Written by Juan Pereira

Photo by Houston Dynamo FC

The magic of the U.S. Open Cup has struck early for the Dynamo in the worst conceivable way possible. Detroit City FC, a USL Championship side, defeated the reigning champs in a cup thriller that sent shockwaves around the soccer landscape.

The game started off hot for the Dynamo when Griffin Dorsey was able to get on the end of a corner kick delivered by Hector Herrera; this was the first goal contribution this year for both of them.

As the match continued, the Dynamo kept on piling pressure and cutting off any sort of build up from Detroit.

In the 31st minute, Blessing joined the party with a goal of his own. He was assisted by Gabe Segal, who has been sharing time with the second team this season.

In the 41st minute, Detroit City scored an absolute banger from long range to make things a little nervy for the home side. Nevertheless, the Dynamo were dominating the match and looked in good spirits. This goal was marred in controversy because it looked like Hector Herrera was fouled right before the shot, and with no VAR, the goal stood.

In the 59th minute, Sebastian Kowalczyk delivered a nice ball to Brad Smith, but the Australian international’s shot was saved by Carlos Saldaña.

In the 75th minute, Detroit scored their second goal of the match, and all of a sudden, it seemed like Detroit was going to make things interesting.

That feeling lasted merely minutes, because in the 77th minute, Coco Carrasquilla gave the Dynamo a much needed goal from outside the box.

But then, in the 83rd minute, all hell broke loose when Detroit City scored again. This was turning out to become an Open Cup classic.

In extra time, the Dynamo were completely dominant, and when it seemed like a goal was coming; it never came. This game would go down to penalties.

The Dynamo would lose the penalty shootout after their goalkeeper scored on Tarbell. The stadium was lifeless, and the shock reverberated across the American soccer landscape. Credit has to go to Detroit; they played the match they wanted to play, and they delivered an incredible upset. Fair play to them.

“We are disappointed, and we will try to learn from this to make sure it is a turning point for the better in our season,” Ben Olsen said after the game. “This is a good reminder about how one or two percent can make the difference.” 

The Dynamo will need to forget, refresh, and turn their attention to their next match against Sporting KC away from home.