Columbus Crew Hosts St. Louis CITY SC in U.S. Open Cup Final
The Columbus Crew pursues its first Open Cup championship since 2002 against St Louis CITY SC at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
Columbus Crew forward Diego Rossi is featured ahead of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final.
Credit: Major League Soccer Image source
The Columbus Crew earned hosting rights and will meet St Louis CITY SC in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on Oct. 21. The final is set for 8 pm ET at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus.
Semifinal Surge and Squad Dynamics
Columbus secured its place in the final with a 2-1 semifinal victory over Orlando City SC, clinching the right to host the championship match. In that semifinal, Columbus took an early lead on Josef Martinez’s goal before Brais Mendez volleyed home a pass from Designated Player Santiago Rodríguez, who recorded two assists. The victory sent the Crew to their first tournament final since 2010. Ahead of his sixth final as an MLS player, Martínez told reporters that players only think about winning once they step onto the pitch.
The Crew is led by interim manager Laurent Courtois, who is looking to expand the club's championship legacy. Columbus has won four of its last five league matches, including a 2-0 victory over rival FC Cincinnati on Oct. 18.
St Louis CITY SC enters under first-year manager Yoann Damet following a club-record 21-match unbeaten streak across all competitions. The club's historic unbeaten run ended after a 3-2 loss at Minnesota United FC. According to captain Roman Bürki, the setback served as a reminder to maintain hunger and intensity. During the tournament run, Bürki stopped two kicks in a semifinal penalty shootout against the Houston Dynamo. Damet said that having the chance to bring the club its first trophy is an amazing opportunity.
The St Louis attack features Marcel Hartel and Jeong Sang-bin, but club-record signing Rafael Navarro is unavailable for the final.
Century-Old Heritage and St Louis Lore
The matchup is the 111th Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final. The national tournament has been running in some form since 1914. In tournament history, Maccabee Los Angeles and Bethlehem Steel are tied for the most titles with five each.
The city of St Louis first celebrated a title when Ben Miller SC won in 1920. Tournament records show St Louis clubs reached the final each year from 1920 to 1924, Stix, Baer & Fuller reached the final six straight times, and Busch SC was the last club from the city to reach the final in 1988.
For the Columbus Crew, the final is a chance to win their first Open Cup championship since 2002.
Tensions and Tournament Legacy
The tournament is named after the late Lamar Hunt, who celebrated with the Columbus Crew after their 2002 cup victory.
In 2023, Major League Soccer cited fixture congestion when proposing that MLS NEXT Pro reserve teams participate instead of senior clubs.
Fan and Broadcast Logistics
ScottsMiracle-Gro Field is located at 96 Columbus Crew Way in Columbus. Public tickets for the championship match went on sale on Sept. 17.
The game will be broadcast live on Paramount+ and the CBS Sports Network.
How we know this
The sources and records behind this story, with the facts they support.
Supporting evidence (3)
The Columbus Crew earned hosting rights and will meet St Louis CITY SC in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on Oct. 21.
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built on their 2-1 midweek victory over Orlando City, which clinched a spot – and hosting rights – in the 2026 US Open Cup Final.
Columbus secured its place in the final with a 2-1 semifinal victory over Orlando City SC, clinching the right to host the championship match.
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built on their 2-1 midweek victory over Orlando City, which clinched a spot – and hosting rights – in the 2026 US Open Cup Final.
In that semifinal, Columbus took an early lead on Josef Martinez’s goal before Brais Mendez volleyed home a pass from Designated Player Santiago Rodríguez, who recorded two assists.
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Santiago Rodríguez: Another newly arrived Designated Player, Rodríguez notched two assists vs. Orlando to help Columbus reach their first USOC final since 2010.
Supporting evidence (10)
The Columbus Crew earned hosting rights and will meet St Louis CITY SC in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on Oct. 21.
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The @ColumbusCrew and @stlCITYsc will meet in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on Oct. 21.
The final is set for 8 pm ET at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus.
