Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

Benton Newman

2025 US Open Cup Round 3: Louisville City strikes early, holds off Loudoun United FC

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Louisville City players celebrate after scoring a goal against Loudoun United in the Third Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: EM Dash Photography
Louisville City players celebrate after scoring a goal against Loudoun United in the Third Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: EM Dash Photography

It was an all-USL Championship affair as Loudoun United made the trek from Virginia for the second time in a month to face the two-time USL champs, Louisville City FC. The trip proved to be unsuccessful as Louisville’s Adrian Perez and Sam Gleadle both scored in the first 30 minutes of the match to advance, 2-1, in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, KY on Tuesday night. 

LouCity coach Danny Cruz had mixed feelings about his squad’s performance. 

“I thought in the first half we were really strong,” Cruz said. “But I thought in the second half we kind of took our foot off the gas … ultimately this tournament is about advancing, and we did that.”

Despite a competitive start to the match, Loudoun dug themselves a hole with a defensive blunder in the 18th minute. The turnover in the final third resulted in Perez scoring and putting the home side up 1-0. 

Tommy McCabe’s hard-hit shot from the top of the box for Loudoun only a few minutes later aimed to even the score, but the quick reflexes of Louisville’s Damian Las deflected the on-target shot. Later, it was Louisville City that would find the net again. In the 28th minute, Amadou Dia sent a long pass threading the gaps in the Loudoun back line to Gleadle, whose near-post shot made it past the keeper. 

The visitors had one more close call in the first half in the 43rd minute, but the high-flying shot to the top right corner was just a few inches off target.

Loudoun may have been down entering the second half, but not out. Feeling the pressure of a knockout, they went on to record four of their five total shots on target. This offensive swing included a shot from outside the box narrowly missing the far post in the 46th minute and a great shot by Riley Bidois at the top of the box, forcing a diving one-handed save from Las. 

LouCity, looking to put the match away, found its best opportunity in the 82nd minute with a blazing fast break by Aiden McFadden who dished the ball over centrally to Gleadle. He failed to make the most of the advantage, though, by shooting it right at the keeper. 

As the match crept towards its conclusion, the visitors were thrown a lifeline. Long-time Louisville center-back, Sean Totsch mishandled the ball in front of the net, allowing Abdellatif Aboukoura to put away the point-blank shot in the 90th minute. However, it was too little too late as an equalizer was unable to be found by Loudoun with the match ending 2-1.

The win by Louisville City not only puts them into the Round of 32 in May, but also extends its unbeaten streak to six straight in 2025. The club also remains unblemished in its opening game in Cup ties, having never failed to advance from its opening round in the competition.

 

2024 US Open Cup Round 3: Louisville City extends opening round unbeaten streak, 3-1 over Greenville Triumph

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Wilson Harris of Louisville City FC celebrates after scoring a goal against Greenville Triumph in the Third Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Connor Cunningham - Louisville City FC
Wilson Harris of Louisville City FC celebrates after scoring a goal against Greenville Triumph in the Third Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. Photo: Connor Cunningham – Louisville City FC

Powerhouses from the USL Championship and USL League One squared off in Louisville, KY for the Third Round of the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Tuesday night. The home side, Louisville City FC, has amassed two league titles and boasts an impressive nine straight conference final appearances dating back to their start in 2015. The Greenville Triumph, meanwhile, find themselves on a comparable trajectory winning USL League One in their second season and making two more finals appearances since they joined the league in 2019.

Thoughts of a “cupset” in this cross-league heavyweight matchup were quelled by an early LouCity goal. However, added time goals from both the Triumph and Louisville kept things interesting until the end with the home side prevailing, 3-1.

With the win, Louisville advances to the Fourth Round. It marked the eighth tournament in a row that Louisville has advanced in their opening round game. In fact, their 7-0-1 (1-0 PK) record in opening round games also boasts an impressive total of 24 goals scored with just two against (with six clean sheets) They will learn their opponent in Round 4 when the draw takes place on Thursday.

