There’s a perfect mixture of brash and tough and humble in this Saint Louis side – a rugged commitment to playing the game for each other. An all-for-one-and-one-for-all ethos trickles from the manager to the captain and out to every player on the pitch.

“What makes this team something special is our commitment to each other,” said the 26-year-old Fink, a no-nonsense center-back who returned to the club for a fourth season after a year away at OKC Energy. “We’re really a tight-knit group and even though I think it’s a word that’s used way too loosely these days – it feels like family. It’s truly the case at this club. We go into battle together and we suffer together and the character of this group just pushes through the toughest stuff.”

Headed to the Round of 16 with the #Cupset win over @ChicagoFire in the 4th Round-



It's @SaintLouisFC!🔥



FINAL | 2-1 STL | #USOC2019

📺 Highlights ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/2yW1FF7viZ — U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) June 12, 2019



From Fink at the back and Abend in middle, all the way up to Russell Cicerone up top, Saint Louis FC are a team of fighters, workers and scrappers. They can all play. Make no mistake about it. But the collective – a firm devotion to the cause – comes first. “Open Cup games are always intense. One team’s always got something to prove and for that team every game and every game after that in the Cup is going to be the biggest game of the year. In this case, it’s us. We’ll just keep coming at you no matter what. We’re going to push and push because there’s no tomorrow unless we win. We’ve got something to prove and we want to show we can play with the teams at the level above us.”

Fink embodies the never-say-die spirit of Saint Louis FC – and it’s no coincidence he’s the team’s skipper. It’s no coincidence that there are guys with his level of commitment in every position – and up and down the length of the subs bench too. Coach Pulis made sure of it. This team’s blood and thunder approach – their iron will – is no accident.