Crew fall on penalties in Open Cup final

The Columbus Crew came within a penalty shootout of their first U.S. Open Cup title in 24 years, and it was a long night at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. On Wednesday, October 21, the Crew hosted St. Louis City SC in the final of the oldest cup competition in U.S. soccer history, and after 120 scoreless minutes, St. Louis walked away with a 5-3 win on penalties. For a club that has spent more than two decades chasing this specific piece of silverware, it was a tough way to go.

The history behind the wait is part of the drama. The Crew won their first-ever championship of any kind back in 2002, when they beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 to take the Open Cup. They have been knocking on the door ever since, finishing as runners-up in 1998 and reaching the final again in 2010, but nothing has come of it since that 2002 trophy. The tournament itself carries a weight that matches the wait: it started as the National Challenge Cup, with its first championship game played in May 1914 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and it is the second-oldest continually operating cup competition in the world, behind only Ireland's Irish Cup. It was renamed the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 1999 in honor of Hunt, the principal founder of both the AFL and MLS, who also founded and owned the Crew.

On the pitch, the match was a stalemate that refused to break. The Crew leaned on Brais Méndez, the 29-year-old Spanish central midfielder wearing the number 10, and Anass Zaroury, with Josef Martinez leading the attack. Laurent Courtois, who has been serving as interim head coach since May after the club parted ways with Henrik Rydström, was the man on the touchline. St. Louis brought a potent attack of their own, with Simon Becher, Carlo Holse, and Alexandru Irinel Matan leading the line. Matan, in particular, added a layer of irony to the matchup: he wears number 20 for the Crew and number 23 for St. Louis, having joined St. Louis as a free agent in July after the club bought his right of first refusal from Columbus for $100,000 in general allocation money. The game stayed 0-0 through 120 minutes, and that is where the shootout decided it.

There is some consolation in the numbers. The winner takes home $600,000 and the runner-up gets $250,000, and the Crew's trophy cabinet is already well-stocked regardless. They have eight major trophies to their name, including MLS Cups in 2008, 2020, and 2023, Supporters' Shields in 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2021, the 2024 League Cup, and the 2002 Open Cup that started the whole thing. Lucas Zelarayán remains the club's all-time top scorer with 58 goals, and Sean Zawadzki captains the side.

If you want to see the team bounce back, the next home game is this Saturday, October 24, at 3:30 p.m. against Toronto FC, followed by D.C. United on October 31. The stadium itself, ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, opened on June 15, 2021, with a capacity of 20,371, and it's the same ground that hosted the final. The 2002 trophy is still the only Open Cup the Crew has, and the wait for another now extends to 25 years.