Before many fans could even find their seats, LouCity’s Sean Totsch secured the early lead. His 2nd minute goal off a header to the near post from a corner kick by Niall McCabe, was Totsch’s his fifth career goal in the competition. It is the most career Open Cup goals in team history, breaking a tie with Cameron Lancaster.

The boys in purple kept Greenville on the back of their feet, venting their frustrations from the club’s first loss of the season in USL Championship play. Totsch nearly earned a brace in the 34th minute when a free kick was gifted to him at the far post, but the partial contact he made on the ball was not enough to get a shot on target.

The Triumph, who only had found a few forgettable shots, got their first real look at scoring in the 37th minute when Leo Castro got past the league’s reigning defender of the year, Arturo Ordonez, and fired a shot goal-bound that the keeper, Danny Faundez, deflected away.

Just minutes later, a bold Jansen Wilson shot from outside the box forced a deflection from Greenville’s Gunther Rankenburg. Louisville’s clinical finisher, Wilson Harris, was there for the rebounded shot, but an imperfect hit allowed Rankenburg a second chance at securing the ball.

It remained 1-0 at halftime, with the Triumph not yet out of the match.

The rising star, Wilson Harris, needed little time to extend Louisville’s lead in the second half. The developing Wilson-to-Wilson connection made this possible with Jansen Wilson providing the low cross that Harris easily tapped home inside the six-yard box. This was his third career US Open Cup goal with his two previous ones coming in the 2022 tournament.

The Triumph’s Rankenburg made two great blocks in the 68th minute from Adrien Perez and Wilson Harris to keep his team in the match. He was in action again just a few minutes later with an outstanding save of a header coming from a freekick.

A scary collision in the 75th minute was enough for the LouCity staff to sub out their keeper and bring on the rookie, Ryan Troutman, for his professional debut. Ten minutes later, the Triumph tested Troutman with two shots that he managed to stop with a third heading goal bound, but cleared off the line by Ordonez. This quick and thrilling sequence garnered the biggest eruption of cheers from the announced crowd of 4,373 in attendance at Lynn Family Stadium.

“I got a little emotional after the game,” said the Louisville native Troutman. “I’ve been coming to these games for a long time — 10 years now — and to make my debut, my whole family was here. It was really something special, and I’m glad I have the support from all the guys, all the fans, my family. It’s something really, really special. I’ll remember this the rest of my life.”

However, the match was not quite done producing exciting moments. Greenville’s Hayden Anderson put one into Louisville’s net on a counter sequence in the third minute of second half stoppage time, putting the League One side just a goal away from sending the match into extra time. The goal also denied City a chance for a sixth consecutive clean sheet in opening round games. The last time they allowed a goal in an opening round game was at home against Detroit City FC (when they were an NPSL team) in the Second Round of the 2016 tournament. That is a span of 555 minutes of shutout soccer.

However, it was not meant to be as Jorge Gonzalez squashed those dreams after a steal near midfield. Gonzalez received the ball near midfield and dribbled all the way into the box and finished to the near post after a deflection off a defender.

“This is a historic tournament,” said LouCity head coach Danny Cruz after his squad’s win. “It’s about making sure you’re doing everything you can to advance.”

This victory marked Louisville’s fifth win across all competitions with only one loss as Louisville eyes a return to playing for a trophy. Greenville can hold their heads high, as they kept the match competitive against a larger club. While their cup dreams will have to wait another year, their focus can revert to League One play where their 3-1-1 record has them sitting in first as they look to continue their growing tradition of success.

2023 US Open Cup Round 3: FC Cincinnati scores late winner in revival of Dirty River Derby with Louisville City

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Alvaro Barreal of FC Cincinnati prepares to cross the ball against Louisville City in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Cincinnati
Alvaro Barreal of FC Cincinnati prepares to cross the ball against Louisville City in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: FC Cincinnati

While FC Cincinnati’s roster has completely changed since the heyday of its USL Championship rivalry, Louisville City has retained a contingent of players well-versed in the intensity of this matchup.

