2026 US Open Cup: Christian Herrera of Colorado Springs Switchbacks voted TheCup.us Lower Division Player of Tournament

Nearly 1,500 players from the lower divisions of US Soccer, ranging from the depths of the amateur levels up to the USL Championship, competed in the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. 

When all was said and done and St. Louis CITY SC brought the Open Cup title back to St. Louis for the first time since 1988, TheCup.us staff, a select panel from the North American Soccer Reporters, and select backers (those pledging $10 or more) from TheCup.us Patreon team, were tasked with declaring which lower division player was the most impactful in this year’s topsy-turvy tournament, which saw 16 lower division teams advance to the Round of 32 and three to the Round of 16. 

There were some incredible performances from those toiling in the trenches of the lower divisions: Khori Bennett’s quarterfinal equalizer for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks; Babacar Diene’s pair of goals that helped propel One Knoxville to its first Round of 16; Tola Showunmi’s four goals in three games to propel Louisville City into the Round of 16; and Danny Vitiello three clean sheets in three matches for the Sacramento Republic.Showunmi and Diene finished tied for second in the voting, followed by Bennett.

But it was the heroic play of Colorado Springs Switchbacks goalkeeper Christian Herrera, which included two clean sheets and four saved penalty kicks—one in regulation and three in shootouts—helped him earn Lower Division Player of the Tournament honors for the 2026 US Open Cup. 

“Chris was a big piece of our success in the Open Cup this year,” Switchbacks head coach, Alan McCann said. “He definitely earned this honor. And not just because of his ability in penalty kicks. He’s been incredible for us all season, in all our competitions.” 

Herrera started and played every minute of the Switchbacks’ four 2026 Open Cup matches, which included the club’s first-ever upset of an MLS side with the Switchbacks’ 3-0 Round 3 home win over Sporting Kansas City, and the club’s first appearance in the Round of 16, which saw the Switchbacks travel 60 miles north to play the Colorado Rapids to a 2-2 draw before being eliminated in penalty kicks. 

“To be part of another historic moment for the club means a lot as a player and a person,” Herrera said. “I am happy that I could contribute in the way I was able, and that we were able to get as far as we did.” 

Since joining the Switchbacks and becoming the first choice in goal, the six-foot-six dual-national has proven time and again to be difficult to beat from the penalty mark. 

“Having him in goal gives us incredible confidence going into the lottery of penalties. He’s a big physical presence. He makes the goal look small,” McCann said. 

In the Switchbacks’ opening round match against Denver amateur side Azteca FC 5280, Herrera came up huge with a penalty kick save in the eighth minute to keep the amateurs off the score sheet, the result of lackadaisical defending. The Switchbacks went on to beat the upstart amateurs 3-0 to advance to the Second Round. 

After the game, a still fuming Switchbacks coach Alan McCann had this to say: “Just because the opponent is what they are , you don’t play down to that level. It’s the same old mistake you see a lot in the Open Cup. It nearly happened here tonight. Chris pulls the heroics off with the penalty save.”

Herrera played hero in Round 2 against USL League One side Spokane Velocity, again in front of a home crowd after an 87th minute Spokane goal leveled the score at 1-1. Herrera saved the first two Spokane attempts, while his teammates were perfect from the mark to win the tiebreaker 4-2 and advance to Round 3. 

“In shootouts, I’ve developed a process for myself that gives me a lot of confidence going in,” Herrera said. “I watch the shooter from the moment they start walking from half, see if he gives anything away, see where he looks. Then I am just really patient, try not to dive early, and give myself a chance to trust my instincts in the final moment.” 

The 29-year-old goalkeeper, who has stamped his place in Switchbacks lore since joining the club in 2022, is no stranger to the toil of lower division soccer. Coming up through the Real Salt Lake Arizona Academy, the Las Cruces, N.M. native signed his first professional contract at 18 with Real Monarchs, where he remained under contract through 2017, playing on loan with Pachuca II in 2016 and Portland Timbers 2 in 2017. During that time Herrera represented both the United States and Mexico at the Under-18 and Under-20 levels for both countries. In 2018, joining Sporting Kansas City’s reserve side, Swope Park Rangers, which at the time was a USL club. The club released him at the end of the season. 

In Round 3, Herrera led the charge when Sporting Kansas City came to Weidner Field, blanking the down-and-out MLS side 3-0. It was Herrera’s second clean sheet of the tournament, and the club’s first ever Open Cup win over an MLS side. Herrera was credited with two saves against most of Sporting’s first choice squad, which was in the process of a complete overhaul. The MLS side proved to be the least challenging for Herrera and the dominant Switchbacks as it advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time in the club’s 12-year history. 

Following his time with Swope Park, Herrera remained in the USL with Orlando City B before moving to the then NISA side Oakland Roots, where his US Open Cup debut was delayed due to the tournament’s suspension due to COVID-19. Midway through the 2020 season, he returned to the USL on loan with Seattle Sounders reserve side, Tacoma Defiance, signing with the club in 2021 and appearing in 18 matches in what was the last year MLS reserve sides competed in the USL. In 2022 Herrera signed with the Switchbacks, serving as a backup to Jeff Caldwell before taking over as the first choice in goal at the start of the 2023 season, with the club bowing out of the Open Cup in its opening round the next two years. In 2024 Herrera led the Switchbacks to its first USL title earning a clean sheet in the 3-0 win over Rhode Island FC. 

The Switchbacks’ Round of 16 berth was very much uncharted territory for both Herrera and the club. Facing its big brother an hour up the road in a competitive match for the first time in a decade, the Switchbacks came into the match with confidence, responding twice to the Rapids’ hard-fought goals with immediate replies, sending the game to extra time. In what could not be considered a master class in penalty taking by either side, with both sides missing badly. Herrera’s sixth-round save on Josh Atencio, Herrera’s teammate with Tacoma Defiance, made it 4-4 before a final Switchbacks miss ended the historic run. 

“Our fans were incredible through the entire run, particularly at the Rapids game,” Herrera said. “Seeing that wall of blue in the stands, hearing them over the Rapids fans says a lot about our fanbase. We do it for them.”