U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals: St. Louis CITY vs. Houston Dynamo | OneFootball

The U.S. Open Cup is back this week with the quarterfinals! It’s the last round for quite some time as the semifinals won’t take place for another 4 months. The first match on the western side of the bracket sees 2023 champions Houston Dynamo travel to Energizer Park to face St. Louis CITY.

This game kicks off at 8pm ET/5pm PT and can be watched on Paramount+ or CBS Sports Network.

St. Louis Look To Salvage Lost Season

It might seem crazy to call it a lost season for any team this early on. However, it’s shaping up to be another year to forget for St. Louis CITY. Since their incredible debut season when they finished top of the Western Conference, they’ve been in the bottom 3 of the conference every year and 2026 looks to be no different. The Open Cup is the only other competition St. Louis is in this season, so this is their best chance to have something positive to look back on come winter.

Luckily for them, they come into this quarterfinal in pretty solid form. Starting with their Round of 16 win over Chicago Fire, they have a 3-1-1 record in their last 5 matches in all competitions. The highlight of that run was undoubtedly last Wednesday’s 2-1 win over LAFC. With so many games in such a short period of time, City smartly prioritized the cup by resting key players such as Eduard Löwen and Tomas Totland over the weekend in their 1-1 draw with DC United.

Löwen and Totland will be key if St. Louis want to book their ticket to the semifinals. Those players were the goalscorers against the Fire and Totland also contributed an assist in the previous round against FC Tulsa. The main player to watch for City is Marcel Hartel, who missed the DC match with an illness. His likely return for this game will give a much-needed boost to the squad. The German playmaker has been City’s best player by far this season and will need to be at his best if they want to take down Houston.

Houston’s Hot Streak On The Line

St. Louis aren’t the only team that come into this cup tie in great form. Dynamo have been great recently, winning 4 of their last 5 games ever since star midfielder Jack McGlynn returned from injury. That includes last round’s dramatic victory over USL Championship side Louisville City. Houston equalized in the 90th minute through Erik Sviatchenko then won it in the 102nd via Ezequiel Ponce.

In MLS play, Dynamo have been able to beat good teams thanks to a solid defense. They’ve already won 4 games this season by a 1-0 scoreline, on pace to set a new MLS record by a wide margin. One of those victories was over the weekend against Western Conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps, with the goal coming from Guilherme in the 96th minute. As you’re probably noticing, Houston have been a 2nd half team this season. 17 of their 24 goals in all competitions have come in the 2nd half (or extra time). They’ve been great at grinding out tough results and can never be counted out of a game.

The goalscorer against Vancouver is the main player to watch for Houston. Guilherme’s first season in MLS is off to a flying start, as the new DP already has 7 goals and 5 assists after joining from Brazilian giants Santos. The aforementioned McGlynn will also be crucial for Dynamo. Every game counts for the USMNT hopeful as he tries to cement his spot on the World Cup roster and he’s been great recently, most notably scoring a brace against LAFC earlier this month.

Match Prediction

Neither side plays the most attacking brand of football, so this sets up to be a low scoring affair. Both teams are in solid form but ultimately Houston have more quality and have a knack for finding a late winner. I’m picking Dynamo to win yet another game 1-0 thanks to a Guilherme 2nd half goal.

Prediction: St. Louis CITY 0-1 Houston Dynamo