Andrew Wenger (top) and Chris Estridge have scored in the US Open Cup

The Chicago Fire PDL team reached the Third Round in the 2011 US Open Cup and Second Round in 2009, making it no surprise that among the 11 players selected from their development program were four players that saw action during the club’s run this past summer.

Among them was Chris Estridge (21st, Vancouver Whitecaps), who tallied a goal and assist. The defender scored the 1-0 game-winner in the opening round with three minutes remaining, edging the Iowa Menace (USASA entrant of PDL Des Moines Menace). He went on to add an assist on the second goal in another shutout performance in the Second Round as they blanked the NPSL’s Madison 56ers, 2-0.

The team’s run came to an end in the Third Round, falling on the road to Sporting Kansas City, 3-0. Estridge played in all three matches along with Tyler Polak (22, New England Revolution) and Brendan King (27, Portland Timbers). Teammate Calum Mallace (20, Montreal Impact) appeared in the Third Round match.

Reading United AC, a PDL affiliate of the Philadelphia Union, also saw Open Cup players move on to the next flight with hopes of landing on an MLS roster. First overall pick Andrew Wenger (Montreal Impact), a member of the Carolina Dynamo in 2011, nearly led Reading to an upset win over then USL Second Division side Real Maryland with the opening goal of the 2010 First Round only to see the professional side rally for a 2-1 victory. Reading faced fellow Union affiliate USL Pro Harrisburg City Islanders in 2011, falling 2-1 with Matt Hedges (11, FC Dallas) in the lineup.

Jacob Hustedt (25, San Jose Earthquakes) helped lead the Ventura County Fusion in 2011, providing the assist on the game-winner in a 3-1 victory against USASA’s Doxa Italia in the First Round. He was also in the lineup for the club’s valiant effort in a narrow 1-0 loss to USL Pro side Los Angeles Blues in the Second Round.

Ironically, three of the seven players featured above were taken by Canadian clubs, meaning they would be mostly likely to participate in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship this year.

The new CONCACAF Champions League format will largely utilize the same date windows as was done previously with group matches running from late July to mid October. The changes appear to incorporate a flexible schedule format for the main stage with six dates available for four group contests, allowing the clubs to balance their play in multiple competitions. It will also, undoubtedly assist CONCACAF with severe weather situations which have arisen in the Caribbean and Central America in previous years.

The Championship stage – Quarterfinals to Final – remains unaltered with the eight group winners advancing from the opening stage. The three rounds of two-leg series will continue to run from early March to the first of May.

Previously, US Open Cup champions were unseeded clubs that were required to play in the Preliminary Round, though the 2011 champion Sounders were slated for a direct entry into the Group Phase due to the LA Galaxy winning both the MLS Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup. Under the new format, the clubs that were previously seeded will now be placed in a pot together for the draw that will determine the composition of the groups, ensuring the seeded teams will be distributed equally and avoid one another.

Clubs will also continue to be placed in groups without members from their own nation, though the Can-Am nature of Major League Soccer could still see a Canadian MLS club in the same group as a US MLS side.

The 2012-13 tournament will mark the fifth edition of the event. The Seattle Sounders will represent the US Open Cup for a third consecutive year while league foes Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo also participate. A fifth MLS club is likely again via the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. The Sounders struggled in their first campaign, winning just once in the 2010-11 group phase after winning the Preliminary Round series against El Salvador’s Isidro Metapan. The lone win came against Marathon (Honduras).

Seattle has advanced the success of Open Cup champions under the current CONCACAF format, becoming the first to reach the Quarterfinals. The 2007 champion New England Revolution were stunned in the Preliminary Round in 2008, falling 6-1 on aggregate to Joe Public (T&T). DC United, champions in 2008, also advanced versus an El Salvadoran club, Luis Angel Firpo, in 2009 to reach the group phase, winning a penalty kick tiebreaker after a pair of 1-1 draws. In the group phase DC was 3-2-1, missing the cut by two points despite having higher point totals than the second-place clubs in two of the other groups.

The Sounders continue their second CCL campaign with the Quarterfinals in March. They will face Mexico’s Santos Laguna, a regular contender in the CCL, March 7 and 14 while their league rivals Toronto FC and LA Galaxy square off those same nights in the series that would determine their Semifinal opponent should they advance. Seattle rallied from a 1-0 Preliminary Round deficit against Panama’s San Francisco to win 2-1 in overtime. Seattle finished second in the group at 3-2-1 behind Monterrey, whom they defeated 1-0 in Mexico.

Prior to the Champions League format the Columbus Crew were the last club to represent the US Open Cup in the confederation’s club championship event. The 2002 champion Crew won the 2003 First Round series, 4-2 on aggregate (1-2, 3-0) versus Panama’s Arabe Unido before exiting in the Quarterfinals against Monarcas Morelia, who cruised to the aggregate win with a 6-0 opening win, allowing Columbus to take the second meeting, 2-0.

NY Pancyprian Freedoms battle FC New York in a Second Round match in 2011 at Belson Stadium (St. John's University). According to sources, in the first two rounds, if both teams have a venue that meets USSF standards, a blind draw will determine the host.

Just a few days after publishing the article explaining the US Soccer Federation’s process of determining home games for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, TheCup.us has learned there is a possibility that the system will change next season.

According to sources, there is a proposal on the table that would eliminate the bidding process from the first two rounds of the 2012 US Open Cup and establish a flat hosting fee beginning in Round 3.

This plan is just a proposal and still must be approved by the US Open Cup committee.

The first two rounds, which are reported to take place May 15 and 22 and will feature only lower division clubs, will take into account strict minimum standards for venues where the Open Cup matches will take place. As long as both teams meet those requirements, the teams will take part in a blind draw to determine who will host. Based on an earlier TheCup.us report, the opening round will feature 32 amateur clubs, with the winners moving on to play 16 second and third division professional clubs in Round 2. As usual, the draw for the tournament will be regionally based, to minimize travel.

In addition to the venue standards, the USSF will require after Round 2 a flat fee to be eligible to host. The amount of the fee has not been finalized but is somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000. If both teams meet the venue standards, and both pay the hosting fee, then a blind draw will take place.

The procedure will continue until the Semifinals and the Final, where the previous bidding process will remain in effect with the team that bids the most will host the game.

It is also reported that the Semifinal and Final bids must include a 15% cut of the profit earned over the total of $100,000 to USSF.

It remains to be seen if this proposal will be accepted by the US Open Cup committee, but if it is, we will know more in the coming months while the field for the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup continues to take shape.

Chicago Fire's Section 8 members in Madison to support the Fire's PDL side in the Second Round of the 2011 US Open Cup. Photo: Eric Anderson, WisconsinSoccerCentral.com

Greenbacks; Cash money; the almighty buck – that is the easy answer for what ails the nation’s most historic soccer championship, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. While the economy of the United States has been in a ditch for several years, the knowledgeable domestic soccer fans throughout the nation can attest that the tournament has suffered from economic hardship for far longer and has yet to find a financial boon. That moment could be in the near future with the growth of Major League Soccer on and off the field in the past five years in contrast to the nation’s struggles, but the question remaining is just how can that be accomplished given the current format of the tournament. A format that remains one of the most complained about issues among ardent fans.

Many fans, primarily obsessed with making everything an identical copy of the English counterparts, point directly at how the draw is conducted and hosts are determined as the focal point of the disappointment, but the issues permeate much deeper.

“I would welcome USSF to engage MLS or others in trying to come up with some of those ideas [to improve the tournament],” said Seattle Sounders co-owner and general manager Adrian Hanauer. “The first thing is, are we going to turn this into a meaningful tournament or not? If we’re not, then let’s just kill it. If we are, then let’s make a plan. A five-year plan? A 10-year plan? Where do we want to go and how are we going to get there? As far as I know, USSF hasn’t come up with a plan. I know I haven’t seen or heard one. It’s really the biggest source of frustration. We just bump along down the road, doing the same thing. There’s a lot of things we could do, but some of them would cost money. If there was a plan in place, and USSF worked on a partnership with MLS, it could work.”