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Judging strictly by the current MLS standings, St. Louis CITY SC enter Wednesday’s 2026 US Open Cup final at the Columbus Crew as favorites to win the historic tournament (8 pm ET | Paramount+, CBS Sports Network).
Ahead of his sixth final as an MLS player, Martínez told reporters that players only think about winning once they step onto the pitch.
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“When you’re on the pitch, you only think about winning. No matter what,” the legendary goalscorer told reporters earlier this week ahead of his sixth final as an MLS player.
The Crew is led by interim manager Laurent Courtois, who is looking to expand the club's championship legacy.
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“It’s incredible, in such a short amount of time, what this stadium and this city were able to witness and experience,” said interim manager Laurent Courtois, a former club assistant coach who’s looking to expand the Crew’s championship legacy.
Columbus has won four of its last five league matches, including a 2-0 victory over rival FC Cincinnati on Oct. 18.
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The three-time MLS Cup winners and 2002 US Open Cup champions are making a late-season playoff push, winning four of their last five league games to move within a point of the Eastern Conference’s Wild Card spots.
St Louis CITY SC enters under first-year manager Yoann Damet following a club-record 21-match unbeaten streak across all competitions.
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CITY have been one of the revelations of the 2026 season under first-year manager Yoann Damet, highlighted by their record-setting 21-match unbeaten streak across all competitions.
The club's historic unbeaten run ended after a 3-2 loss at Minnesota United FC.
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CITY’s historic unbeaten streak came to a surprising halt after they dropped a two-goal lead in an eventual 3-2 loss at Minnesota United FC.
According to captain Roman Bürki, the setback served as a reminder to maintain hunger and intensity.
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“I think it’s good timing,” said Bürki. “It brought us back to reality and showed us that we’re only a good team if we have the hunger, the intensity and everybody is at 100%.”
Damet said that having the chance to bring the club its first trophy is an amazing opportunity.
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“Right now, the history of the club is nothing. So we need to keep striving to fill that trophy cabinet with something,” said Damet. “And having that opportunity to be the first is an amazing opportunity that we’ve earned throughout our journey in the competition this year.”
The St Louis attack features Marcel Hartel and Jeong Sang-bin, but club-record signing Rafael Navarro is unavailable for the final.
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Club-record signing Rafael Navarro (8g/4a) – who is unavailable for the USOC final – and fellow Designated Player summer acquisition Carlo Holse (6g/2a) played key roles in the historic streak
US Open Cup Final - Columbus Crew v St. Louis City SC
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The final is set for 8 pm ET at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus.
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ScottsMiracle-Gro Field · 96 Columbus Crew Way, Columbus, Ohio, United States Of America
ScottsMiracle-Gro Field is located at 96 Columbus Crew Way in Columbus.
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ScottsMiracle-Gro Field · 96 Columbus Crew Way, Columbus, Ohio, United States Of America
Public tickets for the championship match went on sale on Sept. 17.
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US Open Cup Final - Columbus Crew v St. Louis City SC 2026-10-21 · 20:00:00 America/New_York ScottsMiracle-Gro Field · 96 Columbus Crew Way, Columbus, Ohio, United States Of America Lineup: Columbus Crew, St. Louis City SC Classification: Sports · Soccer · MLS Public sale window: 2026-09-17T01:00:00Z – 2026-10-22T02:00:00Z
Supporting evidence (11)
In that semifinal, Columbus took an early lead on Josef Martinez’s goal before Brais Mendez volleyed home a pass from Designated Player Santiago Rodríguez, who recorded two assists.
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The Crew returned to the Final for the first time since 2010 with a 2-1 win over Orlando City SC. Columbus took an early 1-0 lead on Josef Martinez’s 9th minute goal from short range. Orlando pulled even minutes before halftime, but in the 52nd Brias Mendez minute volleyed home a pass from Santiago Rodríguez to put the Crew up for good.
The victory sent the Crew to their first tournament final since 2010.
