St. Louis CITY SC win the U.S. Open Cup on penalties for their first trophy after losing goalkeeper Roman Bürki to a head injury

St. Louis CITY SC won the first trophy in club history Wednesday night, beating the Columbus Crew 5-3 in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw in the U.S. Open Cup final in Columbus, Ohio.

They did it with their backup goalkeeper. Captain Roman Bürki was stretchered off in the 70th minute after taking a knee to the head from Crew winger Anass Zaroury while trying to make a save. He was conscious and moving all his limbs as he was taken to the hospital, the club said. He waved to supporters on his way off the field.

Ben Lundt, making only his fourth appearance of the season, replaced him. In the shootout Lundt got a strong hand to Columbus' first attempt from Santiago Rodríguez and pushed it onto the post. St. Louis made all five of its kicks to win it.

Columbus pushed and never broke through

The Crew controlled much of the night on their home field and outshot St. Louis 16-3 in regulation, but never found a goal. Bürki made three key saves before his injury, including one on a goalbound corner kick from Brais Méndez. In the first half a St. Louis defender cleared a ball off the goal line.

The injury led to 11 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half. Thirty more minutes of extra time could not separate the teams. The final went to penalties for the first time since 2015.

A breakthrough season

The trophy caps a landmark first year for head coach Yoann Damet, a former Columbus assistant who beat his old club on its own field. St. Louis, in only its fourth season, also earned a spot in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.

The club had recently set a record with an unbeaten streak of 21 straight matches across all competitions. It is the first time in nearly four decades that a St. Louis team has been crowned the U.S. Open Cup champion, a tournament St. Louis clubs had already won 10 times before Wednesday.