Hanauer, who also experienced the tournament as a lower division club owner for many years, is not alone amongst the MLS circles in looking at the bigger picture of what the US Open Cup needs to revise.

“I think it’s a really cool tournament,” said Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerway. “It’s something that American fans will latch onto, but it’s over our heads at the club level. USSF and MLS need to sit down and try to work something out. There should be a focus on sponsors and television, and not worrying about if a team bid $10,000 more than another team. It’s about who has the better crowd, and who can put on a better event.”

And that is the matter at hand. TheCup.us editor Josh Hakala has spent the past few months discussing the tournament’s bidding process with general managers and owners throughout the various flights of the game for their views on the event’s format. The Host Bidding method is reviled by many, but in the following piece he explores the heart of the rationale for the controversial selection process, revealing the costly factors that weigh into a team’s decision of what to bid in addition to the financial burden of travel. He provides some of the unseen costs and examines who exactly has been hosting matches during the Modern Pro Era by the numbers.

Here is our exclusive report on the US Open Cup bidding process:

DOLLARS & CENTS: THE CONTROVERSIAL US OPEN CUP HOSTING BID PROCESS

The 98th edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is in the books and the Seattle Sounders won a third straight title, 2-0 over the Chicago Fire in front of a record crowd of 35,615. It was a historic event between two clubs who have enjoyed tremendous success in the competition over the years, with the Fire winning the competition four times previously and the Sounders claiming a rare three-peat that night.

Fans of the Seattle Sounders pack the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash. for their team's Semifinal match against FC Dallas in the 2011 US Open Cup. Photo: Gerald Barnhart, TheCup.us

For the Sounders, on that Tuesday evening on October 4, it was the seventh Open Cup game in a row that they had hosted. In fact, nine of their 12 Cup matches have been played at home since they joined MLS from the United Soccer Leagues in 2009. Including their USL franchise, the Sounders have reached the Semifinals or better in each of the last five seasons. During that time, they have been the home team in 17 of their 22 matches, including the last two finals which have drawn record crowds in excess of 31,000 fans.

The Fire, winners of four Open Cup championships, have had similar success, hosting eight of their last 12 Open Cup matches, including a string of games in the 2006 tournament where all four of their games, including a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Final, were played in front of their home fans at Toyota Park.

Why have the Sounders and the Fire hosted so many of their Open Cup matches? It isn’t by luck, or by seeding, but rather it’s determined, largely, by which team writes the bigger check.

THE PROCESS

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), who has run the tournament since it began in 1913, utilizes a bidding process to determine who hosts each game in the competition.

When professional clubs joined the Open Cup in 1995, the USSF implemented the bidding process for later round matches. In the early rounds, the Open Cup commissioner would announce the hosts for each game, taking into account factors such as travel, venue quality and availability while also making sure that one team did not host too many consecutive games. Prior to 1995, the cup commissioner, backed by a committee, would determine who hosted every game of the tournament.

Fans of the Los Angeles Blues cheer on their club against the PDL's Ventura County Fusion in the Second Round of the 2011 US Open Cup. Photo: LA Blues

George Mellis, the long-time general manager for the New York Greek American Atlas, a four-time Open Cup champion founded in 1941, said, in his experience, the decisions by the cup commissioner were almost always fair. Very simple logic was involved in the decisions, such as, if both venues were equal and you hosted the last round, then you wouldn’t host the next round.

In 2002, the USSF expanded the bidding process to include all games of the tournament, in an effort to remove subjectivity from the decision-making process and to help with the costs associated with the competition.

The process has evolved slightly since 2002, but for the 2011 Open Cup, the system for determining home games began with the USSF setting a deadline of May 26 for qualified teams to submit their bids for the first and second rounds.

Part of the bidding process allowed interested teams to declare two different venues (e.g. Seattle Sounders used both Starfire Sports Complex and CenturyLink Field in 2011), and submit an application declaring which venue they plan to use, and answering questions that would help the USSF determine if that venue meets their minimum standards (lights, locker rooms, field size etc.).

In addition to meeting those standards, each team is encouraged, not required, to commit to a financial bid to the federation. Assuming the team’s proposed venue is acceptable, the criteria comes down to who writes the biggest check. The team who bids the most, gets to host. While the amounts of the bids are kept a secret, the team officials interviewed for this story estimate the amount can range from as little as $500, to this year, where sources say Chicago and Seattle both submitted bids in excess of $100,000 to host this year’s final.

Writing a check isn’t the only option. In fact, according to the Open Cup handbook distributed by the USSF to teams, the proposals can vary.

“The parameters for such proposals are open-ended and may include a financial guarantee to U.S. Soccer, a guarantee plus percentage of the gate, or a percentage of the gate alone,” the handbook reads. “Teams may consider a financial guarantee paid in advance to strengthen their proposal, although this is not a pre-requisite. However, U.S. Soccer will take the absence of a check at the time of submitting a Hosting Proposal into consideration in the selection process.”

The teams submit their checks in advance, but only the winning bids have their checks deposited, with the losing bids getting theirs sent back.

After the Second Round, the stadium standards increase, but the same procedure is followed with USSF setting a deadline in advance, and teams bidding to host the Third Round and the Quarterfinals, and later the Semifinals and the Final.

THE CHALLENGE OF HOSTING/TRAVELING

No team wants to travel in any competition. The cost of hotels and airfare for a team can be very expensive but luckily the USSF reimburses the road team up to $8,000 (the amount goes up to $11,000 for the championship game). Anything above that amount has to be covered by the club.

In recent years, the USSF has focused on making the early rounds more regional in an effort to minimize travel costs.

Sporting Kansas City (then known as Kansas City Wizards) fans cheer on their team in a US Open Cup qualifying match in 2010. Photo: Gary Rohman

However, even with the assistance, many lower division professional teams, and especially amateur clubs, struggle financially to compete in the Open Cup either as road teams or as the host team.

In the early rounds, when your opponents could be an amateur team or a lower division professional club, it’s difficult to draw fans. In fact, since 2002, the number of games in the first two rounds that have exceeded the 3,000-fan mark are few and far between. The last three years (72 games), only one game has surpassed 3,000 fans in attendance (2010 First Round: Dayton Dutch Lions at Rochester Rhinos – 3,127 fans). This has become more challenging for lower division clubs as the economy has reduced attendance and has driven up the cost of travel.

Tom Zaiss, the long-time general manager for Bavarian SC from Milwaukee, which was founded in 1920, said as much as he loves the tournament, financially-speaking, it can be a lose-lose situation.

“As an amateur team, you lose money hosting, and you lose money when you travel,” said Zaiss, who was a player on the Bavarian SC team that finished as the runner-up in the 1994 Open Cup. “Flights aren’t cheap, especially on short notice, bus prices have gone up … it’s very expensive.”

The ‘short notice’ that Zaiss refers to is in reference to the fact that for the last decade, the first three rounds of the Open Cup move at a fast pace, with only two weeks in between some rounds. In the last two years, the gap between rounds has shrunk even further, with the first three rounds taking place on consecutive weeks. Focusing on creating a more regional draw has been a focus for the USSF to minimize travel costs, but the challenge of promoting and selling tickets to a game in less than a week is difficult, according to Zaiss and other teams like his.

Among the numerous costs associated with hosting a tournament game is the increased cost of the referees.