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The Crew returned to the Final for the first time since 2010 with a 2-1 win over Orlando City SC. Columbus took an early 1-0 lead on Josef Martinez’s 9th minute goal from short range. Orlando pulled even minutes before halftime, but in the 52nd Brias Mendez minute volleyed home a pass from Santiago Rodríguez to put the Crew up for good.
Columbus has won four of its last five league matches, including a 2-0 victory over rival FC Cincinnati on Oct. 18.
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the Crew won four out of their last five since the Open Cup Semifinals, including a 2-0 win over rivals FC Cincinnati on Oct. 18.
During the tournament run, Bürki stopped two kicks in a semifinal penalty shootout against the Houston Dynamo.
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In the Semifinals St. Louis needed penalty kicks to oust two-time Open Cup champions Houston Dynamo after a 2-2 draw. Marcel Hartel won TheCup.us Quarterfinal Player of the Round honors for his two-goal performance. Hartel opened the scoring in the 10th minute, then pulled St. Louis level at 2-2 with a 51st minute penalty kick. In the PK shootout, St. Louis converted four of their attempts while Houston had two of their kicks saved by goalkeeper Roman Burki.
The St Louis attack features Marcel Hartel and Jeong Sang-bin, but club-record signing Rafael Navarro is unavailable for the final.
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Marcel Hartel (20’) and Jeong Sang-bin (36’) put St. Louis up 2-0 at the half and Mykhi Joyner (61’) and Tomás Ostrák (78’) closed out the scoring in the second half.
The matchup is the 111th Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final.
Read supporting passage
The 111th Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final features two teams on distinctly different paths. For the Columbus Crew, it is a chance to not only win their first Open Cup championship since 2002
The city of St Louis first celebrated a title when Ben Miller SC won in 1920.
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The last St. Louis club to reach the Final was Busch SC in 1988. St. Louis was first represented in the Cup in 1920, with Ben Miller SC defeating Fore River FC 2-1 for the city’s first championship. St. Louis clubs would reach the final each year from 1920 to 1924. Stix, Baer & Fuller (aka Central Breweries and Shamrocks SC) reached the Final six straight times from 1932-1937, a feat unmatched in Open Cup history.
Tournament records show St Louis clubs reached the final each year from 1920 to 1924, Stix, Baer & Fuller reached the final six straight times, and Busch SC was the last club from the city to reach the final in 1988.
Read supporting passage
The last St. Louis club to reach the Final was Busch SC in 1988. St. Louis was first represented in the Cup in 1920, with Ben Miller SC defeating Fore River FC 2-1 for the city’s first championship. St. Louis clubs would reach the final each year from 1920 to 1924. Stix, Baer & Fuller (aka Central Breweries and Shamrocks SC) reached the Final six straight times from 1932-1937, a feat unmatched in Open Cup history.
For the Columbus Crew, the final is a chance to win their first Open Cup championship since 2002.
Read supporting passage
The 111th Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final features two teams on distinctly different paths. For the Columbus Crew, it is a chance to not only win their first Open Cup championship since 2002
The tournament is named after the late Lamar Hunt, who celebrated with the Columbus Crew after their 2002 cup victory.
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The Columbus Crew celebrate their 2002 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup championship at Crew Stadium with the late Lamar Hunt, who the tournament is named after.
The game will be broadcast live on Paramount+ and the CBS Sports Network.
Supporting evidence (2)
The national tournament has been running in some form since 1914.
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The U.S. Open Cup has been running in some form since 1914.
In 2023, Major League Soccer cited fixture congestion when proposing that MLS NEXT Pro reserve teams participate instead of senior clubs.
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MLS rejected participation in the competition in 2023, citing fixture congestion as a reason for their snub of the tournament. MLS proposed, instead, that their MLS Next Pro sides - effectively their reserve teams - participate.
https://www.thefootymuseum.com/footypod/open-cup-bethlehem-steel-la-maccabee
Supporting evidence (1)
In tournament history, Maccabee Los Angeles and Bethlehem Steel are tied for the most titles with five each.
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We're looking back at the two teams who are tied for the most ever US Open Cup titles: Maccabee Los Angeles and Bethlehem Steel--both with five titles to their name.