2025 US Open Cup Final Preview: Austin FC hosts Nashville SC in battle of first-time finalists

For just the third time in the last 20 years the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final will be contested by a pair of teams making their first appearance in the Final. In fact, Nashville SC and Austin FC had never even reached the Semifinals prior to this year, something that hasn’t happened since Atlanta United met Minnesota United in the 2019 Final.

The 2025 Final also marks the first time in the Modern Era the teams in an all-MLS championship game have not faced each other in any other official competition during the season. Neither team participated in the 2024 US Open Cup, with MLS NEXT Pro’s Austin FC II playing in place of their MLS parent club and Nashville SC having no representation.

US Soccer also announced that there will be history made with the officials. Wednesday’s Final will feature the first all-female officiating crew in the tournament’s history. Tori Penso will be the referee for the championship game with Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt as the assistants on the sidelines.

TheCup.us will have live updates of both games as both games will be streamed live on Paramount+ and the CBS Sports Network. You can find those updates on X (Twitter) and Blue Sky.

2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final
October 1, 2025
Nashville SC at Austin FC
Q2 Stadium – Austin, TX
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
TV: Paramount+ / CBS Sports Network

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Nashville and Austin have not met each other in the 2025 MLS season, nor have they ever met in U.S. Open Cup play. Ironically, the clubs wrapped up their 2025 preseason on Feb. 15 against each other, with Austin prevailing 2-1 on a pair of Osman Bukari goals.

The last competitive match the teams faced each other in was an MLS game on Aug. 24, 2024, Austin won 2-0 on goals from Osman Bukari and Jon Gallagher.

ROAD TO THE SEMIFINALS: Nashville SC

In the Fourth Round, despite outshooting their opponents 14-3, Nashville only managed a 1-0 win over the Chattanooga Red Wolves from USL League One. Josh Bauer scored the lone goal in the 18th minute.

Their Round of 16 game at Orlando City was much closer. After drawing level after an Orlando City own goal, Ahmed Qasem gave Nashville a 2-1 lead minutes before halftime. Orlando pulled level 15 minutes into the second half, but with 11 minutes remaining, Wyatt Meyer scored the goal that eventually put Nashville in the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2022.

Nashville’s Quarterfinal affair at home against D.C. United got off to a rocky start, with the home side trailing 2-0 after 24 minutes. From then on, it was all Nashville who scored five unanswered goals, four in the second half, to prevail 5-2 and book their first ever Semifinal appearance. Team goalscoring leader Sam Surridge scored twice, and Jonathan Perez, Andy Najar and Walker Zimmerman provided the rest.

Nashville booked their first ever Open Cup Finals appearance with a win in their first ever Semifinals appearance. It turned out to be the Sam Surridge show, as the English striker netted all three goals for Nashville. Surridge struck first in the 36th minute after heading in a headed pass from Jeisson Palacios off a throw in. Surridge scored his second five minutes after halftime when he headed in a rebound from a Jacob Shaffelburg shot. The Union cut the lead in half in the 70th minute on a Quinn Sullivan goal, but Surridge slammed the door shut in the 84th minute when he beat Union goalkeeper Andrw Rick after a long pass from Daniel Lovitz. Surridge’s performance earned him TheCup.us Player of the Round honors.

ROAD TO THE SEMIFINALS: Austin FC

Austin FC staged a stunning comeback to win their opening game. Down 2-0 to the El Paso Locomotive for the first 73 minutes, Brandon Vázquez began a run that saw Austin score three times in eight minutes. Myrto Uzuni followed with the game-tying goal (assisted by Vázquez), then three minutes later, Vázquez scored his second in the 80th minute for a 3-2 lead. Owen Wolff assisted on both of Vázquez’s goals.

Despite being outshot 20-10, Austin came away with a 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo in the Round of 16. Goals from Brandon Vázquez, Osman Bukari and Ilie Sánchez built up a 3-0 lead that Houston was unable to overcome.

Austin’s match at San Jose came with good news and terrible news. The good, Austin advanced on penalties after a 2-2 draw. The terrible news was that leading goalscorer Brandon Vázquez tore the ACL in his right knee in the 70th minute, putting him out for the remainder of the season. It was Vázquez’s penalty shortly before his injury that tied the game at 1-1 and Myrto Uzuni converted another PK with five minutes left in extra time to make it 2-2. In the penalty kick tiebreakers, Austin made all four of their shots while Brad Stuver stopped of San Jose’s to move Austin to the Semifinals for the first time ever.

Like Nashville, Austin was making their first ever appearance in an Open Cup Semifinal, and came away with a dramatic 2-1 extra time win over Minnesota United. Osman Bukari opened the scoring in first half stoppage time when his close range shot trickled into the goal after being partially blacked by Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair. The Loons equalized through Joaquín Pereyra in the 67th minute and the game ended up going to extra time. After 30 minutes of scoreless play a penalty shootout seemed certain, but in the 120th minute CJ Fodrey knocked in a rebound from a shot by Myrto Uzuni.

