St. Louis City Adds To Region's Rich Soccer History With US Open Cup Win
By James Nalton.
St. Louis City SC defeated Columbus Crew on penalties to win the 2026 US Open Cup, and in doing so followed a long line of teams from the region to triumph in America’s domestic national championship.
St. Louis has a rich soccer history, perhaps most widely known via the story of the United States' upset of England at the 1950 World Cup, for which the city of St. Louis provided five key players to the US team. Books have been written about it, films have been made, and the game even has its own Wikipedia page.
St. Louis's reputation as an early and important hotbed of soccer in the United States is also reflected in the history of the US Open Cup, although this part of its contribution to soccer is less publicised.
In winning the 2026 title, St. Louis City SC became the seventh team from the area to lift the trophy, following in the footsteps of Stix Baer and Fuller (three titles), St. Louis Kutis (two), St. Louis Simpkins-Ford (two), Ben Millers, St. Louis Busch Seniors, and St. Louis Scullin Steel.
St. Louis also has the second-most Open Cup winners after New York City, which boasts 15 previous winners, though none in the Major League Soccer era.
As is the case in many other regions, including another important historic soccer hotbed, New Jersey, those early teams often took their names from the workplaces from which they were organised, and the workforce from which their players came.
The city also hosted numerous Open Cup finals in the early 1900s at Handlan's Park, Sportsman's Park, and the Edward J. Walsh Memorial Stadium.
St. Louis City’s win ties the past with the MLS era in a way New York and New Jersey have been unable to.
Your 2026 US Open Cup Champions #Allforcity
— Justin Horneker (@hornekerjustin.bsky.social) 22 October 2026 at 04:26
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Despite being a historic soccer city, St. Louis was not represented for the first 27 seasons of MLS, which has been designated as US Soccer’s Division I league since 1996.
The St. Louis City franchise only began play as an expansion team in 2023, topping the Western Conference in its first season. The team struggled to reach those heights again in 2024 and 2025, but this year has embarked on a record-breaking run in the league before lifting its first trophy this week.
Their run of 21 games unbeaten in all competitions prior to losing to Minnesota United last weekend was a record run for an MLS team, surpassing the Red Bulls’ 20-game streak from 2016.
The 3-2 loss to Minnesota was a slight worry ahead of the cup final, but City got the job done on penalties in Columbus to defeat the Crew on their home turf and lift the trophy.
“It meant a lot for the club,” City head coach and former Crew assistant coach, Yoann Damet, told the broadcasters of the final, Paramount+, after the game.
"It’s the fourth year of existence of the club, and you always want to fill the trophy cabinet, but it takes time. It’s not easy, and success is not built overnight.
“We started the year thinking: let's implement a clear vision and a clear identity of how we want to do things and see how far we can go in year one.
"This is still phase one of what we want to build, so I’m very happy with what we’ve been able to do — our consistency in the league, and winning that trophy is an amazing testament to the work of the guys.
“At the same time, it means so much for the city and the community. I'm really happy to see those fans tonight at the stadium.
“The atmosphere was outstanding. It's as good as it gets in American soccer.
“You see two big clubs — or one big city and one big club; we’re very young, and Columbus is a big club for their history and soccer history here — but when those cities clash in a final, it's amazing to see the support and to feel the emotion of the people behind us.”
"The atmosphere tonight was outstanding. It's as good as it gets in American soccer." St. Louis City head coach Yoann Damet on his team's US Open Cup final win vs Columbus Crew.
— The Soccer Times (@nysoccertimes.com) 22 October 2026 at 12:23
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This cup win marks what will be considered a successful season for St. Louis in 2026, regardless of what happens in the upcoming MLS Cup playoffs, though they might fancy their chances to go far in that too.
It also served as a reminder of the history of the cup and its importance, coming as it does 106 years after Ben Millers became the first St. Louis team to win the cup in 1920.
This city didn’t begin playing soccer in 2023 — it is one of the most historic soccer cities in the United States.
