ATLANTA (July 9, 2025) – If the opening act cancels, the show must go on – and Nashville SC and D.C. United made plenty of noise in tonight’s suddenly lone Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal clash in Music City. After digging an early two-goal deficit, Nashville stormed back to post a decisive 5-2 victory at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tenn., led by Sam Surridge’s equalizer and game-winner in the second half.
Philadelphia Union and New York Red Bulls were mere moments away from kicking off the evening’s first match in suburban Philly, but severe weather in the area forced the teams off the pitch before forcing the game’s postponement. The Major League Soccer rivals will try again at Subaru Park in Chester, Penn., on Wednesday, July 13; time and broadcast details will be announced at a later time.
That makes Nashville SC the lone team on the evening to join Minnesota United FC and Austin FC in the Semifinal Round, set to take place September 16-17. Minnesota will host their West bracket clash with Austin, while the East bracket’s Semifinal host remains up in the air – New York Red Bulls would welcome Nashville SC with a win over Philadelphia on Aug. 13, while a victorious Union would travel to GEODIS Park.
The match and broadcast schedule for the semifinal round will be announced by U.S. Soccer in the coming days. It has been determined by draw that the competition’s Final on October 1 will be hosted by the West bracket representative, meaning Minnesota or Austin will roll out the red carpet for the finale of the 110th edition of U.S. Soccer’s Club Championship.
2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Results/Schedule – Quarterfinals
Matchday #2 – Wednesday, July 9 (all times ET)
Nashville SC 5-2 D.C. United
GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tenn.
Matchday #3 – Wednesday, August 13
Philadelphia Union (MLS) vs. New York Red Bulls (MLS)
Kickoff TBA | Subaru Park in Chester, Pa. | Paramount+ & TBA
(rescheduled from July 9)
Matchday #1 – Tuesday, July 8
Minnesota United FC 1-1, 3-1 (aet) Chicago Fire FC
Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap & Box Score
San Jose Earthquakes 1-1, 2-2 (aet), 2-4 (PKs) Austin FC
PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif. | Recap & Box Score
2025 U.S. Open Cup Recap – Quarterfinal Round
Matchday #2 – Wednesday, July 9
Nashville SC (MLS) 5-2 D.C. United (MLS)
Perhaps Nashville SC got a little case of stage fright after falling in an early two-goal hole, but the home side got the people swaying after scoring the night’s final five tallies in an eventual rout in Music City. The result secured Nashville SC’s first Open Cup Semifinal appearance and moved the Tennessee side one step closer to the club’s first domestic trophy.
It was D.C. United that grabbed the match by the scruff just four minutes in through Gabriel Pirani. Given carte blanche to enter the final third, the Brazilian gladly took the space and slammed a rocket from the arc off the underside of the crossbar to give the visitors an emphatic opening salvo.
In the 24th minute D.C. doubled their lead thanks to an own goal caused by the sizable presence of Christian Benteke. The Belgian striker’s run forced a sliding Jack Maher to redirect a United cross into the Nashville net for a surprising 2-0 United lead – if only for a minute, as D.C. returned the favor with a defensive error of their own barely 90 seconds later.
United defender Aaron Herrera mishit his switch across the top of his penalty area into a fellow defender, and the resulting deflection fell neatly into Jonathan Perez’s path for a first-time volleyed finish from 10 yards that clawed Nashville back to 1-2 down. Nashville nearly nicked an equalizer as the lone minute of first half stoppage time expired, but Andy Najar’s low blast from 20 yards off a short corner deflected just wide of the right post.
Herrera was at the root of another game-changing play in the 51st minute, when he was whistled for a handball inside the area after sliding into Daniel Lovitz’s cross with an outstretched arm. Sam Surridge stepped up to the spot and sent United ‘keeper Kim Joon-Hong the wrong way for an easy finish up the middle that brought things back to square at 2-2.
