How They Got Here
Atlanta United reached their first U.S. Open Cup Final after a bumpy start back in June. Drawn against 2008 runners-up Charleston Battery of the USL Championship in the Fourth Round (entry point in the tournament for Division I teams from Major League Soccer), Frank de Boer’s men arrived in South Carolina only to find the pitch unplayable. Circumstances required a late-night drive back and an early-morning arrival at home in Atlanta. On only one day’s rest, the defending 2018 MLS champions hosted the Battery behind closed doors in Kennesaw, GA’s Fifth Third Bank Stadium with young striker Brandon Vazquez scoring twice in a come-from-behind 3-1 overtime victory.
With a little wind at their backs, the Five Stripes pressed on with Vazquez (deputizing for Josef Martinez who was away on Copa America duty) scoring two more in a rain-soaked 3-2 win in Columbus against the Crew that required an hour-long delay for a downpour just after the half. But since conceding five goals in their first two outings, Atlanta United sealed the windows and doors in the Quarters and Semis – with a pair of comprehensive 2-0 wins over Division II high flyers Saint Louis FC and MLS rivals Orlando City respectively – to book a place in an historic Final at their home stadium, where they lifted MLS Cup last year as well as the inaugural Campeones Cup only a few weeks ago.
Minnesota United’s run to the Final was more straightforward. Adrian Heath’s Loons haven’t had to suffer much as they have avoided contesting even one overtime contest, played three of their four games at their brand new Allianz Field and scored bags of goals. Colombian sensation Darwin Quintero leads the scoring charts for the 2019 tournament with six strikes in wins over 2017 Open Cup champs Sporting Kansas City (4-1), defending Open Cup champions Houston Dynamo (3-2), a rout of second-tier Cinderellas New Mexico United (6-1) and a tense Semi win (2-1) over Gio Savarese’s outstanding Portland Timbers.
History Awaits Atlanta
Atlanta United are accustomed to winning things since their inaugural MLS season in 2017. They’ve also been drawing monumental crowds – including a record 72,548 to a recent league game against LA Galaxy. They broke the all-time Open Cup attendance record last year with 41,012 boisterous fans crowding into Mercedes-Benz Stadium when they hosted Chicago Fire in the Round of 16. They’ll be looking for more of the same from their fervent fans in their first Open Cup Final with a chance on the line to hold the two biggest prizes in American soccer – MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup.