As the level of play increases, and as the tournament progresses, the cost of game officials goes up, which can be challenging for amateur clubs. For example, based on 2011 league costs, PDL teams pay a minimum of $220 per USL game for a referee crew, excluding travel and per diem expenses. The opening round of the Open Cup, on the other hand, can cost a minimum of $435, with Round 2 jumping to $825. Round 3 and beyond starts at $1,300. Travel and per diem can push those costs around the $2,000 mark.

Other challenges associated with hosting occur when MLS teams have to draw crowds for midweek games against lower division opponents. However, recently some teams have taken it upon themselves to invest in marketing their Open Cup games.

The Sounders’ effort almost goes without saying. They have broken the Open Cup Final attendance record two years in a row at CenturyLink Field, and almost every game at Starfire Sports Complex has been packed, regardless of the level of competition.

Real Salt Lake drew the Wilmington Hammerheads of USL PRO (Division 3 pro) in the Third Round this past year, and made a great effort to market the game. In their first Open Cup match in five years, RSL slashed ticket prices ($5 for season ticket holders, $10 for the general public) and with the winner of the Open Cup earning a place in the CONCACAF Champions League, they sold the game as the first step toward returning to the tournament where they finished as the runner-up earlier this year.

“It was our technical staff that promoted the match somewhat by default by decreeing that RSL would place more emphasis on the tournament,” said RSL spokesperson John Koluder. “[General manager] Garth Lagerway and coach Jason Kreis mentioned often throughout the summer that winning the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup was the ‘easiest path back to the CONCACAF Champions League.’”

RSL managed to draw 7,620 fans on that Tuesday night against the Hammerheads (and won 2-0), which most wouldn’t see as much of an accomplishment but it was the sixth-best attendance for an MLS team hosting a lower division team since MLS joined the competition in 1996 (excluding doubleheaders).

Koluder added, “When you put in the time and resources that our front office did to educate our fan base on the CCL and then see the tremendous results that came from it in the stands, pushing the US Open Cup as a conduit back to CONCACAF Champions League seemed a logical decision.”

“I think it’s a really cool tournament,” said Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerway Lagerway. “It’s something that American fans will latch on to but it’s over our heads at the club level. USSF and MLS need to sit down and try to work something out.”

Lagerway would like to see the Open Cup operate more like the CONCACAF Champions League, a competition his team reached the finals of this past spring.

“I was impressed with the resources that CONCACAF had. Travel is $40,000 per game, every game is on TV, and they spent a lot of money to make this a big deal. The profile of that tournament has been raised and it’s increased MLS teams’ priorities.”

Lagerway’s frustration with the bidding process stems from last year where after RSL defeated Wilmington, they were outbid by FC Dallas to host the Quarterfinals. Dallas bid more to host it and only drew 3,189 fans, less than half of what RSL drew for a game against the  Division 3 Hammerheads.

“There should be a focus on sponsors and television, and not worrying about if a team bid $10,000 more than another team. It’s about who has the better crowd, and who can put on a better event.”

THE RICH GET RICHER?

It would appear as though the system favors the richer clubs, but the numbers don’t really back that up.

“US Soccer gives all clubs the same opportunity and makes decisions based on objective measures,” said USSF spokesperson Neil Beuthe. “Since 2007, the first year where the format changed to having eight MLS teams enter in the third round to play eight non-MLS clubs, lower division teams have hosted 19 third round games while MLS clubs have hosted 21.”

While MLS has hosted 32 of the 56 games (57 percent) played against lower division opponents since 2007, that balance has radically shifted in the last two years. MLS has been the home team for 17 of the last 20 matches (85 percent).

Many fans point to this past year when MLS teams hosted seven out of the eight matches against lower division opponents, but 2011 was unique due to the fact that for the first time since MLS joined the competition in 1996 that there were no Division 2 teams in the competition, with NASL earning sanctioning too late to be included in the tournament. Without a second division, MLS was able to outbid USL Pro and PDL teams participating with much smaller budgets.

The last two years could be an anomaly, but it could be the beginning of a trend. Now more than ever, MLS teams own their own soccer specific stadiums, giving them more control over scheduling and removing the cost and burden of renting a stadium, as many have dealt with in years past.

But there may be more pressing overriding concern for the paradigm shift the past two years.

By bidding aggressively, MLS clubs avoid travel, which is a huge value to a club like the Seattle Sounders. The last two years, the Sounders have had to balance a schedule that included three major competitions (MLS, Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League) for the club in addition to external player commitments such as international matches. The West also tends to be more spread out geographically. Seattle, for instance, outside of their Cascadian rivals, has to travel over 800 miles to get to their next closest opponent. FC Dallas has to travel over 2,000 miles to play teams like Seattle and Vancouver.

Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer says his team is a lot like other top level clubs in the world, as they would rather risk losing money to host in place of “putting the extra miles” on players and coaches.

“As a USL franchise, we used to bid aggressively, but we didn’t want to overbid,” said Hanauer. “The best scenario for us was to host an MLS team; that way, we could recoup the money on ticket sales. But for MLS teams, they just don’t want to go on the road and they are willing to compromise their profit loss so that they don’t have to travel.”

The reality is, smaller clubs can’t lose money as easily as larger ones can.

A NEW APPROACH?

Some members of the soccer community would like to see changes in the way home teams are determined in the tournament. Some view it as an issue of fairness while others take it a step further, suggesting it is an opportunity to grow the game of soccer in the United States.

Tim Holt, president of United Soccer Leagues and co-chair of the Open Cup committee, told The Examiner recently that he would like to see a blind draw.

“One of the things the tournament will need to address going forward is the manner in which teams are selected to host in each of the individual rounds, and de-emphasize the economics of hosting each round and emphasize competitive balance,” he told L.E. Eisenmenger in an interview. “In many cup competitions around the world, there’s a draw for each round – home or away – and mathematically, you’ve [got] a fifty percent chance of hosting and fifty percent chance of traveling.”

Neil Holloway, general manager of the PDL's Ocean City Nor'easters: “You could broadcast the draw, either on TV or online, like the FA Cup and promote it.” - Photo: Bill Pellegrino | Ocean City Nor'easters

Neil Holloway, the general manager of the PDL’s Ocean City Nor’easters, thinks the draw itself could be a useful way to increase the popularity of the Open Cup.

“You could broadcast the draw, either on TV or online, like the FA Cup and promote it,” said Holloway who has led Ocean City to the second-most Open Cup wins among PDL teams (6), including four upsets against professional clubs. “Draw it out of a hat and bring some attention to it. You also could get a sponsor, cover all of the travel costs for lower division clubs and that way you’re not going broke trying to compete in the tournament.”

Chris Economides, the senior director of USL PRO, echoed Holt’s ideas about the draw, seeing the possibility of giving lower division clubs a better chance of hosting is good for the game.

“When I was [president of the Rochester Rhinos], we played a game against the New Hampshire Phantoms (formerly Division 3 pro based in Manchester, NH, now in the PDL) and it’s a big deal when the bigger club comes to town. You have to look at what’s good for the sport.”

Many of the teams and administrators that were contacted for this story had plenty of constructive criticisms of the competition, but not all of them were completely against the current organization of the tournament.

“I think the system is fair,” said Michigan Bucks owner and president Dan Duggan. “Does it have flaws? Yes. But it is not an easy tournament to manage.”

The Bucks, a PDL team since 1996 currently based in Pontiac, Mich., have more wins than any team in PDL history, and are the most successful amateur club in the Modern Professional Era with a record seven wins over professional teams. They also have played in 17 cup games, which is more than any amateur team since 1995. Duggan is well-versed in the process of bidding for home games, having hosted 11 of those games. Four of those home games were played against MLS teams.

“If you saw some of the venues that people suggested we play Open Cup matches in, it would set the sport back 50 years,” said Duggan. “If you have a professional organization and a venue that meets and exceeds FIFA standards, and you have a passionate fan base, then you should get an opportunity to host. And I believe that is why we have hosted as many times as we have over the years.”