A poke by United’s Dominique Badji nearly found the upper left corner in the 70th minute, and that missed chance, that just curled over frame, would be one United would rue. Two minutes later, Jonathan Perez’s run into the six set up a Surridge redirect on the doorstep that gave Nashville their first lead.
Eight minutes from time, it was Najar taking stock of Pirani’s stunning opener and doing one better, his 30-yard slicing volley off a short-hop staking claim as one of the goals of the tournament and all but burying his former club. Walker Zimmerman closed the scoring five minutes later as part of his late cameo, capping a once-nervy contest with the swagger of a team on a mission for hardware.
-U.S. Open Cup Match Report-
Match: Nashville SC vs. D.C. United
Date: July 9, 2025
Competition: U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal Round – East Bracket
Venue: GEODIS Park; Nashville, Tenn.
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. CT (9:00 p.m. ET)
Weather: 77 degrees, partly cloudy
| Scoring Summary |
1 |
2 |
F |
| NSH |
1 |
2 |
5 |
| DC |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| DC – Gabriel Pirani (Boris Enow) | 5th minute |
| DC – Own Goal (Jack Maher) | 24 |
| NSH – Jonathan Pérez | 25 |
| NSH – Sam Surridge (penalty kick) | 53 |
| NSH – Sam Surridge (Jonathan Pérez) | 72 |
| NSH – Andy Nájar | 81 |
| NSH – Walker Zimmerman (Gastón Brugman) | 87 |
Lineups:
NSH: 99-Brian Schwake; 31-Andy Najar (Josh Bauer), 4-Jeison Palacios (Walker Zimmerman), 5-Jack Maher, 2-Daniel Lovitz; 24-Jonathan Pérez, 7-Gastón Brugman, 20-Edvard Tagseth (Patrick Yazbek), 19-Alex Muyl (Ahmed Qasem, 73); 10-Hany Mukhtar, 9-Sam Surridge (Teal Bunbury, 90)
Substitutes not used: 13-Xavier Valdez, 22-Josh Bauer
Head coach: B.J. Callaghan
DC: 1-Kim Joon-Hong; 15-Kye Rowles, 3-Lucas Bartlett, 4-Matti Peltola, 28-David Schnegg (Jared Stroud, 79); 6- Boris Enow (Jackson Hopkins, 84), 23-Brandon Servania, 22-Aaron Herrera; 7-João Peglow, 20-Christian Benteke, 10-Gabriel Pirani (Randall Leal, 79)
Substitutes not used: 12-William Conner Antley, 24-Jordan Farr, 77-Hosei Kijima
Head coach: Troy Lesesne
Stats Summary: NSH / DC
Shots: 18 / 7
Shots on Goal: 8 / 2
Saves: 1 / 3
Corner Kicks: 8 / 0
Fouls: 12 / 9
Offside: 1 / 2
| DC – David Schnegg (Caution) | 49th minute |
| NSH – Edvard Tagseth (Caution) | 56 |
About the U.S. Soccer Federation
Founded in 1913, U.S. Soccer, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is the official governing body of the sport in the United States. Our vision is clear; we exist in service to soccer. Our ambition, working across the soccer ecosystem, is to ignite a national passion for the game. We believe soccer is more than a sport; it is a force for good. We are focused in three areas: Soccer Everywhere, ensuring everyone, everywhere experiences the joy of soccer; Soccer Success, our 27 National Teams and pro leagues winning on the world stage; and Soccer Investment, maximizing and diversifying investments to sustainably grow the game at all levels. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision.
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Now in its 110th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has crowned U.S. Soccer’s national champion since 1914. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and is open to professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the U.S. was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt. The 2025 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn a berth in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The 2025 tournament features a total purse worth $1 million that includes a $600,000 award for the champion. Los Angeles Football Club of MLS is the defending Champion. The 109th edition of the tournament concluded on September 25, 2024, with LAFC beating four-time Champions Sporting Kansas City 3-1 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles to become Open Cup Champions for the first time.
The official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is ussoccer.com/us-open-cup. Fans can also follow the competition on X/Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.