TQL Stadium played host to its first Dirty River Derby during the Third Round of the 2023 US Open Cup as Louisville City made the trek north to take on its regional rivals for the first time since 2019. The visiting side maintained more possession and created more scoring opportunities. However, it was host Cincinnati that claimed victory with a late goal from Arquimides Ordonez in a 1-0 victory.

FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan was critical of his team’s outing, “Overall, I think it was sloppy for what we expect out of a lot of guys. But like I’ve said plenty of times before, the important part was that we advanced in the competition, they did a good job of winning the game in the 90 minutes.

“And certainly the guys that came on I thought did a good job.”

Only seven minutes into the match, Ordonez broke through LouCity’s backline unmarked and got around Louisville keeper Kyle Morton, but central defender Sean Totsch was there to block the shot. A few minutes later, veteran LouCity striker Cameron Lancaster fired off a goalbound shot that was blocked by FCC’s Alex Kann. Lancaster got the rebound and attempted a cheeky backheel shot that was a touch off the mark. It was Lancaster again at the 23-minute mark with a shot aimed at the near post that narrowly went wide.

The home team immediately responded with an opportunity of their own after Louisville defender Wes Charpie was stripped of the ball by Dominique Badji, who was denied a shot by LouCity’s Totsch. Lancaster participated in a similar sequence minutes later; won the ball pressing, but he went for a chipped shot that was off the mark. Both teams saw out the remainder of the first half without any more close calls. Louisville City slightly out-possessed and out-shot Cincinnati halfway through the match.

The back-and-forth affair continued into the second half. Both teams made changes around the 60-minute mark as Alvaro Barrela and Matt Miaga entered the match for Cincinnati and Wilson Harris and Josh Wynder came in for Louisville.

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LouCity’s Harris got his head to a set-piece ball lobbed into the box in the 67th minute, but there was not enough power behind it to avoid Cincy’s Kann securing the ball. LouCity’s Ray Serrano and Amadou Dia entered the match in the 71st minute. Those changes marked a change in shape for the visitors. Louisville changed from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2.

FCC’s Barreal got into the action with a shot of his own that was secured by Morton in the 77th minute. Only a few minutes later, Louisville made yet another change, bringing in midfielder Tyler Gibson. Following that move, Cincinnati responded by subbing in Brandon Vazquez. At the 85th minute, Ordonez broke the deadlock, burying a cross from Barreal, sending the home supporters in the Bailey into a frenzy. Cincinnati’s Yuya Kubo came into the match in the 90th minute to help see off the club’s Open Cup victory seeing them enter the Fourth Round of the competition.

“Really encouraging performance from the group,” said Louisville City head coach Danny Cruz despite the result. “We created a ton of chances — certainly missed chances that we need to finish. But I know for a fact that my guys left everything on the field.”

With that win, FC Cincinnati improved to 10-4-2 all-time in the USOC. Despite having not been part of previous Dirty River Derbys, Noonan appreciates its significance.

“It’s always good to win the rivalry games, the games that have a little bit more meaning with certain players that have been a part of it with the fan base, with the clubs,” he said. “That part’s nice, you always want to win those games, regardless of how you win them.”

2022 US Open Cup Round 5: Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar scores late winner to end Louisville City’s home streak

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Hany Mukhtar of Nashville SC (left) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in the 89th minute against Louisville City in the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Nashville SC
Hany Mukhtar of Nashville SC (left) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in the 89th minute against Louisville City in the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Nashville SC

A rivalry was revived in the Round of 16 of the 2022 US Open Cup when MLS’ Nashville SC took the trip north for their first competitive match against Louisville City FC since their time in the USL Championship in 2019.