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Simply getting rid of the bidding process, and implementing a new procedure for choosing home teams, is not as easy as it would seem. The federation depends on the money from the bidding process to operate the Open Cup. If the money for home games stopped coming in, something would have to be done to replace those lost dollars.

Orr Barouch celebrates with Fire fans after Chicago's 4-0 drubbing of the New York Red Bulls in the 2011 Quarterfinals. Photo: Chicago Fire

It remains to be seen if the USSF will choose to allocate more funds to the competition, or if additional sponsors or investors will be rounded up. If not, the status quo will likely continue.

“No other traditional American sport has a system like this to determine their championship games,” said former Chicago Fire general manager Peter Wilt. “Money is a big part of the process, travel is a big part and they just try to bring a sense of fairness.”

It’s no secret that the tournament isn’t as popular as it could be. With almost all games taking place during the workweek, and almost none of them broadcast on television, except for the final, attendance for the competition rarely moves the meter. Only 26 games (out of the 117) in the last three years have drawn more than 4,000 fans.

If you take away games involving the Seattle Sounders during that span, only nine of those games have cracked the 4,000 mark.

Without promising attendance numbers or television exposure, it will be difficult to sell to sponsors.

What does the USSF plan to do to fix this? Prior to this year’s Open Cup Final, Adrian Hanauer really wanted to know.

“I would welcome USSF to engage MLS or others in trying to come up with some of those ideas [to improve the tournament],” he said. “The first thing is, are we going to turn this into a meaningful tournament or not? If we’re not, then let’s just kill it. If we are, then let’s make a plan. A five-year plan? A 10-year plan? Where do we want to go and how are we going to get there? As far as I know, USSF hasn’t come up with a plan. I know I haven’t seen or heard one.”

“It’s really the biggest source of frustration,” he added. “We just bump along down the road, doing the same thing. There’s a lot of things we could do, but some of them would cost money. If there was a plan in place, and USSF worked on a partnership with MLS, it could work. Let’s say, for instance, bigger prize money. How about a million dollars?”

If changes are going to be made, or if, as Hanauer puts it, the tournament will continue to “bump on down the road,” there’s no silver bullet solution to raising the profile of the US Open Cup, one of the US Soccer majors. Regardless of whatever solution you feel needs to be implemented, it will cost money. If the current bidding process is discontinued, the money will have to be found by other means, and considering the gaps between the money needed and the crowds drawn at this point, that will not be an easy task.

Here is a breakdown of the tree. Each of the champions from the Modern Pro Era are represented on the tree with an ornament designed with the team logo and year in which they won the tournament. Clubs with multiple titles also have stars on the ornaments in which they won their additional championships (Sounders 2009 – no star, 2010 – two stars, 2011 – three stars). All the ornaments feature the logos of the club from that season, including FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City’s previous identities. The décor for the pair, however, does include the sides’ current colors as part of the design.

As you can see, the tree also features a few soccer balls and also has 10 drums, representing the supporters from each of the 10 clubs that have won the tournament in the Modern Pro Era.

The basic tree design itself is designed to represent the flag of the USA. The tree is a blue field with white stars (lights) adorned with red and white alternating stripes.

At the base of the tree are ornaments representing the best clubs from the earlier eras of the tournament, incorporating the very first champion, Brooklyn Field Club, and each of the clubs that have won three or more tournaments prior to the Modern Pro Era with stars representing each title. In silver are Bethlehem Steel and Maccabi LA, the only two teams to win the tournament five times. In bronze are Fall River Marksmen, Greek American Atlas, Philadelphia Ukrainians, NY Pancyprian Freedoms and Stix, Baer & Fuller along with Brooklyn FC.

Oh, and under the base… the scarves of the 2011 Final Four.

Share your soccer themed holiday décor with us on our Facebook page or share on our Flickr account!

Happy Holidays!!!

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The source tells TheCup.us that the changes are the result of a compromise. The lower division teams wanted a greater chance to face an MLS team in the tournament, while MLS teams were looking to begin and end the competition earlier in the year to avoid scheduling congestion in the second half of the season. In addition to the playoff chase at the close of the regular season, some MLS teams also participate in the CONCACAF Champions League Group Phase. International competitions featuring MLS players have also been part of the juggling act for clubs, particularly in June and July.

The goal is to have the Open Cup completed by August, the starting point of the CCL Group Phase which runs August to October. The last Open Cup tournament to hold a championship game before the month of September was in 1995 when the Richmond Kickers won the title in penalty kicks over the El Paso Patriots, the year before MLS joined the competition.

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) declined to comment until any proposals have been confirmed.

The 64 teams and rounds of play would be broken up as follows:

The First Round would begin with 32 amateur teams playing off to produce 16 winners. The 16 that advance from Round 1 will take on the 16 US-based lower division professional teams from the North American Soccer League (NASL), pending sanctioning, and USL Pro. The 16 winners from Round 2 would face the 16 MLS sides awaiting them in Round 3.

There is, however, no certainty that the NASL will be fully sanctioned as a Division 2 league, but the proposal was constructed with the possibility that they would be. Last year, the NASL was excluded from the Open Cup, according to USSF, due to the fact that the 2011 format was already finalized prior to the NASL being awarded a one-year provisional sanctioning.

How the 32 amateur teams will be divided up between the Premier Development League (PDL), National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and US Club Soccer will be determined at a later date.

Another ripple effect from moving the start of the tournament to the middle of May is the expected elimination of the longstanding in-season qualifying process for the PDL berths. Throughout the Modern Professional Era, the PDL has featured regular season games which double as qualifiers for the US Open Cup, adding additional value to the early part of the league schedule. Since the vast majority of players on PDL and NPSL rosters are college players, the earliest they are allowed to start training with their club is May 1, but with two weeks until the first Open Cup game, it is highly unlikely that the leagues will try to squeeze in any kind of qualifying process.

In fact, a sign that the new format is expected to be adopted has already surfaced. USASA regional and state associations have been informed that they need to make arrangements to have regional qualifying completed by May 1. Based on previous tournament formats, that is usually the same deadline PDL and NPSL teams are given to determine their entries.

For the first time since 2006, every MLS team will enter the US Open Cup, putting an end to five years of play-in tournaments for the top division. The numbers would suggest that MLS qualifying will not be missed as average attendance for the competition, held on midweek dates, had been on a steady decline since 2008. After averaging 6,479 fans per game in 2007 (four games) and 6,764 in 2008 (five games), 2009 (six games) dropped to 4,724 and 2010 hit rock bottom with 2,487 over seven games. Last year, the average climbed to 3,803, but much of that is attributed to the Portland Timbers who drew an MLS qualifying record 11,412 to watch their 1-0 extra time loss to the San Jose Earthquakes in the semifinals.

MORE ANALYSIS: Extreme Makeover – US Open Cup edition: What it all means (Extra Time @ TheCup.us)

The top four finalists for TheCup.us Player of the Tournament (from top left, clockwise): Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders), Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders), Ronnie Pascale (Richmond Kickers) and David Bulow (Richmond Kickers)

The 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tournament will undoubtedly go down in history with the Seattle Sounders and Richmond Kickers as the leading stories. Both clubs made history, resulting in two players from each club as the four finalists for TheCup.us Player of the Tournament honors. The duo of Osvaldo Alonso and Fredy Montero are up for the award from the champion Sounders and David Bulow and Ronnie Pascale are in the running from Richmond.

The award, to be announced Thursday, October 13, is voted on by the staff of the definitive US Open Cup site TheCup.us and a selected panel of members of the North American Soccer Reporters, which also selects the MLS Player of the Week. The panel previously honored Alonso, Pascale, Bulow as TheCup.us Players of the Round along with Dominic Oduro (Chicago Fire), Mike Fucito (Seattle) and Zach Lubin (Kitsap Pumas).

