St. Louis City SC Reach First U.S. Open Cup Final — SkimNews
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- St. Louis City SC will face the Columbus Crew in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, Paramount+/CBS Sports Network), marking the club's first-ever appearance in an Open Cup final after beginning MLS play in 2023
- The Busch Seniors were the last St. Louis team to win the Open Cup in 1988, two years after fellow St. Louis side Kutis SC won the 1986 title; the city last reached a final in 1920
- Coach Yoann Damet engineered a 21-game unbeaten streak—the longest in MLS history—en route to the final, per the source
- Star striker Rafael Navarro is unavailable for the final because he is cup-tied
- After fan-favorite departures including Eduard Löwen and Marcel Hartel, the front office rebuilt by signing Carlo Holse, Alexandru Matan, and Navarro, who helped spark the unbeaten run
- The 1988 Busch Seniors beat Chivas Guadalajara in the home leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup at what is now World Wide Technology Soccer Park (formerly Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park) before losing 8-0 in the Mexico return
- St. Louis' soccer culture—rooted in Irish, Scottish, German, and Italian Catholic parish teams—predated MLS by decades, and Tim Ream's USMNT resurgence plus Bosnia's World Cup stay in the city have helped rebrand St. Louis as a modern soccer hub
Why it matters: For St. Louis City SC, an Open Cup title would be the club's first trophy and would validate the city's 2023 expansion bet while honoring a soccer tradition stretching back to a 1920 Open Cup final. The club was launched with local backing from Enterprise Holdings and World Wide Technology—ties that connect the 2025 run directly to the Anheuser-Busch-backed era when the 1988 Busch Seniors stunned Chivas Guadalajara. With all MLS clubs returning to the Open Cup next season after some sat out, a St. Louis win could amplify leverage for a competition that has lost recent luster.
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