CURRENT FORM

Outside of reaching the Open Cup Final, August and September have been a pair of months to forget for Nashville. A 12-game unbeaten run helped them to vault up the MLS Eastern Conference table and into the top three of the Eastern Conference. However, a 2-5-0 run has sent them tumbling down the standings to sixth place. While Nashville has clinched a playoff spot, they only have two games left to try and move back into the top 4 and regain home field advantage for the First Round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Nashville’s attack is led by Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar. Surridge leads the team with 22 goals scored, and Mukhtar has 14. Surridge is third in MLS behind Lionel Messi (24) and Dennis Bouanga (23). Mukhtar also leads the team with assists at 11, with Andy Najar behind him with 10. Goalkeeper Joe Willis is in the league’s top 10 with 9 clean sheets, though the last time Nashville shut out an opponent was a 1-0 win on July 19 vs. Toronto. 

Austin has been living near the bottom half of the playoff field for most of the year, and a 3-3-2 record in August and September has both kept them from pulling away from the playoff cutoff and kept them close to it. Currently they are six points clear of the final playoff spot with three games to go. Since losing Brandon Vázquez for the season on July 8, Austin has increased its goalscoring output, netting 19 goals in the 10 games since Vázquez went down, as opposed to 15 goals in 21 games before his injury. 

Austin has the lowest goals scored total among playoff teams and are fourth lowest in the entire league. Myrto Uzuni leads Austin with six goals and Owen Wolff is right behind with five, and Wolff shares the assist lead with Osman Bukari with 7.

NASHVILLE SC 
Major League Soccer | Nashville, TN
5th US Open Cup appearance
How they qualified: Automatic Bid
Founded: 2018
Manager: BJ Callaghan
Overall: 11-2-2 (0-2 PK) | 7-1-1 (0-1 PK) (as MLS)
Away: 1-2-1 (0-1) | 1-1-1 (0-1) (as MLS)
vs. MLS: 5-1-0 (0-1 PK) | 4-1-1 (0-1 PK) (as MLS)
Best finish: Fifth Round (2018, USL) | Quarterfinals (2022, MLS)

In their first year as a USL club in 2018, Nashville knocked off the Colorado Rapids on their way to the Fifth Round. Once joining MLS they reached the Quarterfinals in 2022 and made another three-game run in 2023 while starting a round earlier. Last year, Nashville SC did not enter the competition.

The first notable club from the city of Nashville to participate in the Open Cup was the Nashville Blues in the late 1980s, though they didn’t have much success. In the Modern Era, the A-League’s Nashville Metros reached the Quarterfinals in 1997, upsetting the Kansas City Wizards (Sporting KC) 3-1 in the Third Round.

AUSTIN FC 
Major League Soccer | Austin, TX
3rd US Open Cup appearance
How they qualified: Automatic Bid
Founded: 2021
Manager: Nico Estévez
Overall: 4-2-1 (1-0 PK)
Home: 3-1-0 (1-0 PK)
vs. MLS: 4-1-1 (1-0 PK)
Best finish: Fifth Round (2023)

Next to St. Louis CITY SC, Austin FC has the least experience in the Open Cup among MLS clubs prior to the 2025 tournament, with just four games played.

The City of Austin also has a limited history in the Open Cup. The highest profile team in the pre-Modern Era is perhaps the Austin Soccadillos, who entered the 1991 tournament, winning their group in USISL qualifying only to fall 3-0 to the other group winner in the USISL qualifying final, the Richardson Rockets, who would go on to reach the 1991 US Open Cup Final. In the Modern Era, six other teams represented Austin in the Open Cup. First up was the Austin Lone Stars of the USL D-3 Pro League, appearing in three tournaments from 1997-1999, only posting a 2-3 record.

Amateur club Real Madrid won the USASA Region III qualifying tournament in 2002 but lost their lone Cup game.

In 2008, the Austin Aztex U-23s qualified through the PDL (now USL League Two), being eliminated on penalty kicks by the Atlanta Silverbacks after a 2-2 draw. The Aztex U-23s were the development team of the USL’s Austin Aztex, who would move in 2010 and become Orlando City SC.

The new Austin Aztex qualified as a PDL cub in 2013 and 2014 without much success, then again in 2015 when the club turned pro and moved up to the USL, reaching the Third Round where they lost 2-0 to the Houston Dynamo.

In 2019, the USL Championship’s Austin Bold matched the Aztex 2015 run, reaching the Third Round before also falling to the Houston Dynamo, this time 3-2.

Finally the only other team currently calling Austin its home is Austin FC II, who appeared in 2024 and were upset by amateur side FORO SC on penalties.