LouCity, who was coming off an uncharacteristic two-loss streak, found the back of the net first in the 37th minute. The excited Kentucky crowd was quickly silenced by an Ake Loba goal less than two minutes later. The home team had the edge, having greater possession and more shots, but as the likes of USMNT’s Walker Zimmerman and 2021 MLS MVP runner up Hany Mukhtar entered the match, Nashville’s quality began to prevail. Mukhtar scored the deciding goal in the 89th minute with an expertly placed shot to the far post to give Nashville a 2-1 win.

With the win, Nashville reaches the Quarterfinals of the US Open Cup for the first time in club history, and become just the second Tennessee-based club in the 107-year old history of the tournament to reach the Round of Eight (1998 Nashville Metros, A-League, Div. 2 pro). They will travel to Florida to take on Orlando City SC in the next round (June 21-22).

Louisville aggressively started the match. Only nine minutes in, Corben Bone had a great opportunity in front of Nashville’s goal that he failed to make proper contact with to send it goal-bound.

Less than 20 minutes later, LouCity’s Enoch “Matiti” Mushagalusa took a dangerous shot at the near post that Kentucky native Elliot Panicco stopped. Their offensive pressure paid off in the 37th minute with an aerial cross from Amadou Dia that was headed past the keeper by Brian Ownby. The jubilation of the purple-clad fans didn’t last as a quick start from Nashville caught the two-time USL champs on the backfoot, ending with a goal from the designated player, Ake Loba.

The second half was a more even affair with a number of substitutions made to try to break the 1-1 deadlock. Notable substitutions include Louisville’s Wes Charpie in for an injured Josh Wynder in the 51st minute, Nashville’s Walker Zimmerman in for Jack Maher in the 69th minute, Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar in for Ake Loba in the 77th minute, and former Nashville striker Cameron Lancaster in for LouCity’s Wilson Harris in the 70th minute.

The Nashville changes overwhelmed Louisville and the second half statistics began to drift in the visitor’s favor. Mukhtar was the difference-maker. Tired legs gave him too much space, and he took advantage. In the 89th minute, he slotted it in the goal and helped his team to advance to the next round of the Open Cup.

“Obviously it was a difficult way to end the match,” said LouCity head coach Danny Cruz. “I told the players that a couple mistakes cost us. You give that level of opponent a half-chance, and they take it. They had four shots on the night. We had more possession. But ultimately, what matters is the result. I’m proud of the mentality on the night, but mistakes cost us.”

Goal scorer Brian Ownby echoed Coach Cruz’s thoughts: “We are disappointed. That game was for the taking for us. We gave up cheap goals, and they cost us.”

With that win, Nashville SC has advanced and will have an away matchup in Exploria Stadium against Orlando City SC after they triumphed over Inter Miami CF in penalties. In the meantime, Nashville will continue their MLS campaign on the road against the Colorado Rapids.

2022 US Open Cup Round 3: Louisville City spoils Hackworth’s return, ends St. Louis CITY 2’s only USOC run

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Joshua Wynder of Louisville City FC celebrates his winning goal in the PK shootout against St. Louis CITY 2 in the Third Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: EM Dash Photography
Joshua Wynder of Louisville City FC celebrates his winning goal in the PK shootout against St. Louis CITY 2 in the Third Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: EM Dash Photography

St Louis City SC 2 interim head coach, John Hackworth, made his return to Lynn Family Stadium to take on his former club, Louisville City FC, in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The young MLS Next Pro side hung with the two-time USL champs through 90 minutes and extra time, maintaining a 0-0 scoreline, before falling short in penalty kicks, 9-8.

Hackworth suddenly and unceremoniously departed Louisville after the first regular-season match of 2021 and would later join St Louis City SC as director of coaching. Upon his exit, Danny Cruz, a former player and friend of Hackworth, would assume the title of interim head coach of Louisville City before later earning the job permanently. Now, the mentor faced off against his mentee. While both teams fought for an opportunity to advance in the competition, there were undeniable additional motivations for each team to want the win.

