game even starts. So, I believe in what I can do.”

MacNauton, Admundsen, Durkin, Tapia, Downs, and Herrera all converted.

Finally, it was Daniel Edelman who stepped up and finished the job. Edelman smashed it, clinched the PK win, and took off running towards the traveling fans.

It was a once in a lifetime moment. 

Edelman curled around, beating his teammates to the away end only for the bench to empty on top of him. 

“I think that was his fastest run of the night,” Lukas MacNaughton joked afterwards. “But we all know Danny [Edelman], he’s a machine.”

As the dust settled, St. Louis fans filled the lower bowl in anticipation of their club’s first trophy lift. A fitting end to St. Louis’s first chance at a US Open Cup title since Busch Seniors lifted the Cup at Soccer Park in 1988. 

That’s the legacy of this Final. The match was fascinating in the same way a cage fight is fascinating. The battle, spurred on by both sets of fans chanting back and forth for over 120 minutes, for Yoann Damet, that will be the last memory. 

“The amount of fans that were there, the red, all together, chanting, pushing, was amazing,” Damet reflected. “Amazing. Memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life. 
I think it created an atmosphere. Tonight felt like a Final, and you felt soccer culture as well. You felt the emotion, and that shows a lot for the growth of the sport in the country as well.”

Of course, once again, the hero of the story is Ben Lundt.

The German once again had to step in when the stakes could not be higher. It’s certainly apt that the towering keeper made the stop that mattered most. 

“I've been here for 4 years through the good times and bad times,” Lundt said. “It means a lot. I think that's probably the highlight of my career so far, and I'm really proud that it’s with St. Louis; it means a lot to me. And you can see it means a lot to the club, to everybody, to the whole organization. I think everybody deserves it.”

Post-match, in between spontaneous moments of jubilation, Damet and his players made a point to call out the entire club in its effort to support this campaign. Damet has repeatedly insisted that every player has a role in the CITY SC training environment, and brought every non-rostered player up to the stand to receive their winner's medal.

“The trophy is a result of a lot of hard work behind the scenes,” Lund continued. “From the staff to the players, everybody at the club. So many guys have their fingerprints on this, all of the way back to April when this thing started.”

St. Louis won’t have as much time to sit with this win as they deserve as US Open Cup Champions.

Damet already cast his attention forward to Real Salt Lake as an impromptu celebration interrupted his thought. 

Champagne dripped from the ceiling as the manager finished his time.

“It’s relentless, it doesn’t stop.” Damet said, “I hope we will all look back in 20, 15 years and be really proud of what we'll accomplish together.”

The championship is a full circle moment for the club, but it’s also just the beginning. St. Louis have now qualified for the Champions Cup for the 2nd time in 4 years, and have large aspirations for a foray into continental soccer.

“We're far from satisfied,” Timo Baumgartl said. “We have a big game on Saturday; now's the time to celebrate, but tomorrow we're gonna prepare for that. It's an important game for us.”

However, that’s a story for later; for now, the win is an opportunity to celebrate St. Louis Soccer.

“We had the [1988 Busch Seniors] visit training this week,” Baumgartl said. “It’s just an honor to look at that trophy, the first trophy for the club, for the city, which is so important. It's just amazing to do that.”

Now, no one can deny how much the US Open Cup means for St. Louis soccer fans. In 2024, when MLS originally pulled out of the tournament, CITY SC were one of the clubs who voiced their displeasure. A Leagues Cup boycott followed. The USOC has had its ups and downs in relevance, but the passion of US Soccer’s core fan has never wavered. That doesn’t always mean early round sellouts, but clubs will get out what they put in, and for CITY SC, that’s a signature trophy.

One look at the traveling crowd in Columbus would tell you how much it means. 2000+ fans don’t travel for a meaningless trophy.

“When the coaches came back from the warm-up and told me, like, hey, listen, you're gonna come out, you're gonna see that there is a red wave of fans at the end of the goal,” Damet recalled. “It gives you energy. Amazing energy, massive respect, and a big thank you for them traveling all the way. And I hope they will have a nice memory for the rest of my life.”

St. Louis CITY SC are the 2026 US Open Cup Champions.