By Daniel Feuerstein | Columbus, OH | September 16th, 2026
The first of two semifinal matches in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as the Capital of Ohio, the Columbus Crew took on the Central Florida side, Orlando City, in an important matchup to see who would host the Championship Final. One side righted the ship, while the other has been struggling in MLS league play. When these two sides met, you had an exciting match, and the two sides were battling it out. But at the end of the night, it was the Crew that found ways to take the lead and keep it as they defeated Orlando City by a final score of two goals to one.
An early goal puts the Crew ahead
Inside the first ten minutes of the match, the Crew was looking for an advantage to get that opening goal, and they did so when they earned a free kick along the near side of the pitch. Santiago Rodriguez stood in front of the ball and was ready to take the free kick. As he struck the ball, it bent toward the middle of the area, and waiting for it as it bounced toward him was Josef Martinez, and the wiley veteran was in great position to settle it and struck it home. There was a VAR check to see if the ball struck a Columbus player in the hand before it got to Martinez, but the goal stood, and they took the lead in the 9th minute.
Orlando gets the equalizer
Orlando City was looking to get an equalizer, and it came towards the back end of the first half. Justin Ellis got a handle on the ball and dribbled it down the pitch along the near side. Ellis led his team with confidence and told his side to follow him towards the Crew’s net. When he reached the outside of the area, he crossed it toward the middle and found Martin Ojeda, who received the ball and unleashed a hard shot that tucked inside the back post for the equalizer in the 40th minute. That was the answer Orlando was looking for, and they headed into the locker room at halftime.
Magical cross and shot to retake the lead
Columbus once again found a way to get another early goal, and it came seven minutes into the second half. Rodriguez once again was the catalyst as he received the ball and started to attack down the pitch along the far side touchline. When he got closer to the area, Rodriguez crossed the ball all the way to the back post and found Brais Mendez, who found a way to get his left foot out and delivered a flick shot that was tucked inside the back post to regain the lead in the 52nd minute. But unfortunately for Antoine Griezmann, he fell during an attacking play and was substituted off two minutes later for Daryl Dike. Griezmann was limping back to the bench.
Columbus continued to attack, but nothing more went in
The Crew continued to attack Orlando City, but nothing went in as Maxime Crepeau continued to find ways to keep the ball out and tried to keep his side in the match. But unfortunately for Orlando, they lost their tooth when Grizemann was subbed out due to injury. For the Crew, they showed confidence and continued to attack their opponents to get that killer goal. After six minutes of stoppage time expired, the Crew advanced to host the Final, and they let out a big exhale after those 90 minutes were played. Now they await the winner of the Colorado Rapids and St. Louis City SC
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