U.S. Open Cup final score: St. Louis City SC clinch crown in shootout after losing star goalkeeper Roman Burki

5-3 final score in penalties, with their backup goalkeeper. What a way to win it!

Herrera scores for Columbus, taking this to the fifth spot kick. Goalkeeper made contact.

Rocket from Tapia. Columbus stay within one with a powerful shot across his body to the left.

Durkin converts into the upper corner for St. Louis. 3-1.

Macnaughton converts for St. Louis City. Up 2-0 here as Columbus are about to take their second.

Really good save, getting a strong hand on it to knock it off the post.

Baumgartl finishes with class for St. Louis. Rodriguez is saved on Columbus' first.

St. Louis ⚽

Columbus ❌

For the first time in 11 years, the Open Cup final will be decided by penalties. St. Louis are down to their backup keeper in Benjamin Lundt, following Roman Burki's injury, and there's still plenty that could happen. 

These players are falling apart right now as everyone is leaving it all on the pitch. 

Only five minutes separate us from a shootout in the Open Cup final. It has been a start-and-stop match, and both sides are running out of time. 

St. Louis will bring on Tomas Ostrak for Simon Becher to close this one out. No one wants penalties, especially as St. Louis have already suffered a keeper injury.

So far in extra time, St. Louis are still running around like it's the first minute, and their press seems to be giving the Crew some trouble.

Yet again, the finishing isn't there as a chance goes begging in the match. St. Louis have only taken three shots as Columbus have defended their box well.

11 minutes have been added before we go to extra time, considering the injury and stoppages in the second half of play.

He won't continue in the match after being kneed in the head, and the entire stadium is chanting his name as he's stretchered off. Ben Lundt will enter for St. Louis to close out the game, making only his fourth appearance of the season so far. Burki has had a lot of work to do so far in the game, so this is a significant shift. Burki will head to the hospital to receive further examination. He is conscious and has movement in his extremities at this stage. 

This may be reviewed for a penalty, but this game is looking like an opportunity lost for the Crew. St. Louis keeper Roman Burki also took a knee to the head as this game is escalating, and he now remains down, receiving treatment.

Becher could've been sent off already, and while things are still close possession-wise, St. Louis have only taken one shot in the entire game as they can't string passes together.

Columbus are starting the second half still on the front foot, which isn't what Damet will want to see right after the half.

Not a ton to write home about in the first half of play, but Columbus will have wanted to have gone into the locker room ahead by a goal after how this started. There's still time to get a go ahead goal, but now St. Louis will also have time to adjust.

Columbus may have thought they scored, but after a bit of chaos, MacNaughton was able to clear the ball off the line. If this is a narrow game, this is a moment in the first half that we will come back to.

His shot from the top of the box was blocked, but these are scary moments for Columbus as he's someone who can hit these from a distance without issue. St. Louis have had a few runs into space, but they haven't taken advantage of them, with Simon Becher spending too much time in hold up play instead of shooting.

Santi Rodriguez has been able to get into space, but the St. Louis rest defense is bending but not breaking. St. Louis won't want to continue allowing these chances in the game, but with the stadium behind the Crew, the longer that it is level, the more that STL can shift things in their favor.

These are two evenly matched teams. So far, there aren't any signs of nerves in the early going for either team, but the defenses have been more than ready for how this free-flowing game is kicking off.

The captains are bringing the ball out, and we're ready to get the U.S. Open Cup final underway.

In St. Louis, they made a major addition by adding Rafael Navarro from the Colorado Rapids. Navarro has only played eight games for the club, but he has scored eight goals in the process and added three assists as well. But there's one large issue: he has already played in the U.S. Open Cup for the Rapids and can't feature in this game. But have no fear: Simon Becher may be one of the most improved players in MLS this season. In all competitions, Becher has 10 goals and four assists in 33 appearances for the club. While he has been underperforming his xG of 12.19, he has been excellent at getting into space to put shots on frame. Alongside Carlo Holse and Alexandru Matan (another former Columbus player), Becher will still form an attack that should be feared.

That wouldn't have been expected last season when Becher only had three goals from an xG of nine in all competitions, despite averaging more shots per 90 minutes than he's taking currently under Damet. It shows just how potent this system is, and if Columbus aren't careful, this could get out of hand quickly.

Brais Mendez is one of the players that the Crew will look to in order to get over the line. He's not even a full year removed from winning the Copa del Rey with Real Sociedad before making the move to MLS to help fill the void left by Diego Rossi's departure to Monterrey. Since joining the Crew, Mendez has registered 11 goal contributions in all competitions, giving them a talisman to play through. While he was withdrawn at halftime of their victory over FC Cincinnati, Columbus manager Laurent Courtois confirmed that it wasn't injury-related. Meanwhile, their other new recruit, Anass Zaroury, will also be available after missing out due to illness, and Josef Martinez will be expected to lead the line.

It's an entirely new-look attack for Courtois, showcasing another one of the similarities between these squads: the immense change that they've undergone this season. Only time will tell which manager pushes their chess pieces on the pitch the best, but with talented players at their disposal, we're set for a good match in Columbus.

During the summer, forward Josef Martinez joined the club after what he described as a tough time with Club Tijuana in Liga MX. While at the moment, it was a move that felt like it should be made leaving CF Montreal, sometimes those moves don't work out, but Martinez is also grateful to be with the Crew currently, where he has been able to get back to full fitness and have a chance to contribute now with the chance to win a trophy.

Josef Martinez embraces chance at turning Columbus Crew's season around in U.S. Open Cup final

Chuck Booth