St. Louis CITY SC secured their first-ever U.S. Open Cup Final appearance with a commanding 3-0 victory over Colorado Rapids.

COMMERCE CITY, CO – St. Louis CITY SC advanced to its first-ever U.S. Open Cup Final after defeating Colorado Rapids 3-0 at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park on Wednesday night. Sangbin Jeong opened the scoring for CITY SC in the 32nd minute, recording his second career U.S. Open Cup goal. St. Louis held a 1-0 lead heading into halftime, limiting Colorado to one shot on target in the first half. Simon Becher gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead in the 52nd minute, scoring his first career U.S. Open Cup goal off an assist from Conrad Wallem. Seven minutes later, Alex Mățan made it 3-0, also scoring his first career goal for the club, with Tomas Totland earning the assist. Roman Bürki and St. Louis held the Rapids to zero shots on target and in the second half to secure the team’s second clean sheet of the U.S. Open Cup campaign. 

St. Louis will now face the Columbus Crew in the 2026 U.S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday, October 21. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.  

CITY SC returns to MLS action at Energizer Park this Saturday, September 19, facing Eastern Conference opponent Toronto FC at 7:30 p.m. CT.  

Postgame Notes 

• Sangbin Jeong scored his second career U.S. Open Cup goal. This was his second goal at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park across all competitions in 2026 
• Sangbin’s goal was his fourth of the season across all competitions 
• Simon Becher scored his first career U.S. Open Cup goal and eighth goal across all competitions in 2026 
• Alex Mățan notched his first career U.S. Open Cup goal and his first career goal for St. Louis 
• Tomas Totland earned his second assist of the 2026 U.S. Open Cup campaign and his sixth across all competitions 
• Conrad Wallem picked up his first career U.S. Open Cup assist and seventh across all competitions in 2026. Wallem has registered six assists across his last seven matches, the most on the team over that span 
• Roman Bürki earned his second career U.S. Open Cup clean sheet 
• St. Louis has scored three or more goals in seven of their last 12 matches across all competitions 
• CITY SC extended its unbeaten streak to 17 games across all competitions 
• St. Louis CITY SC will face the Columbus Crew in the U.S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday, October 21. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT 

September 16, 2026 – DICK’S Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City, CO) 

Goal-Scoring Plays 

STL: Sangbin Jeong, 32nd minute – Sangbin Jeong scored with a right footed shot from the center of the box to the center of the goal. 

STL: Simon Becher (Conrad Wallem), 52nd minute – Simon Becher scored with a left footed shot from oustide the box to the bottom right corner. 

STL: Alex Mățan (Tomas Totland), 59th minute – Alex Mățan scored with a right footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner. 

Scoring Summary 

STL: Sangbin Jeong, 32’ 

STL: Simon Becher (Conrad Wallem), 52’ 

STL: Alex Mățan (Tomas Totland), 59

Head Coach Yoann Damet 

On advancing to the U.S. Open Cup Final: 

We want to write a history for the club. It’s the first final in club history. It’s the first game that is going to matter for a trophy. Very happy for the guys. Very happy for the group. It’s their reward for all the work they’ve been putting in, all the trust they have in each other. Together they had nice football on the pitch, so I’m very pleased, very happy for them first and foremost, but also happy for everybody behind the scenes that is working really hard every single day to help the guys perform. I think today is a full club performance and full club moments that we need to enjoy. 

On the focus of the team tonight: 

It is very hard. That’s the reality of the game. What the guys are doing is very difficult, but at the same time, there is a feeling of not being satisfied and a feeling of wanting to push, wanting to get better, wanting to keep fighting for one another. I think right now it’s just the mindset that this group has when it comes to the next game and preparing and getting ourselves ready. But it’s credit to them. At the end of the day, these guys turn up ready every single day to work. They turn up every single day as well to get better since January, and I’m very happy for them that it’s paying off. 

On the fan support in Colorado tonight: 

I say every single game, we focus on ourselves. We had amazing support tonight. We had 200 or 300 people from St. Louis that was supporting us. That’s all that matters. This was another game that we had to focus on our preparation, the application of our plan, and the guys I felt were switched on from the first minute to the last. So that’s all that matters. We’re dealing with challenges like everybody is trying to do. We know that every game is different and is offering a different challenge. Right now, like I said, the guys have been able to replicate and keep moving forward. It takes a lot of hard work to be able to do that. So, playing on the road against a good team at altitude is never easy, but at the same time, these are not things we’re focusing on. We’re focusing on ourselves. 

Goalkeeper and Captain Roman Bürki 

On advancing to the U.S. Open Cup final: 

I mean, feels great. Obviously, we talked about it before the season started that this is our goal, and that we will do everything we can to go to the final to be the first in club history to play a final. It feels amazing, but the job is not done. 

On earning the clean sheet tonight: 

I mean, it feels good. I think it’s important for the whole team. We talked a little bit about it that; we can also maybe try to do it elsewhere, not only in Colorado. I think it’s two times in a row now that we didn’t concede a goal here. So yeah, feels good, obviously. But I mean, it’s a knockout game, so for us it was just important to win. 

On the third goal and what he saw: 

It was a very good idea. And then also the execution. Just a small detail that Matie [Alex Matan], the ball is not bouncing off his foot somewhere else, so he’s really good at controlling these balls. Difficult ball to control, and I would say maybe half a year back we wouldn’t have scored that because we didn’t have the capacity or the quality with the ball on our feet. So yeah, very well done. 

Midfielder Alex Mățan 

On tonight’s match: 

We faced a difficult opponent, that I think they are amazing at their place. We had a hard game, but I think you know the little details made the difference today, and we are happy to be in the final. 

On what he saw on his goal: 

I don’t know. Just everything happened so quickly. Tots [Tomas Totland] had a beautiful touch. Timo [Baumgartl] also had a beautiful ball. I had a good touch, and that was it. Everything happened quickly. 

On how hard it was to stay composed at the end of the match: 

At 2-0 the game was not finished definitely, and also 3-0 I think they had a couple of good chances from set pieces. I think we still have to manage those moments better, but the third goal kills the game.