Both U.S. Open Cup finalists are relatively recent MLS additions, and both have a chance to claim their first trophy
If you’d watched 118 minutes of Austin FC’s U.S. Open Cup semifinal clash with Minnesota United, you wouldn’t have thought that the latter team would be playing in the final. Austin weren’t battered, but they were never quite in it. The home side, despite taking the lead in the first half were pegged back, minute by minute.
Every logical indicator of the way soccer works suggested that there wouldn’t be an Austin winner here. So much for that.
Sometimes this sport churns up surprises. And that’s what Austin provided – in emphatic style. CJ Fodrey made it happen: a loose ball, a sliced volley, Dayne St. Clair, among the favorites for MLS goalie of the year, watching from the turf as it rolled in. It wasn’t a smash and grab. But it did turn what seemed to be a penalty shootout here, not a late Austin winner.
But Fodrey scored all the same. And Austin will play for the cup at home on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Q2 Stadium. Nashville, meanwhile, were a little more comfortable. They leaned on their main man, Sam Surridge, and defended at the right moments. Philadelphia had more of the ball in their semifinal, but Nashville always seemed set to win this thing.
And so we have a finely poised U.S. Open Cup final. And whichever club wins will claim the first title in franchise history. These are two cities that love their sports, recently added to MLS, with a chance to claim a trophy and kick off a sense of league legitimacy in full.
