NeverEnding Story: Nashville's first trophy, amateurs keep dreaming

Open Cup Digest #20

It was only a week ago that Nashville SC became the first team from the state of Tennessee to win the US Open Cup. It's an achievement of historic proportions, the first major knockout trophy won by a major professional team from the Volunteer State.

But now that the 2025 tournament came to a close, the 2026 tournament is ramping: US Open Cup Qualifying is back underway this weekend with eight games featuring teams from New York and New Jersey.

Nashville win it all

Nashville's journey to winning the US Open Cup was a wild ride. From starting against in-state foe Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, to getting Troy Lesesne fired as head coach of DC United, to stunning eventual Supporters' Shield champions Philadelphia Union, it was a long, strange trip for the Coyotes.

BJ Callaghan, who became Nashville's head coach in the middle of the 2024 season, took the team from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to a national champion in his first full year in charge. Maybe it's because he allowed his two best players, Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge, to swap attacking roles and find space in the US Open Cup Final against an Austin FC with defensive issues.

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SixOneFive SoccerChristina Moore

It's poetic that it was Mukhtar, Nashville's team captain and first-ever Designated Player and the fourth player ever signed by the team in late 2019, who got them on the board. A 17th-minute pass from midfielder Jacob Shaffelburg set up Nashville's captain about 10 yards from goal, where he sent a volley into the corner of the net past Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver.

But the deal wasn't done. After Austin's Myrto Uzuni equalized in first-half stoppage time, the game felt like it could swing in either direction in the second half.

The game was settled when Open Cup Golden Boot leader Surridge put a bow on both his goalscoring title and Nashville's cup when he converted a 60th-minute penalty kick. It's the first time a single player has scored six goals in a tournament since 2019, when Darwin Quintero of Minnesota United FC accomplished the same feat.

In the end, an Austin team that made it to the final behind late goals and come-from-behind efforts finally ran out of steam. No Matthew McConaughey Magic could bring them the title, even as the A-lister banged the ceremonial drum during pregame in an “alright” hat.

From their roots as amateur side Nashville FC in the National Premier Soccer League, to a two-year stint in the second-division USL Championship, to finally raising a major trophy as a member of Major League Soccer, Nashville finally have a championship after years of struggle.

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BackheeledJohn Morrissey

El Farolito honored

But before Nashville won the 2025 US Open Cup, a halftime presentation honored El Farolito SC, the squad based out of a small chain of family-run Mexican taquerias in the San Francisco Bay Area. They became the first team to lift the John Motta Trophy, awarded to the amateur team that advances the furthest in the tournament.

Salvador Lopez, head coach of the Burrito Boys as well as the owner of the restaurant, and Irene Lopez, club manager, were joined on the field by USSF staff and Motta himself, who is a member of the US Soccer Board and Chairman of the US Soccer Adult Council. Not only were they awarded the trophy, they were presented with a check for $50,000 for their run to the Third Round this year.

The new trophy was introduced earlier this year as another incentive for amateur teams in the competition. In addition to silverware and the cash prize, El Farolito will earn automatic qualification for the 2026 tournament.

El Farolito were probably going back to the Open Cup anyway. Now they are guaranteed another chance to play Cinderella and add to the 1993 US Open Cup they won as CD Mexico. This will be the third consecutive appearance for the Burrito Boys in the tournament. They put up some memorable performances in recent years, from beating Portland Timbers 2 and taking Oakland Roots SC to extra time in 2024, to beating Division II Monterey Bay FC and pushing Sacramento Republic FC to the brink this past April. El Farolito has played six pro teams these past two years, and beaten four of them.

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Hudson River BlueMichael Battista

Qualifying returns

As the 110th edition of America's national championship ends, the 106th is right around the corner. The 2026 US Open Cup Qualifying Tournament continues this weekend. Eight games in the Second Qualifying Round feature teams from either New York or New Jersey.

Saturday's Garden State double header features four teams all trying to qualify for their first ever Open Cup, while Saturday's games are mostly centered around New York City.

Saturday features two Garden State clashes, with both games featuring teams from the United Premier Soccer League. Bulldogs SC, a team founded by a group of Old Bridge friends, are visiting FC Monmouth near the Jersey Shore. In a "Because it's the Open Cup" moment, soccer writer and Monmouth supporter Tom Bogert, formerly of The Athletic and Give Me Sport, will be conducting the coin toss prior to kickoff. The other match features two clubs with ethnic heritage, as Polish social club SC Vistula Garfield hosts Newark Portuguese side Ironbound SCP.

Saturday's slate will feature a bounty of New York City area games — four, to be precise.

Metropolitan Oval Academy, the inaugural national champions of The League For Clubs, will host another team with deep youth soccer roots in Central Park Rangers. The all-American Premier Soccer League battle of the round features two teams that finished at opposite ends of the APSL's Metropolitan Conference last season. Doxa FCW, the Greek Heritage club looking to return to the Open Cup for the first time since the 1970s, hosts perennial title contenders Lansdowne Yonkers FC in New Rochelle. Doxa reached the Second Qualifying Round by beating 2025 US Open Cup Qualifiers New Jersey Alliance FC, 1-0, last month.

Another APSL Metropolitan team in action is Zum Schneider FC 03, who will be hosting the heavily Haitian-influenced Osner's FC on Roosevelt Island.

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Hudson River BlueMichael Battista

Brooklyn amateur side impress against Ecuadorian giants Barcelona SC

A Friendly in New Jersey brought out thousands of fans of the Ecuadorian club, but Brooklyn’s Osner’s FC held their own while enlisting former and aspiring professional players.

Hudson River BlueMichael Battista

The last game in the Metro Area features four-time US Open Cup champion New York Greek Americans hosting UPSL side NY Renegades FC at Hofstra University. Both teams are offensive engines, with the Greeks scoring 19 goals through their first five games this season in the APSL, while the Renegades have 19 through their first seven.

This is also a rematch from qualifying last year, when Renegades beat the Greeks, 4-3, in the Second Qualifying Round en route to making it to the 2025 Open Cup.

Far off in the distant lands known as Central Pennsylvania and South Jersey, two more games will be taking place. FCY New York from Buffalo, NY, is making the trip to the Pittsburgh suburbs to face Steel City FC. Steel is one of four USL League Two teams taking part in qualifying, the first year the national league is allowed to take part, thanks to a change in USOC rules. FCY will have their work cut out for them. Steel City joined USL2 from the NPSL last year, and in their first season, the team won their division with only one loss in 12 games.

On the other end, Scots-American Athletic Club is traveling down to Rowan University to take on Oaklyn United FC. The century-old Kearny Scots got their first win on record in the Open Cup since the mid-twentieth century in the last round and will look to advance further against another South Jersey side. Oaklyn finished third in the APSL Delaware River Conference last season, but lost in the conference semifinals. The team made its debut in qualifying last year but went one-and-done in its first game.