It was an uphill battle for St Louis as the team, whose average age is slightly over 20, played defensively, looking for counter-attacking opportunities against a notoriously stingy Louisville defense. City held Louisville to only four total shots (one on target) in the first half, but only found two shots (none on target) for themselves.

The second half drifted even further in the home team’s favor. With over 60% of possession, Louisville City fired off nine shots and four on target to St Louis City’s zero.

In the 59th minute, LouCity found the first serious goal-scoring opportunity. Enoch “Matiti” Mushagalusa dished the ball over to Brian Ownby, whose near-post shot was deflected out.

Only ten minutes later, a Louisville cross in front of the goal was nearly poked in the far post by Napo Matsoso. Wilson Harris had the best opportunity of the night to find a lead when, at the 75-minute mark, he took a shot central in the St Louis City SC box that was kept out of goal by the heroics of goalkeeper Michael Creek who dove and got a single hand on the shot and kept it out.


The match remained scoreless and crept into extra time as fans’ enthusiasm transformed into nervousness. Only a few shots were registered in extra time as the tactical chess match between Coach Hackworth and Coach Cruz required penalty kicks to determine the victor.

Fans flooded the Waterfront supporters section behind the goal on the northern side of the pitch where the match was to be determined. An early stop of St Louis City’s Max Schneider on the first kick and a miss from Louisville City’s Jorge Gonzalez on his team’s third was the only glimmer of hopes for each side until St Louis’ Dida Armstrong’s shot was saved on the 10th try. 16-year-old Louisville native, Josh Wynder, stepped up to the spot and made his attempt to send Louisville into the Fourth Round of the Cup.

“Tonight felt like a playoff game,” said Louisville City head coach Danny Cruz. “Us doing the penalties, and you see all the crowd over there with everybody loud and screaming — it certainly feels like that and those moments are beneficial for the growth of the group. We had a lot of young guys take penalties in those moments tonight, and I walked away very impressed, and that is not easy.”

Jorge Gonzalez of Louisville City FC battles for the ball against St. Louis CITY 2 in the Third Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: EM Dash Photography
Jorge Gonzalez of Louisville City FC battles for the ball against St. Louis CITY 2 in the Third Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: EM Dash Photography

Post match, St Louis City SC head coach John Hackworth acknowledged the challenge his team was up against.

“I’m really proud of my team. I don’t know if you guys know — there were a lot of teenagers on the field,” said Hackworth. “To come into this stadium against that quality of players, it says a lot about where they are. They are young and got there in a shot amount of time.”

It was one of the longer penalty kick shootouts of the Modern Era (1995-present). This was just the seventh shootout since 1995 to last 10 rounds of more.

With that result, St Louis City SC 2 has likely seen its last run in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup as next season the senior team will be assembled and joining the fray as a Division 1 MLS contender, thus making them ineligible.

Louisville City, who won their first penalty shootout since the 2017 USL Championship Eastern Conference final against New York Red Bulls 2, will advance to Round 4 for the third tournament in a row and the fourth time in the club’s six all-time appearances. Louisville also remains undefeated in Open Cup play at home, extending the club’s home unbeaten streak to nine games (7-0-2, 2-0 PKs), the third-longest active unbeaten streak in the competition.

2022 US Open Cup Round 2: Wilson Harris’ winner helps Louisville City edge Red Wolves

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Wilson Harris Louisville City Chattanooga Red Wolves 2022 US Open Cup
Wilson Harris of Louisville City FC celebrates his goal in the 75th minute against Chattanooga Red Wolves in the Second Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Connor Cunningham

Lynn Family Stadium played host to its first-ever US Open Cup match as Louisville City FC hosted USL League One’s Chattanooga Red Wolves. The home team from the USL Championship controlled the tempo and created numerous dangerous opportunities. The Red Wolves weathered the storm for 75 minutes before Louisville found the game-deciding goal that would send them on to the Third Round for the sixth tournament in a row.

