WASHINGTON — Come summer — when FIFA’s gluttony devours North America, the heat index becomes the pivotal statistic and the quality of soccer is good but not great ‚ you’ll be hard-pressed to discover the sport’s soul.
The World Cup is less than two months away and, while it is undeniably a spectacle like no other, riveting most of the planet for five weeks and celebrating both the game and its apostles, there is an over-the-top impurity to it all.
It’s always excessive, this year more than ever with increases in teams, matches, host countries and commercial opportunities in America. Your bank account — and patience for fan shuttles — may never be the same.
For all its wonders, the World Cup will not accurately reflect the pulse of the sport on these shores. Soccer’s essence is found in municipal parks and on small stages.
At the pro level, it lives inside small clubs yearning for an indelible moment that makes all the lower-division hardships — and, rest assured, there have been countless over the course of the sport’s patchy growth — worth it.
Wednesday night brought a shining example. One Knoxville SC, a third-division club in just its fifth year of existence, defeated Major League Soccer’s D.C. United in a shootout 6-5 following a 3-3 draw through 120 imperfect minutes.
The magic of the Cup ✨
Defending USL League One champs @OneKnoxSC take down four-time U.S. Open Cup winners D.C. United for their first-ever win over an MLS side! pic.twitter.com/oChQzBBCLp— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) April 16, 2026
It occurred in the U.S. Open Cup, a tournament dating back to 1914 and involving teams from all levels of the sport. Knoxville is the only third-flight team still alive this year.
Before the galactic superstars arrive this summer, there are matches like these — flawed and fun, marked by great goals and strange goals, witnessed by fans who sat almost anywhere they wanted and by about a dozen visiting supporters watching their club play an MLS side for the first time.
Without U.S. promotion and relegation — the worldwide system that makes soccer unique and facilitates ambitious clubs driven to climb the league ladders — small teams here fantasize about striking gold in the Open Cup.
Most of the year, they operate in the shadows, in small markets before small crowds. In the Open Cup, they are allowed to dream.
Before FIFA’s behemoth crashes onto the continent, before fans from around the world descend on 16 venues and a global TV audience in the billions tunes in, unadulterated soccer was played this week in Naples, Florida; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
It unfolded in Richmond, Louisville and Colorado Springs, as well as in a renovated park with almost 100 years of history and sitting a half-hour — and what seems like a million miles — from MetLife Stadium, site of the World Cup final.
The Round of 32 marked the first stage in which MLS teams tangled with lower-tiered romantics. A draw determines the host team, and while MLS supporters typically ignore the early rounds, lower-division patrons embrace upset opportunities.
It’s modeled after cup competitions throughout Europe, where, for instance, Premier League clubs often hit the road to play opponents multiple tiers below them.
In England this winter, sixth-division Macclesfield defeated top-flight Crystal Palace — the greatest upset in the FA Cup’s 155-year history. (Some lopsided pairings are, indeed, lopsided: Manchester City 10, third-tier Exeter City 1.)
The Open Cup can’t match the lore and interest of the FA Cup, but it does motivate upset hunters. A win over an MLS side can prove to be the highlight of the year.
Taking advantage of home support Tuesday, two teams from the second-division USL Championship surprised MLS opponents: Louisville City edged Austin FC, 2-1, and the Colorado Springs Switchbacks crushed Sporting Kansas City, 3-0.
There were no other surprises that night, though multiple tight matches, including two decided in shootouts. Westchester FC — a year-old club competing in the same third-division USL League One as Knoxville — drew a crowd of more than 5,000 in suburban New York. It tied the match midway through the first half before New York City FC’s hefty payroll prevailed, 5-2.
Although most of Wednesday’s results went as expected, there was this magical night in Washington.
A small crowd turned out to Audi Field to watch MLS’ forgotten franchise host the reigning USL League One champions.
Many of the traveling supporters of “One Knox,” as the team is known, traveled by car, almost 500 miles. Draped in orange-and-blue scarves and holding banners, they made their presence known in a lower corner of the otherwise quiet stadium.
The supporters’ group is known as “The Scruffs,” a name derived from one of Knoxville’s monikers, Scruffy City.
“We envisioned this when we started as a club, and to play an original MLS team in their stadium is incredible,” said Jacob Allen, 28, who traveled with his father, David. “It’s all part of building the culture and the community. To me, winning a game like this would be bigger than winning the championship last year.”
Knoxville had multiple scoring chances in a goalless first half. In the last 30 minutes of regular time, tedium gave way to scoring delirium: D.C.’s Matti Peltola from almost 30 yards, Knoxville’s Babacar Diene and Denis Krioutchenkov three minutes apart and D.C. rookie center back Nikola Markovic with a high-legged volley in the 83rd.
Extra time brought a bizarre moment involving both goalkeepers. D.C.’s Alex Bono smashed a long ball down field. Under pressure from a Brazilian attacker named Peglow, Knoxville’s Jonathan Burke misjudged the flight and, on the second bounce, Peglow nodded it into the net.
When all seemed lost, Knoxville’s minnows answered in the 113th minute on another goal by Krioutchenkov, expertly set up by Will Perkins.
In the shootout, Burke atoned for his extra-time blunder by saving United’s sixth attempt. Kyle Linhares then converted for Knoxville, completing a 6-for-6 session.
Linhares dropped to his knees. Teammates piled on him. They celebrated as if they had just won the World Cup. Then they went to celebrate with their fans.
“It’s a different beast and, with so many leagues playing, it’s just an awesome tournament,” Burke said. “It means so much to the team and the city. … I haven’t been part of a win like that in a long time. We’re going to enjoy this one.”
As Burke and others darted into the locker room, a roar of celebration echoed down the corridor.
It was a victory for One Knox, for little teams everywhere and, in a momentous year for the sport in this country, it was a victory for soccer itself.