Also receiving votes for the honor were Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson and Pumas netminder Bryan Meredith.

Alonso, Player of the Round for the Final, started in all four matches of Seattle’s historic run to the championship, leading the team defensively along the way and capping it off with a goal in stoppage time of the 2-0 championship against Chicago. Leo Gonzalez was the only other Sounder to start all four contests while Jeff Parke and Mike Fucito were the only two others to see action in all four games.

Montero scored the game-winning goal in each of the last three contests in guiding the Sounders to the historic championship, also topping in addition to the Fire, fellow league Champions League sides Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas in the Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds.

Bulow finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with six goals, becoming the career leading in US Open Cup goals in the modern professional era (1995-present) with 14. With a hat-trick in the First Round, two goals in the Second he tied Johnny Menyongar and MLS great Jaime Moreno at 13. He notched the table-leading goal in a 2-0 Quarterfinal win against Sporting Kansas City.

The venerable Pascale added yet another accolade to his fantastic lower division career, earning Player of the Round honors in leading Richmond to the shutout win in Kansas City. The victory made the Kickers the first lower division club to win back-to-back road games versus MLS opposition in the history of the tournament.

Adelino “Billy” Gonsalves and Bert Patenaude pose for a picture. Photo: National Soccer Hall of Fame

The legendary Adelino “Billy” Gonsalves has scored more goals than any player in the history of the US Open Cup. Although, it is worth noting that many of the championships prior to 1968 were played over two and sometimes three legs. It might be a while before any modern players crack the list of championship game goalscorers since it took until 2010 for a player (Sanna Nyassi of the Seattle Sounders) to not only score more than one goal in a final in the Professional Era (1995-present), but also he’s the only one to score more than one championship game goal in a career. Fredy Montero later joined him by scoring his second career Open Cup Final goal in 2011.

(Fun fact: There are eight Hall of Famers included in the list below. Can you name them?)

But perhaps the better comparisons we should all be making is to the other Opens in which the American media already treat as serious events. These events also pit amateurs versus professionals on an open entry basis, and are also among numerous events within the specific sport. These events, of course, are the US Open tennis tournaments held annually in New York and the US Open golf championship held in a different location each year around the United States.

Each fall, the world’s best tennis players convene on the hard courts of the USTA’s Billy Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, NY for the tour’s fourth and final major of what the sport considers the Grand Slam. Those top-flight professionals are joined by winners of an open playoff system that is comprised 16 sectionals and a national playoff event in which only USTA members may participate. In the end, 128 participants each take part in the men’s and women’s brackets (64 for doubles).

Last year, over 1,200 players took part in the USTA’s National Playoffs for a chance to compete in the singles events at the US Open. Unlike US Soccer’s Open Cup, only one male and one female earned qualification spots to compete against the world’s best in the tournament.

The Chicago Fire have won six majors, including four US Open Cup championships | Photo by Brian Kersey/Wireimage.com

The US Open golf tournament, held in June, is comparatively more open with approximately half the participants advancing from qualification play to join the world’s top players who are automatically in the field through 17 exemptions categories via such things as being tournament winners or holding a certain world ranking.

At the 2010 tournament, 75 of the 156 participants were non-exempted players who qualified through the two-stage process to reach the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links for the championship. The process begins with Local Qualifying, a series of over 100 18-hole tournaments held around the country. Many top players not already qualified through full exemption are, however, exempt from local qualifying and join the process at the Sectional Qualifying stage where they participate in one of several one-day, 36-hole tournaments in the United States. There is also a Sectional tournament in both Europe and Japan where 11 and 4 individuals qualified, respectively, in 2010.

The major difference between the US Open Cup and the US Open tennis and golf duo is that the US Soccer Federation event is the only one that is a championship tournament for Americans while the other two are open to foreign participants. The only clubs eligible for the US Open Cup are American-based teams that are affiliated through the USSF; however, for argument’s sake it does still feature a foreign component as teams are comprised, in part, of players that are not American.

The Los Angeles Galaxy have won eight majors, and are one of only two MLS clubs to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup (DC United). They won the Champions Cup in 2000 | Photo: Los Angeles Galaxy

Continuing on the golf tangent, another significant open tournament American media and sports fans are very familiar with and follow every July is the British Open (officially known as The Open Championship), which is the oldest of the four golf majors and is the only one held outside of the United States. Similar to the US Open, the majority of the 156 participants are automatic entrants through exemption with the remaining players advancing from a two-stage qualification process.

Through 2004, players from around the world were only able to qualify through 18-hole Local Qualifying events held around Britain and Ireland within two weeks of The British Open followed by 36-hole Local Final Qualifying tournaments a few days later. International Qualifying events, 36-hole tournaments, were added in 2004 to assist foreign professionals wishing to participate, holding qualifiers in Africa, Australia, Asia, America and Europe with more stringent entrance standards than Local Qualifying.

Packaging & Marketing US Soccer Majors

The golf and tennis tours are lengthy seasons that run from January to the fall with tournament events nearly every week, but it is the majors where media coverage amps up and fan viewership heightens. With the similarities of the American Open majors to the US Open Cup, perhaps there are other lessons to be learned from the golf and tennis tours, such as the incorporation US Soccer Majors as a marketing tool for the sports’ leading championship events for American clubs.

A matching structure of four championships already exists with the US Open Cup joined by the MLS Cup, MLS Supporters’ Shield (regular season championship) and the CONCACAF Champions League.  Currently, the MLS Cup is the leading championship, but by creating a platform that raises the perception of the other three events to a comparable level to the league’s championship playoff, it will increase awareness among the media and fans while also, hopefully, creating a greater sense of seriousness and urgency to win the other events among the clubs and coaches.

Bringing these four championships together into one packaged series allows for a greater ability to compare the success of clubs beyond just winning MLS Cup as though this was the NFL and the Super Bowl while clubs around the rest of the world are evaluated on all the various events in which they participate. It would be similar to how tennis players and golfers are measured by majors won.

DC United lead all MLS clubs with 11 majors, including the 1996 US Open Cup championship | Photo: DC United

For instance, the Los Angeles Galaxy and DC United are the only two clubs that have won all four majors (dating back to the CCL precursor CONCACAF Champions Cup). In fact, the two also hold the most total majors with DC boasting 11 (4 MLS Cups, 4 Supporters’ Shields, 2 Open Cups and a CCC) and the Galaxy having eight (2 MLS Cups, 3 Supporters’ Shields, 2 Open Cups and the CCC).

Only five clubs have won all three of the domestic majors with the Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew and Sporting Kansas City having won everything but a CONCACAF championship at least once. The Fire are third in total majors (6) and the Crew are fourth (5).

Only three American MLS clubs are without a major championship, excluding expansion Portland. The New York Red Bulls, Chivas USA and Philadelphia Union have yet to claim one of the big prizes.

In the last five years, the most successful clubs in the United States have been Columbus and DC, each having won three majors. The Crew have won the Supporters’ Shield twice and the MLS Cup once. DC also has two Supporters’ Shields, but has a US Open Cup championship to round things out. Houston and Seattle each have two titles with the Dynamo winning MLS Cup twice in a row and the Sounders taking the Open Cup title back-to-back. Five other teams each have one major as nine clubs have won the 15 possible domestic majors while coming up empty in the Champions League, which is completing its third run with Real Salt Lake still in the hunt for a second major in the same cycle in which it won the MLS Cup title and qualified for the event.

