“Growing up, you want to be scoring goals and making key passes and big tackles in front of a bunch of people,” added Stripling, formerly a Monmouth Hawk in his native New Jersey. “That's why we do this as players – and Steel City did a great job of creating an atmosphere for the First Round.
The match ended in a 1-0 win for the professional Stars thanks to a headed second-half goal from Niels Lellouch. The scorer and difference-maker on the day was thrilled to get the winner even if it was with the Stars’ only shot on target in the 83rd minute.
“We had a tough first half, but then we picked it up in a second and they [Steel City] were getting tired,” said Lellouch, a lanky center back, about what was the Michigan Stars first-ever win in the historic U.S. Open Cup. “I knew we were going to win it, I was just lucky enough to be the one scoring. That was pretty amazing.”
The match measured up in every way to the high bar set by a spectacular First Round of the 2024 competition which produced 88 goals and seven amateur-over-pro upsets in 32 games across three days.
While the Stars did enough to advance, they’re confident they can improve. “Our second half of our last game showed that we could do some really good things and I think even from that, we can even do better,” Lellouch said. “So I'm pretty optimistic about our next round.” McInally, who built the current roster, agreed:“We have a ton of new players and it takes time to gel as a team. And we've also signed a couple more people since that game. It was first-game jitters and it’s past us.
“Now we've got…Minnesota's MLS NEXT Pro team and we're excited for that opportunity,” McInally added.
For Stripling, this year’s competition is the third time he’s played as a professional in the Open Cup. And he’s relishing the chance to shine on the national stage once again. “That's the thing with the Open Cup,” he said. “It is probably one of the coolest tournaments, because anyone can be beat on any given day.”
“That’s the whole spirit of what this Open Cup is,” Stripling added.
