Cups create magic. It doesn’t matter if it’s the FA Cup or the U.S. Open Cup, memories are made and history is written when knockout soccer is played.
And there was a new chapter in the 113-year-old history books of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, when Braiden Kalonji became the youngest recorded goal scorer in the modern history of the competition.
The 14-year-old’s Kalonji Pro-Profile, a Georgia-based club that plays in the youth-development-focused United Premier Soccer League, was awarded a penalty early in its first-round Open Cup clash at Chattanooga FC, and while Toni Tiente had his spot kick saved, Kalonji volleyed a lofted effort into the far corner, beyond the outstretched arms of Chattanooga’s helpless Griffin Huff.
The keeper makes the save but 14-year-old Braiden Kalonji floats in the follow-up from distance 😳 pic.twitter.com/QMRfyxADy8
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) March 18, 2026
“It felt really good,” Kalonji said to the competition’s website. “I’ve been working for this and God delivered … all the work showed today and I’m really proud of it.”
The magic ran out not long after for Kalonji Pro-Profile. Chattanooga, part of MLS Next Pro in the third division of American professional soccer, equalized in the first minute of first-half stoppage time before scoring the eventual winner one minute into the second half.
This was Kalonji Pro-Profile’s first appearance in the U.S. Open Cup. Despite the defeat, it was an afternoon in Tennessee that no one associated with Kalonji will ever forget.
