Star-power and Supersubs – both proved crucial in the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. We take a look at three U.S. Men’s National Team players – each with multiple caps for their country – who powered their respective Major League Soccer (MLS) sides to glory and spots in the Round of 16.
Austin FC, since launching in the top flight in 2021, have yet to make a deep run in the Open Cup. The best the Texans managed was one win and a Round of 16 berth back in 2023. So when Los Verdes were down by two goals to Division II (USL Championship) side El Paso Locomotive in the 72nd minute at home in their 2025 opener, it smelled like more of the same disappointment in Cup play.
That all changed, however, in the space of six second-half minutes when Brandon Vazquez, the burly 26-year-old former FC Cincinnati striker, flexed his muscles and showed precisely why he’s been called in on 11 occasions to play for the United States (tallying four goals in those appearances).
It may come as a surprise to some readers that Vazquez knows what it feels like to lift this country’s oldest prize – having finished top-scorer for Atlanta United in their run to the 2019 Open Cup title.
“Wild stuff will happen when you least expect it in the Open Cup,” he told ussoccer.com of the threat posed by lower-league teams in the topsy-turvy world of the U.S. Open Cup. “You have to adapt and you have to be focused and have the mentality to win. You have to push through.”
“When you least expect it, you’ll get bit,” he added, knowing well the pitfalls that exist in domestic Cup play. “It happens when your head goes down and these games [against lower-level teams] are really dangerous. You need to be ready for what they bring you. You can’t slip up.”
He was more than ready when, in the 73rd minute, the time came to go to work. Slipping in behind the Locomotive defence, Vazquez hit home a slick pass from Owen Wolff. In an ominous sign of things to come for El Paso, the striker skipped the elaborate celebration and marched back to the center circle.
It was just two minutes later when Vazquez, a master of hold-up play with his big frame, chested a long ball down for Myrto Uzuni to hammer home the equalizer. The writing was on the wall for the tiring Division II visitors and fellow Texans when, in the 79th minute, Vazquez put the finishing touches on the 3-2 win when he headed home his second of the night off another bit of pretty service from Wolff.
This time Vazquez took the time to celebrate his goal – and the huge comeback that saw Austin FC match their best-ever run in the Open Cup (a place in the Round of 16) and book another home date with our two-time Open Cup Champs Houston Dynamo on May 21 (LIVE on Paramount+).
Big Pat and Young Jack Sizzle
Patrick ‘Big Pat’ Agyemang didn’t have the luxury of being on the field from the start like Vazquez did. He had to weave his game-changing magic after coming off the bench in the 78th minute for Charlotte FC. The big striker, who hails from Connecticut, entered the away-game against Division II (USL Championship) side North Carolina FC with the score tangled at 0-0.
“I love the Open Cup. Teams from all the levels getting to play against each other – it’s crazy,” Agyemang said earlier this year, while in his first camp with the U.S. Men’s National Team. “You don’t know what’s gonna happen. The possibilities are all over the place. You got your favorites but at the end of the day you have to play the game and earn it.”
He did just that. The massive target man took control in an overtime session that produced five goals and an eventual 4-1 win for Charlotte FC.
With the score tied at 1-1 in the 103rd minute, Djibril Diani sent a looping cross into the area. It’s the kind of ball that’s the 24-year-old Agyemang’s bread and butter. The striker rose highest and headed home off the inside of the post to earn a lead that Charlotte FC wouldn’t relinquish – and which sent them through to a Round of 16 date with D.C. United on the road (LIVE on Paramount+).
“It’s all about moments,” Agyemang has said about the historic Open Cup, and he couldn’t be more right.
The game-winner was unsurprisingly named Man of the Match. He also had a hand in Nikola Petkovic’s third goal for Charlotte FC and an assist on the insurance strike by Kerwin Vargas, in the dying seconds, that sealed the 1-4 win for the MLS men from North Carolina.
There was one more game of the Round of 32’s 16-game schedule that went to OT. Curiously enough that matchup between our 2018 and 2023 Champs Houston Dynamo and Phoenix Rising (of the Division II USL Championship) also ended 1-4 after the extra-time session.