All-Time ‘US Soccer Majors’ Winners List

11 – DC United (4 MC, 4 SS, 2 OC, 1 CCC)
8 – Los Angeles Galaxy (2 MC, 3 SS, 2 OC, 1 CCC)
6 – Chicago Fire (1 MC, 1 SS, 4 OC)
5 – Columbus Crew (1 MC, 3 SS, 1 OC)
3 – San Jose Earthquakes (2 MC, 1 SS)
3 – Sporting Kansas City (1 MC, 1 SS, 1 OC)
2 – Houston Dynamo (2 MC)
2 – Seattle Sounders (2 OC)
1 – Colorado Rapids (MC), FC Dallas (OC), Real Salt Lake (MC), New England Revolution (OC), Rochester Rhinos (OC), Tampa Bay Mutiny (SS), Miami Fusion (SS)

(MC – MLS Cup, SS – Supporters’ Shield, OC – US Open Cup, CCC/CCL – CONCACAF Champions Cup/League)

TheCup.us has compiled details from every championship game since the beginning, but the list required the help of a number of dedicated individuals. These details would not be possible if not for the research of Colin Jose, Roger Allaway, Dave Litterer and the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A majority of this list has been put together by Jose and Allaway, two of the foremost historians of soccer in the United States and Canada.

Mr. Allaway is the current historian for the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and Mr. Jose was his predecessor in that position. Additional information has been obtained through the American Soccer History Archives website maintained by Dave Litterer. TheCup.us lead researchers Aldo Benni and Chuck Nolan Jr. have managed to fill in some of the gaps in the information Jose and Allaway have researched, and are also working on compiling full results and match details with the help of all of those mentioned above. Like all historical research, it is always a work in progress and is constantly being updated.

1914 – Brooklyn Field Club (Brooklyn, NY) 2:1 Brooklyn Celtic (Brooklyn, NY)
May 16, 1914 | Coates Field – Pawtucket, RI

Scoring Summary
Field Club – Adamson 3’, James Ford 87’
Celtic – Campion 27’p

Brooklyn Field Club – Haughie, Hinds, Drinkwater, Matthews, Clark, Nichols, Ford, Knowles, Adamson, Millar, Shanholdt

Brooklyn Celtic – Mather, J. Robertson, A. Robertson, Flanagan, O’Hara, Kelly, Lonie, Campion, O’Halloran, McGreevey, Butler

Attendance: 10,000 | Referee – Charles E. Creighton

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1915 – Bethlehem Steel (Bethlehem, PA) 3:1 Brooklyn Celtic (Brooklyn, NY)
May 3, 1915 | Taylor Field – Bethlehem, PA

Scoring Summary
Bethlehem – Bob Millar, Tommy Fleming (PK), James Ford
Celtic – McQueen

Bethlehem Steel – William Duncan, Sam Fletcher, Jock Ferguson, Dugald Campbell, Clarke, Bobby Morrison, Ford, Billy Murray, Bob Millar, Fred Pepper, Tommy Fleming

Brooklyn Celtic – Mather, Nicholas, McWilliams, John Broadbent, Donegan, Neville, Campion, Lonier, Halloran, McQueen, McGreevy

Attendance: 7,000 | Referee – George Lambie | Linesmen – Charles E. Creighton, James Walders

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1916 – Bethlehem Steel (Bethlehem, PA) 1:0 Fall River Rovers (Fall River, MA)
May 16, 1916 | Lonsdale Avenue Ground – Pawtucket, RI

Scoring Summary
Bethlehem – Tommy Fleming 78’ (PK)

Bethlehem Steel – William Duncan, Sam Fletcher, Jock Ferguson, Billy Murray, Dugald Campbell, Bobby Morrison, MacDonald, Fred Pepper, Clarke, Butler, Tommy Fleming

Fall River Rovers – Albion, Booth, C. Burns, F. Burns, Bouchard, Stone, Morgan, Sullivan, Dalton, Swords, Garant

Attendance: 10,000 | Referee – David Whyte  | Linesmen – George E. Mitchell, Joe Booth

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1917 – Fall River Rovers (Fall River, MA) 1:0 Bethlehem Steel (Bethlehem, PA)
May 5, 1917 | Lonsdale Avenue Ground – Pawtucket, RI

Scoring Summary
Fall River – Tommy Swords 1’

Fall River Rovers – Albion, Booth, C. Burns, F. Burns, McFarlane, Turner, Sullivan, Landy, Tommy Swords, Cullerton

Bethlehem Steel – William Duncan (GK), Sam Fletcher, Jock Ferguson, Murray, Kirkpatrick, Campbell, George McKelvey, Fred Pepper, Jimmy Easton, George Forest, Tommy Fleming

Referee – William Taylor | Linesmen – Robert Ritchie, Patrick Darcy

Attendance: 7,000

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1918 – Bethlehem Steel (Bethlehem, PA) 2:2 (aet) Fall River Rovers (Fall River, MA)
May 5, 1918 | Lonsdale Avenue Ground – Pawtucket, RI

Scoring Summary
Bethlehem – Harry Ratican 4’ (Fleming), Tommy Fleming (Murphy)
Fall River – J.J. Sullivan 10’, M. Chadwick 45’

Bethlehem – William Duncan, Sam Fletcher, Jock Ferguson, Murray, Campbell, Kirkpatrick, Murphy, Fred Pepper, Jimmy Easton, Harry Ratican, Tommy Fleming

Fall River – Albion, Booth, C. Burns, F. Burns, Beardsworth, Clarke, Smith, Morgan, Sullivan, Swords, Chadwick

Attendance: 13,000 | Referee – Charles Creighton | Linesmen – Booth, McLeik

REPLAY – Bethlehem Steel 3:0 Fall River Rovers
May 19, 1918 | Federal League Baseball Grounds – Harrison, NJ

Scoring Summary
Bethlehem – Harry Ratican 30’ (Ferguson) 75’ (Fleming), Fred Pepper 32’

Bethlehem – William Duncan, Sam Fletcher, Jock Ferguson, Murray, Campbell, Kirkpatrick, Murphy, Fred Pepper, Jimmy Easton, Harry Ratican, Tommy Fleming

Fall River – Albion, Booth, C. Burns, F. Burns, Beardsworth, Clark, Smith, Morgan, Sullivan, Swords, Chadwick

Attendance: 8,000 | Referee – Charle. Creighton | Linesmen – Joe Booth, Samuel McLerie

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1919 – Bethlehem Steel (Bethlehem, PA) 2:0 Paterson FC (Paterson, NJ)
April 19, 1919 | Athletic Field – Fall River, MA

Scoring Summary
Bethlehem – George McKelvey 60’, Harry Ratican 88’

Bethlehem – William Duncan, Wilson, Jock Ferguson, Fred Pepper, Campbell, Brown, George McKelvey, Butler, George Forrest, Harry Ratican, Tommy Fleming

Paterson FC – Healey, Broadbent, Murray, J. Stark, Venderveighe, Meyerdiecks, Knowles, Bleich, Post, A. Stark, Brown

Attendance: 10,000 | Referee – George Lambie | Linesmen – Pemberton and Mitchell

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1920 – Ben Miller FC (St. Louis, MO) 2:1 Fore River Rovers (Quincy, MA)
May 8, 1920 | Handlan’s Park – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Ben Miller – Hap Marre 22′, Jimmy Dunn 63′
Fore River – Jack Kershaw 37′

Ben Miller – McGarry, Lancaster, Johnston, Johnny Redden, Quinn, O’Hanlon, Al McHenry, Riley, Jimmy Dunn, Hap Marre, Potee

Fore River – Lambie, Parkinson, Littlejohn, W. Daly, Green, Black, Farquhar, Page, Kershaw, Underwood, J. Daly

Attendance: 12,000 | Referee – Alex McKenzie | Linesmen – Phil Kavanaugh, Paul McSweeney

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1921 – Robins Dry Dock (Brooklyn, NY) 4:2 Scullin Steel (St. Louis, MO)
April 19, 1921 | Fall River Athletic Field – Fall River, MA

