It was history for one, heartbreak for the other.
Orlando City won its first ever trophy after beating Sacramento Republic 3-0 in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday.
Orlando City, which joined Major League Soccer in 2015, took a long time to find momentum against USL Championship side Sacramento Republic.
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Sacramento had a key chance in the early portion of the 70th minute, but goalkeeper Pedro Gallese read the header for the save to keep the score tied at nil-nil. However, that’s when the game opened up.
A costly error by Sacramento center-back Dan Casey saw Facundo Torres score the opening goal in the 75th minute in style:
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Casey’s miscues didn’t end there. Just five minutes later, he conceded a rash penalty that was also converted by Torres:
The Republic tried their best to make the game interesting late, especially after there was eight minutes of stoppage time added after 90 minutes.
There was another goal in the game, but it was from Orlando City’s Benji Michel in the 96th minute to seal the deal:
This was the first U.S. Open Cup Final in three years since Atlanta United beat Minnesota United in 2019. The last few years did not have a tournament due to COVID-19, but the 2022 final had history on the line for both clubs.
Sacramento had defeated three MLS teams in the San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City in the knockout stages en route to reaching the final, but it just didn’t have enough in the tank for one last upset as Orlando City triumphed in front of its home crowd.
