2025 US Open Cup Round 2: Young stars propel Columbus Crew 2 past Lexington SC

April 1, 2025 by Caleb Denorme

Owen Presthus of Columbus Crew 2 dribbles the ball against Lexington Sporting Club in the Second Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Columbus Crew 2

Goals from three Columbus Crew 2 players, all under the age of 20 sent Lexington SC crashing out of the the Second Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a 3-0 win. Midfielder Owen Presthus, and forwards Christian Ortiz and Brent Adu-Gyamfi each tallied goals for the Capybaras to advance to the Third Round.

It was a back and forth game from the opening kick, with both teams turning each other over high up the pitch. It only took Presthus seven minutes to open the scoring for the Capybaras. Presthus connected with 16-year-old phenom Chase Adams on a low cross to dispatch a deflected shot into the far corner.

Presthus said he knew the importance of the US Open Cup because his father – Tom Presthus, who won the 2002 US Open Cup with the Columbus Crew – keeps his ring in his office.

“I saw he has an Open Cup ring from 2002 and he has it in our office,” Presthus said. “It’s just a constant reminder of what this tournament is. It’s the most historic soccer competition in America.”

Lexington got its footing back quickly though, controlling possession and creating chances for a majority of the next 20 minutes. Midfielder Michael Adedokun grazed Crew 2’s woodwork on a first time shot from the center of the box in the 23rd minute, inches away from levelling the match.

Crew 2 pushed back, attempting to hit Lexington on the counter but the visitors thwarted any of the Capys attempts to bear down on goalkeeper Brooks Thompson. Lexington had a few opportunities off of corners, but could not seriously threaten goalkeeper Luke Pruter.

After a minute of added time in the first half, both teams headed to the locker room with just a goal separating them. Despite the scoreline, much of the first half was spent inside Crew 2’s defensive half.

The second half started off well for Columbus. Crew 2 controlled possession and had two shouts for a penalty — one for a handball and the other for taking down Ortiz in the box — that were not given by the officials.

Although the penalty cries fell upon deaf ears, the Capys continued to play with renewed energy. Lexington struggled to get out of its own half despite making multiple substitutions at halftime.

The visitors’ luck changed in the 56th minute when a corner was awarded off a deflected pass. A short corner and quick cross flew into a sea of bodies in the box, sending the ball careening off the bottom side of the crossbar. Pruter quickly secured the ball before it bounced over the line, allowing Crew 2 to survive another near-miss by Lexington.

A mere minute later, Pruter was called into action again. The 23-year-old used every inch of his wingspan to get a touch on a deflected shot and tip the ball over the bar to save the Capys again.

Prince Forfor of Columbus Crew 2 celebrates after defeating Lexington Sporting Club 3-0 in the Second Round of the 2025 US Open Cup. Photo: Columbus Crew 2

Lexington’s onslaught on the Crew 2 goal continued, but the hosts punched back in the 65th minute. A bad pass in the back of Lexington’s defense was picked off by Ortiz, who outpaced the defense and slotted a low right-footed shot into the far corner to make it 2-0.

Seven minutes later Ortiz was bearing down on goal again. A quick slip pass caught the Lexington defense napping and the 17-year-old was one-on-one with Thompson. Ortiz attempted to nutmeg the goalkeeper, but Thompson remained big and got a touch on the ball to send it wide.

Lexington threw more bodies forward and Columbus sat in a 5-4-1, with Pruter standing on his head to keep the visitors out. Crew 2 took advantage of Lexington chasing the game in the 95th minute, with Adu-Gyamfi lacing a right-footed shot across the goalkeeper into the bottom corner to push Columbus’ lead to three goals.

After 90 minutes and six minutes of stoppage time, Crew 2 came away with a 3-0 win over Lexington to move on.

Crew 2 assistant coach Josh Williams was proud of his team competing in a high-level cup competition, but does not want this to be his squad’s last win in it.

“I feel like the Open Cup just does something,” Williams said. “It was fun tonight to kind of play the underdog role. We’re going to show up, whether we’re home or away. It doesn’t matter the stadium, we are going to show up compete. We fear no one and anything can happen, and I feel like we showed that tonight.

Columbus moves onto the Third Round of the Open Cup, which will take place on April 15-16.