Scoring Summary
Robins – Jack McGuire 16′, Robert Hosie 29′, Peter Sweeney 64′, George McKelvey
Scullin – Charles Bechtold 15′ 19′

Robins Dry Dock – Pete Renzulli, Sundber, Brownlie, Fred Beardsworth, Neil Clarke, Joseph Irvine, George McKelvey, Jack McGuire, Harry Ratican, Robert Hosie, Peter Sweeney

Scullin Steel – Hennessy, Oberle, A.J. Brady, O’Hanlon, Zarazhel, Burke, Nolan, Schwarz, Bechtold, Brannigan, McCarthy

Attendance: 8,000 | Referee – James E. Schoefield | Linesmen – George Carrol, Joseph Smith

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1922 – Scullin Steel (St. Louis, MO) 3:2 Todd Shipyards (Brooklyn, NY)
March 19, 1922 | High School Field – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Scullin – Cliff Brady 37’, Allie Schwartz 71’ 87′
Todd Shipyard – Jack McGuire 17′ 23′

Scullin Steel – H. Oellerman, Tate Brady, G. Bentley, J. Nolan, L. Zarachel, J. Hennessey, E. Mulvey, J. Brannigan, Allie Schwarz, Cliff Brady, Charles Bechtold

Todd Shipyard – Pete Renzulli, W. Whitehead, Adam Smith, Joseph Irvine, James Campbell, Bill Fryer, Peter Sweeney, Frank McKenna, Harry Ratican, Jack McGuire, George McKelvey

Att – 8,000 | Referee – George Young (Philadelphia)

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1923 – Paterson Silk Sox (Paterson, NJ) 2:2 (aet) Scullin Steel (St. Louis, MO)
April 1, 1923 | Harrison Field – Harrison, NJ

Scoring Summary
Paterson – Tommy Duggan 65’, John Heminsley 84’ (McKenna)
Scullin – Brannigan 38’, Allie Schwarz 57’ (Rooney)

Paterson – Pete Renzulli, Joe Reynolds, Whitehead, F. Adams, Bill Fryer, Billy Herd, Tommy Duggan, Jack McGuire, John Heminsley, Frank McKenna, Joseph Irvine

Scullin – Oellerman, Oberle, Brady, Hennessy, Zarachel, Murphy, Bechtold, Rooney, Schwarz, Brannigan, Mitchell

Attendance: 15,000 | Referee – J.B. Stark

The USF.A. decided that the Replay –  would be held in the East, and just two days after the Final between Paterson and Scullin, the St. Louis club announced they would not be able to field a team for the rematch. Oellerman, Brannigan, Mulvey and Rooney had departed for baseball training camps. Had the Replay –  been held in St. Louis, they could have made the final, but a long trip back East was out of the question. On top of this, Scullin players Nolan, Bechtold
and Bentley were injured.

Instead of fielding an inferior team against Paterson, the Scullin management decided the honorable way would be to relinquish their championship to Paterson.

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1924 – Fall River Marksmen (Fall River, MA) 4:2 Vesper Buick (St. Louis, MO)
March 30, 1924 | High School Field – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Vesper – Tom Harris 36’(PK), Joe McCarthy 52’
Fall River – Fred Morley 6’ 51’, Johnny Reid, Harold Brittan 90’

Vesper Buick – Larbarge, Scott, Fitzgerald, Gockel, Burke, Oster, Wimer, Harris, Corrigan, Becker, McCarthy

Fall River – Findlay Kerr, Ned Tate, Alex Kemp, Bill McPherson, Tommy Raeside, Harry McGowan, Dougie Campbell, Johnny Reid, Harold Brittan, Fred Morley, Frank McKenna

Attendance: 14,000 | Referee – Edward McCabe | Linesmen – A. Shallcross, P.J. Kavanaugh

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1925 – Shawsheen Indians (Andover, MD) 3:0 Canadian Club (Chicago, IL)
April 19, 1925 | Mark’s Stadium – Tiverton, RI

Scoring Summary
Shawsheen – Edmund Smith 35′, Peter Purden 41′ (PK), Alex Carrie 50′

Shawsheen – Thomas Murdoch, Bill Ross, David Mills, Andrew Nixon, William Thomson, Fred Watkins, Robert Blyth, Peter Purden, Alex Carrie, Edmund Smith, Alexander Edwards

Canadian Club – Vic Neate, Bob Hannah, Houghton, Reid, Corbett, Red Anderson, Frankie Davidson, Don Carroll, Joe Phillips, Paxton, Harry Amber

Attendance: 2,500 | Referee – William Norse | Linesmen – Fred O’Dell, J.W. Woods

Note: St. Louis and ASL clubs boycotted the 1925 Cup. The clubs were dissatisfied with the USFA’s cut of gate receipts for cup games, and being forced to play in preliminary rounds against small amateur clubs.

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1926 – Bethlehem Steel (Bethlehem, PA) 7:2 Ben Miller FC (St. Louis, MO)
April 11, 1926 | Ebbets Field – Brooklyn, NY

Scoring Summary
Bethlehem – Archie Stark 6’ 20’ 53’, Malcolm Goldie 35’, Johnny Rollo 55’, Robert McDonald 86’, Johnny Jaap 88’
Ben Miller – Benjamin Nash 48’ 70’

Bethlehem Steel – Dave Carson, Joe Berryman, Billy Allen, Robert McDonald, Bill Carnihan, Bob McGregor, Johnny Jaap, Johnny Grainger, Archie Stark, Johnny Rollo, Malcolm Goldie

Ben Miller – Barnett, Erbe, Daley, Croak, Petersen, Tracey, E. Dunn, Worden, Bollam, Nash, Mulroy

Attendance: 18,000 | Referee – Thomas Cunningham | Linesmen – Mose Bloom, Roderick O’Halloran

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1927 – Fall River Marksmen (Fall River, MA) 7:0 Holley Carburetor (Detroit, MI)
May 1, 1927 | University of Detroit Stadium – Detroit, MI

Scoring Summary
Fall River – Tec White 61′ (2), Dave McEachran (2), Dougie Campbell, Harold Brittan 14′, Jimmy Kelly

Holley – Dick, Hayston, Boath, Gallagher, Dalrymple, Stewart, Forrester, Connolly, Gerrit Visser, Rutherford, Love

Fall River – Tommy Blair, Charlie McGill, Bill Gibson, Bill McPherson, Bob Wilson, Hugh Coyle, Dougie Campbell, Tec White, Harold Brittan, Jimmy Kelly, Dave McEachran

Attendance: 10,000 | Referee – C.E. Creighton | Linesmen – D. Evans, W. Ferguson

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1928 – New York Nationals (New York, NY) 1:1 (AET) Bricklayers FC (Chicago, IL)
April 9, 1928 | Polo Grounds – New York, NY

Scoring Summary
Nationals – Siegfried Wortmann 30′
Bricklayers – Clem Cuthbert 8′

Nationals – Pete Renzulli, Jimmy Warden, Alec Donald, Harry Chatton, John Slaven, James Martyn, Bobby Walker, Siegfried Wortmann, George Henderson, Bob Millar, Bart McGhee

Bricklayers – McEwan, Scott, Woods, T. Hill, Quinn, Thomson, McLean, H. Hill, Phillips, Cuthbert, Walker

Attendance: 16,000 | Referee – James Walder | Linesmen – Charles E. Creighton, Alfred White

REPLAY – New York Nationals (New York, NY) 3:0 Bricklayers FC (Chicago, IL)
April 15, 1928 | Soldier Field – Chicago, IL

Scoring Summary
Nationals – George Henderson 12′ 39′, Siegfried Wortmann 60′

Bricklayers – McEwan, Scott, Woods, T. Hill, Quinn, Thomson, McLean, H. Hill, Coutte, Cuthbert, Walker

