During the night of Wednesday, May 20, the Columbus Crew of the Guatemalan archer Nicholas Hagen qualified for the semifinals of the US Open Cup for the first time in 16 years, after beating the team 1-0 New York City FC in the quarterfinals, where the American Max Arfsten He became the hero by scoring the only goal.
The goalkeeper of the national team was holder and he played the entire match with the team black and gold before the team blue dovesso that, after the dismissal of the Swedish coach Henrik Rydstrom On May 18, the Columbus Crew had to modify its strategy under French interim technical director Laurent Courtois.
Faced with this scenario, this has been one of the most agitated of the Columbus Crew so far this season. However, despite the change of coach, the one born in Lyon, France, handled the match well against the New York team and managed to come out ahead with one of the most successful victories. important of the team so far in 2026.
Therefore, after the move to cup tournament semi-finalsin which all affiliated, professional and amateur clubs in the United States participate, the Columbus Crew will have to face the Orlando City in the run-up to the final of the US Open Cup, a competition that the Ohio team has not won since the edition of the 200224 years ago.
New coach and new opportunity
Guatemalan goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen has been the Columbus Crew’s starting goalkeeper so far this season. US Open Cup 2026so that he has played three matches in the cup tournament and has kept his undefeated goal on two occasions, where he has managed to stand out for his agilityfast reflexes and excellent positioning.
However, when the Columbus Crew made the decision of dismiss Swedish coach Henrik Rydström after an irregular start that ended up affecting the team’s performance, since the Ohio team is in the place 13 of the Eastern Conference Major League Soccer (MLS)the future of the compatriot also remained in doubt.
The general manager of the Columbus Crew, the French Issa Tallpointed out that, in addition to the performance on the field, the decision to fire the Nordic coach was influenced by the way of playing and the “cultural” adaptation to the project, so the explanation was broader than a simple sum of bad results in the US and Canadian league.
Therefore, even with the change on the bench, the club made it clear that it is not planning a revolution immediately on campus. Consequently, Nicholas Hagen’s mental strength to lead the defense under pressure was once again rewarded by the French coach Laurent Courtoiswho considers that the Guatemalan deserves this opportunity.
A huge challenge
According to Issa Tall, the Columbus Crew understands that replacing such an influential strategist is not a process fastespecially when the context demands results and a immediate transition in the style of play. Due to this, the Frenchman stressed that Courtois and his decisions deserve the vote of confidence of the club.
Given this situation, goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen will have to continue taking advantage of the opportunities in the black and gold team, since, if he maintains the ownership in the US Open Cup, could help his team return to a final of this cup tournament for the first time since the 2010when the Columbus Crew lost 2-1 before him Seattle Sounders.
IT’S BEEN 16 YEARS 😮💨
@ColumbusCrew are back in the semi-finals for the first time since 2010! pic.twitter.com/MajidXfO9t
— US Open Cup (@opencup) May 21, 2026