Santiago Rodríguez

78th minute, St. Louis losing their starting keeper, Roman Berkey, to an injury as Zeruri collided with his head going for a rebound.

Four minutes later, Santi Rodriguez is shown yellow for his tackle in the corner on the Norwegian Baumgartel.

Or dissent, more likely, because he was talking crap afterwards.

Baumgartel?

This takes us to the end of full time.

And shocker, nothing happened in extra time, so we went to PKs.

And unfortunately for the crew in Pinotti Kick, Santi Rodriguez missed his take, saved by the giant St. Louis keeper.

He was like he was in that machine at the end of Braveheart.

They were dead.

And then, I mean, look at Santi Rodriguez's first penalty.

I mean, this is crap.

And not because he, like, I don't think he had anything left, you know? And you had to wonder if maybe one of those games in the lead-up, if he's not out there running his face off and pressing every single moment, do you get a little bit better performance in what is, at the moment, your biggest game of the year? And depending on what happens over the next three games, it's probably the biggest game you've played all year

But I don't think there's...

Again, this is after playing... 110 minutes of soccer just, you know, before extra time and then playing all that.

I don't think there are too many, you know, I think even on seven days rest, Santi Rodriguez, the way he plays is gassed by the time penalties roll around.

I think, you know, there's...

He didn't have any actual saves late in the game, so that says a lot about St. Louis as a defensive unit.

But when it came to penalty kicks, up steps Santi Rodriguez for the crew and save Ben Lunt.

Doesn't quite come off the tongue as much as Mitch Hildebrandt might.

but uh

They've strung together far more winless streaks of three or more games, and they have won three match winning streaks.

So I think the odds of them suddenly clicking and getting back to having a three match winning streak at the very end of the season, in all games that they have to win, I just can't see them... hitting that and I also think that doesn't even necessarily solve it because that would get them to 11 wins and all the teams ahead of them have 11 or 12 wins in the table and I think the wins being a big tiebreaker in MLS too it's like it doesn't even really help unless you get those 11 wins and the other teams you're chasing don't win again and I just I have a hard time seeing that with the Red Bulls or even Columbus I mean Columbus has really turned it on since the the summer and since they rebuilt their squad with Santi Rodriguez playing a role and with Bryce Mendez and all those guys that they brought in so I would say the odds of all of those teams like slipping up in front of them I don't get I don't see that happening and I don't see them putting the three wins together now I said last week 10th place and I think they'll end up in 10th still somehow

it's just you almost just want the season to be over but No, and yeah, it's weird because I feel like that once the season ends, we're going to long for New York City FC for all the good and the bad.

But in the moment, it's just painful.

Mm-hmm.

Santi Rodriguez was foiled on his first attempt.

The backup goalkeeper looked like a cross between Lurch and Zdeno Chera.

Big man.

Back to you.

Joseph Martinez this was his like third US Open Cup final with three different teams I don't think he has a goal in the competition goodness he had his chances on Wednesday night and You know, that was what last night Condor, as he was editing my copy, Tom Reed, you know, as I said, we watched the game next to the Norddeck in the corner of the concourse there, the standing room, with some St. Louis fans, as a matter of fact.

He said, just imagine this team now with Mendez, Santi Rodriguez, at the top of that Diamond Taha and at the bottom, Wessam Abu Ali next year.

Yeah.

word, fam.

Santi Rodriguez, I think he's looked really good so far since getting to Columbus.

Bryce Mendes, I think that's a great duo.

I forget this young kid that the homegrown that they have that's been balling recently also, such was the nature.

But Ben Lunt coming into this game was a, I don't even know how to really describe it other than just the best of a bad situation magnified times 10 because of what ended up happening in those PKs.

which was just a wild moment where Santiago Rodriguez took that first PK for Columbus, and Ben Lunt not only guessed right, but he seemed to shade Santi's direction a little bit prior to the kick, and he still went.

I think it was to the left side, but he still went for that side, despite the fact that Lunt was kind of tipping his hand a little bit, and whatever scouting report they did on Rodriguez and some of the other players, because Lunt guessed correctly on more than that one, it was enough to make it work.

So I don't think they would have taken out Berkey, but in this hypothetical, do you think there ever is a world in which that would have happened had he not been hurt?