After the Final · U.S. Open Cup
St. Louis wins its first trophy: 5-3 on penalties after a scoreless Open Cup final
October 21, 2026 · Final; reported October 22
St. Louis CITY SC won its first trophy Wednesday, beating Columbus 5-3 in a penalty shootout to claim the U.S. Open Cup. The final at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field remained 0-0 through 120 minutes. Those are separate results: a scoreless match, followed by a shootout that belonged to St. Louis.
Ben Lundt stopped Santiago Rodríguez's opening penalty. St. Louis converted all five of its attempts, with Daniel Edelman finishing the fifth to settle the final. Columbus made its next three kicks after the save, but never recovered the opening deficit. It did not take a fifth attempt once the outcome was decided.
The substitute makes the decisive save
Lundt had entered in the 78th minute for injured captain Roman Bürki. U.S. Soccer's match report and MLS' account agree on the substitution and the decisive shootout save. They establish his contribution without supplying a medical diagnosis or a return timetable for Bürki.
Columbus' 16-5 advantage in shots is an important part of the resistance behind the result. Total attempts describe pressure, not an entitlement to the trophy. Both sides finished with three shots on goal in the federation's match report. St. Louis survived the match and then executed the narrower task presented by the shootout.
A first trophy, and another competition ahead
The title also sends St. Louis into the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup. It is the club's first silverware, not the first Open Cup won by a team from the city: U.S. Soccer counts this as St. Louis' 11th. The distinction gives the new achievement its proper place without borrowing the earlier clubs' trophies for CITY SC's own record.
Our assessment: the night belongs to the team that finished its penalties, with an essential intervention from a replacement goalkeeper. The fair counterpoint is that Columbus created much more of the shooting. Both belong in the account. A shootout is not proof that St. Louis controlled the preceding two hours, and the preceding two hours do not undo the cup it earned.
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