Houston Dynamo won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by defeating Inter Miami in this season's championship game. Houston won the championship game 2-1 with goals from Griffin Dorsey and Amine Bassy. The only goal for Florida was scored by Josef Martínez in overtime in the second half of the game.
Inter Miami, which missed its chance to take home its second trophy in just over a month, had to play without two of its star players: Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba. The two players couldn't play because they were injured.
The most historic trophy in American Soccer. Houston Dynamo lift the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. pic.twitter.com/m7221fZkkE
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) September 28, 2023
Houston stayed focused throughout the first half. They went into halftime with the score 2-0. They headed into the locker room at halftime with a significant lead because they took advantage of several clear-scoring opportunities.
In the second 45 minutes, Inter Miami was more focused but only managed to score one goal. Coach Gerardo Tata Martino blamed his team's defeat in the post-game press conference on physical fatigue:
I thought it was a very exhausted team, really. That is the reality of things. Some could see that we are not doing well physically or tactically, even. The reality is that we were going to feel the effects of all the games we've been playing.
This is Houston's second Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title in its history. The team won its first one in 2018 against the Philadelphia Union.
