The Quarterfinal contest, in August on the road in San Jose against MLS’ Earthquakes, was nothing short of epic. The free-scoring Vazquez bagged one more from the spot before, sadly, leaving the pitch on a stretcher with a season-ending knee injury just minutes after drawing his side level at 1-1. Goalkeeper Brad Stuver, also a 2025 MLS All-Star, made nine saves on the night through regular and extra-time (which ended 2-2).
Two more stops in the post-game penalty shootout sealed the deal for Austin and confirmed Stuver’s status as Austin FC’s hero for the big occasion.
The Semifinal, played again on the road against an in-form Minnesota United in St. Paul, offered up more drama. The game, tangled at 1-1 in stoppage time of the second extra-time period, looked destined for a second straight Austin shootout. But 21-year-old striker CJ Fodrey, fresh off scoring his first-ever MLS goal and taking his first steps as a first-team pro, hit the back of the net from close range before he “kind of blacked out” in wild celebration, having sent his side to a first Final in club history.
The Final Deal
“I didn’t even know what happened,” said midfielder Owen Wolff, 20, with a wide smile thinking back on the dramatic Semifinal finish. “We were getting ready for penalties and then I see something in front of the goal – and there goes CJ racing across the field with his shirt off.”
With the loss of star striker Vazquez, Wolff – and the entire Austin FC squad – have been asked to raise their game. And raise it, they have. “We have a brotherhood in this group and it’s only grown since the pre-season,” Wolff said. “We have a first title on the line and we’ll have the home-field advantage and the fans will bring the energy like they always do. Hopefully we’re able to use all that and lift a first trophy for the club.”
While it would be a first trophy of any kind for Austin FC, it would not be the first for the Wolff Family. Owen’s father, Josh, formerly coach of Austin FC, won three Open Cups with the Chicago Fire (2) and Sporting Kansas City (1) along with an MLS Cup and two Concacaf Gold Cups with the USMNT. “We actually talked about him winning the Open Cup the other day,” said the younger Wolff, who’d claim only the second father-son title in the Open Cup’s Modern Era (1995 onward) with a win against Nashville.
It will definitively not be a first Cup Final for Osman Bukari, who scored his second 2025 Open Cup goal with the opener from close range in the Semifinal in Minnesota. In his first year in Austin, the jet-heeled winger was on the winning side of three domestic Cup Finals in his time in Europe – in France in the 2021-2022 Coupe de France (Nantes win over OGC Nice) and in Serbia in the 2023 and 2024 Serbian Cup (with Red Star Belgrade).
“You don’t have to win pretty in Cup football,” said Bukari, the Ghana international, with a smile while speaking to ussoccer.com. “I remember in 2022, playing for Nantes the intensity in the Final in Paris was so high and everyone was afraid to make a mistake – there’s not always a lot of goals in a Cup Final. When we won that year, we scored a first-half penalty and we all defended like crazy to hang on to it.
“It doesn’t matter how you win it, you just need to win,” he added about the tense atmosphere ahead of his fourth Cup Final. “And winning a Cup is special.”
Team of Destiny?
Another man who knows what it feels like to lift a Cup is Austin’s 34-year-old captain Ilie Sanchez. In his first year in MLS, in 2017 with Sporting Kansas City, he raised the U.S. Open Cup on home soil. He did the same last year, when LAFC added an Open Cup crown to the 2022 MLS Cup Sanchez helped them win.
“This is the biggest challenge of our season, but also the biggest opportunity,” said Sanchez, eager to make it a three-for-three hat-trick of wins in Open Cup Finals, but more interested in bringing glory to his young club. “We have to be prepared for any situation, but a Final at home is an incredible experience to have – for the fans and the owners and everyone who helped build this club.”
There’s a ‘Team of Destiny’ feel around the Austin FC camp. And goalkeeper, Brad Stuver, who’s been with the club since its founding and recently signed a contract extension through 2027, might be the difference-maker come game time.
Without his contributions, this Dream Final at home would have remained a dream.
“I’m always focussed on what’s next,” said Stuver, whose performances against San Jose and Minnesota United were nothing shy of epic. “That next thing is a chance to lift a trophy for a club where I’ve experienced a lot of firsts.
“I’d love to be a part of this club’s first trophy-lift,” Stuver added. “It would be surreal, five years on from arriving, to be a part of the team that lifts that trophy in front of the fans here.”
Be sure to tune in for the 2025 U.S. Open Cup Final on Paramount+ and on air at CBS Sports Network on 8:00 pm ET (pre-game at 7pm ET) on Wednesday, October 1.
Fontela is editor-in-chief of usopencup.com. Follow him at @jonahfontela on X/Twitter.
