City advances with a 3-0 win at Colorado
St. Louis City SC earned a place in its first Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final by defeating the Colorado Rapids 3-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Sangbin Jeong opened the scoring in the 32nd minute after Rapids goalkeeper Adam Beaudry misplayed a clearing attempt near the top of the penalty area; Jeong was tripped by Beaudry but still scored into an open net. Simon Becher doubled the lead in the 52nd minute with a low shot inside the right post, his first career U.S. Open Cup goal, assisted by Conrad Wallem. Alex Mățan made it 3-0 seven minutes later from a quick restart, assisted by Tomas Totland.[S1][S2]
City limited Colorado to one shot on target, which goalkeeper Roman Bürki saved to record the team's second clean sheet of the tournament and its third shutout of the Rapids this season. The victory extended St. Louis's unbeaten streak to 17 games across all competitions; the run began on May 9 with a 1-0 win at the same stadium, also on a Jeong goal and a Bürki clean sheet. Since then, City has gone 11-0-6 and was idle for 53 days during the MLS World Cup break. The U.S. Open Cup final on Oct. 21 will see City travel to the Columbus Crew, who advanced with a 2-1 win over Orlando City in the other semifinal.[S1][S2]
A first final and a St. Louis tradition
The result marks the club's first appearance in a U.S. Open Cup title game. Teams from St. Louis have won 10 U.S. Open Cup championships over the tournament's history, captured by seven different clubs between 1922 and 1988; the last local winner was the St. Louis Busch Seniors. City hopes to make it 11. Before traveling to Columbus for the final, City will play five MLS games, starting Saturday at home against Toronto FC at 7:30 p.m.[S1][S2]
Missouri State and Kansas City Roos draw 3-3
In Springfield on Wednesday night, a top-20 clash between Missouri teams ended 3-3 as the 16th-ranked Kansas City Roos found a late equalizer against the 12th-ranked Missouri State Bears. Missouri State's Ben Furlong scored just nine minutes in after a defensive error. The Roos pressed and equalized late in the first half with a top-shelf goal by Elouan Labadie-Vincent, who then gave the Roos the lead early in the second half. Missouri State's João Boavida and Diego Real scored later in the half to put the Bears back in front. Mariano Beunza equalized in the 88th minute, and the game ended level after a video review of a possible handball did not result in a penalty kick. Both teams had four shots on goal.[S1]
Missouri State remains unbeaten this season with a 5-0-1 record and travels to Temple on Saturday. Kansas City will host seventh-ranked San Diego on Sunday evening.[S1]