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The hosts entered the match unbeaten in USL Championship play, boasting a 3-0-2 record having only allowed one goal. Louisville’s new goalkeeper, Kyle Morton, along with defensive standouts Amadou Dia and Sean Totsch have all played major factors in the club’s impressive defensive start to the campaign. The visitors, meanwhile, have just begun their season this past Saturday with a 1-1 draw with Forward Madison FC.

Within the first 15 minutes of the match, Louisville City created several chances, including a promising cross to the young Ray Serrano that was astutely intercepted by Chattanooga’s goalkeeper, Carlos Avilez.

At the 31st minute mark, Louisville City captain Paolo DelPiccolo went down in the Red Wolves box after a shoving challenge that was waved off by the referee, drawing the ire of the home crowd of over 4,000. Despite the boys in purple winning most statistical battles, they could not capitalize, and both teams entered the locker room with the scoreline at 0-0.

At the start of the second half, Brian Ownby and Corben Bone entered the match for Serrano and DelPiccolo.

The second half began to look a bit more optimistic for the Red Wolves. They found their first on-target shot of the night at the 52-minute mark that was gobbled up by Morton.

Louisville, looking to break the deadlock, brought in Jorge Gonzalez and Manny Perez in the 63rd minute for Enoch “Matiti” Mushagalusa and Jan Erik Leinhos, who made his debut for the club in this match.

Louisville City nearly broke the deadlock in the 65th minute when Perez made a beautiful run down the right flank and passed the ball to an awaiting Ownby whose on-target shot was narrowly saved by the outstretched leg of a Red Wolves defender. In the ensuing scuffle for the ball, Napo Matsoso found an open shot of his own that he sent sailing over the goal into the crowd.

Chattanooga’s first subs of the match made their way on in theh 68th minute when Pedro Hernandez and Moe Espinoza exited for Rey Ortiz and Rafael Mentzingen. Not long after, Wilson Harris found Louisville City’s goal.

Avilez dished the ball out to his teammate, who could not settle the pass. The veteran midfielder, Bone, took advantage of the opportunity and quickly crossed the ball over to Harris, who adeptly put the ball past the keeper and into the net. Louisville’s academy signee, Carlos Moguel, was taken off after the goal for the fan-favorite, Naill McCabe. Red Wolves subbed out Jimmie Villalobos for Josue Cartagena in the 79th minute and Angel Josue Espana for Jonathan Guadarrama at the 85-minute mark but unfortunately they were unable to help their club keep their cup dreams alive. The final whistle blew 1-0 for Louisville City.

Louisville City head coach, Danny Cruz, was clear about his intentions for the US Open Cup in the lead-up to their first match.

“I’ve made it clear both to the players and to the press that, for me, this is an important tournament,” Cruz said. “It’s a tournament that I want us to get after. And when you look at the momentum that’s built off of another shutout, the players feel that. They feel it in training every day. Now there’s areas that we need to continue to improve in the attack. There’s no doubt about it.

“I think in the first half, we created enough chances to score goals, but that will come at the end of the day,” Cruz added. “If we continue to keep a zero on the scoreboard, I know I have the quality in that locker room to score goals. It will come. Relationships will continue to be built and I’m confident in that.”

Although the home team dictated much of the match, the Chattanooga Red Wolves had a respectable performance. They held off a hungry LouCity attack for much of the match and found a few close calls of their own with their very limited possession of the ball in City’s half. Unfortunately, the Red Wolves will need to wait until next year to advance to the Third Round. Their attention will now turn to their league match against North Carolina FC. Coach Cruz’s Louisville City booked their trip to the next round in hopes of showcasing their talent deep into the tournament. While they await the outcome of the draw ( Noon, ET on Friday), preparations will continue for their next match away at Loudoun United.

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