Nationals – Pete Renzulli, Jimmy Warden, Alec Donald, Harry Chatton, John Slaven, James Martyn, Bobby Walker, Siegfried Wortmann, George Henderson, Bob Millar, Bart McGhee

Fouls – Bricklayers 8, Nationals 7
Corner Kicks – Bricklayers 8, Nationals 0
Free Kicks – Bricklayers 13, Nationals 14
Sent Off – Scott (Bricklayers) and Bob Millar (Nationals), second half

Attendance: 15,000 | Referee – James Walder

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1929 – Hakoah All Stars (New York, NY) 5:0 (2:0, 3:0) Madison Kennels (St. Louis, MO)
Hakoah All Stars win National Challenge Cup on 5:0 aggregate

FIRST LEG -  Hakoah All Stars 2:0 Madison Kennels
March 31, 1929 | Sportsman’s Park – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Hakoah – Josef Eisenhoffer 80′, Siegfried Wortmann 82′

Madison Kennels – Labarge, Gockel, Handley, Fink, Burke, Oster, Grenon, Worden, Flavin, Moore, Hanson

Hakoah – Lajos Fischer, Ludwig Grosz, Laszlo Sternberg, Rudolph Nicholsburger, Leo Drucker, Pavel Mahrer, Erno Schwarz, Moritz Haeusler, Max Gruenwald, Siegfried Wortman, Josef Eisenhoffer

Attendance: 18,000 | Referee – James McFarlane (Cleveland)

SECOND LEG –  Hakoah All Stars 3:0 Madison Kennels
April 7, 1929 | Dexter Park – Brooklyn, NY

Scoring Summary
Hakoah – Erno Schwarz 20′, Max Gruenwald 50′, Moritz Haeusler 70’

Hakoah – Lajos Fischer, Ludwig Grosz, Laszlo Sternberg, Rudolph Nicholsburger, Bela Guttman, Pavel Mahrer, Erno Schwarz, Moritz Haeusler, Max Gruenwald, Siegfried Wortmann, Josef Eisenhoffer

Madison Kennels – Labarge, Gockel, Handley, Fink, Burke, Oster, McDonnell, Worden, Flavin, Moore, Hanson

Attendance: 20,000 | Referee – James McFarlane (Cleveland)

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1930 – Fall River Marksmen (Fall River, MA) 9:3 (7:2, 2:1)  Bruell Insurance (Cleveland, OH)
Fall River Marksmen win National Challenge Cup on 9-3 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Fall River Marksmen 7:2 Bruell Insurance
March 30, 1930 | Polo Grounds – New York, NY

Scoring Summary
Fall River – Jimmy McAuley 1′, 4′, 7′, Alex McNab 20′, Werner Nilsen 22′, 30′, 35′
Bruell – Wilson 55′, 88′ (PK)

Fall River – Johnny Reder, Bob McAuley, McArthur, Bill McPherson, Priestley, Bobby Ballantyne, Alex McNab, Billy Gonsalves, Werner Nilsen (Gavin), Jimmy McAuley, Tec White

Bruell Insurance – Ramsay, McElligott, Burton, Abraham, C. Scott, Russell, Gross (Dickey), G. Caraffi, Wilson, S. Scott, R. Caraffi

Attendance: 10,000 | Referee – Edward Donaghy (New York)

SECOND LEG -  Bruell Insurance 1:2 Fall River Marksmen
4/6/30 | Luna Park – Cleveland, OH

Scoring Summary
Bruell – George Phillips
Fall River – Bob McAuley, Alex McNab

Bruell Insurance – Ramsey, McElligott, R. Caraffi, Abrams, Wilson, Russell, W. Phillips, G. Phillips, G. Caraffi, Dickie, Scott

Marksmen – Johnny Reder, Charlie McGill, Bob McAuley, Bill McPherson, Priestley, Bobby Ballantyne, Alex McNab, Billy Gonsalves, Werner Nilsen, Bert Patenaude, Tec White

Attendance: 3,500 | Referee – Harry Pithie (Detroit)

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1931 – Fall River Marksmen (Fall River, MA) 9:3 (6:2, 1:1, 2:0) Bricklayers (Chicago, IL)
Fall River Marksmen win National Challenge Cup on 9-3 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Fall River Marksmen 6:2 Bricklayers
4/5/31 Polo Grounds – New York, NY

Scoring Summary
Fall River – Bert Patenaude (5), Bill McPherson
Bricklayers – Clem Cuthbert, Greenlees

Fall River Marksmen – Johnny Reder, Charlie McGill, John Rebello, Bill McPherson, Johnny Caldwell, Bobby Ballantyne, Alex McNab, Werner Nilsen, Bert Patenaude, Billy Gonsalves, Tec White

Bricklayers – Neate, Greig, Davidson, Thompson, Scott, Ogilvie, Greenlees (Martin), Munro (H. Hill), Coutts, Cuthbert, McLean

Attendance: 12,000  | Referee – Charles Creighton

SECOND LEG – Bricklayers 1:1 Fall River Marksmen
4/12/31 Mills Stadium – Chicago, IL

Scoring Summary
Bricklayers – Greig 57′ (PK)
Fall River – Billy Gonsalves 40′

Bricklayers – Neate, Greig, Davidson, Thompson, Scott, Ogilvie (T. Hill),Greenlees, Munro (H. Hill), Coutts, Cuthbert, McLean

Fall River Marksmen – Johnny Reder, Charlie McGill, John Rebello, Bill McPherson, Johnny Caldwell,
Bobby Ballantyne, Alex McNab, Werner Nilsen, Bert Patenaude, Billy Gonsalves, Tec White

Attendance: 8,000  | Referee – Jack Johnstone

THIRD LEG – Bricklayers 0:2 Fall River Marksmen
4/19/31 Sparta Field – Chicago, IL

Scoring Summary
Fall River – Bert Patenaude, Gordon Burness (PK)

Bricklayers – Neate, Greig, Davidson, Thompson, Scott, Martin, Greenlees, Hill, Coutts, Cuthbert, McLean (Sub – Marino)

Fall River Marksmen – Johnny Reder, Charlie McGill, John Rebello, Bill McPherson, Johnny Caldwell, Bobby Ballantyne, Alex McNab, Tec White, Bert Patenaude, Billy Gonsalves, Gordon Burness

Attendance: 4,500  | Referee – Harry Pithie

*Fall River had moved to New York by the time of the final and were known as the New York Yankees,
but were required to use the Marksmen name during cup matches, since that is the name they entered under.

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1932 – New Bedford Whalers (New Bedford, MA) 8:5 (3:3 aet, 5:2) Stix, Baer & Fuller (St. Louis, MO)
New Bedford Whalers win National Challenge Cup on 8-5 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Stix, Baer & Fuller 3:3 (aet) New Bedford Whalers
March 26, 1932 | Sportsman’s Park – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Stix – Eddie Hart 34,’ (Pastor), Jack O’Reilly 44’ (Ahrens), Willie McLean 113’ (Pastor)
New Bedford – Werner Nilsen 33’ (White), Bill McPherson 78’, Tommy Florie 108’ (Nilsen)

Stix, Baer & Fuller – Labarge, Gregg, Erbe, Hebberger, Lehman, Benoist, McLean, Hart, O’Reilly, Ahrens, Pastor

New Bedford Whalers – Watson, Rebello, McMillen, Caldwell, Montgomerie, McPherson, Florie, Gonsalves, Nilsen, White, McNab

Att – 7,181 | Referee – James McFarlane

SECOND LEG – Stix, Baer & Fuller 2:5 New Bedford Whalers
April 2, 1932 | Sportsman’s Park – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Stix – Lou Ahrens 59’ (Benoist), Willie McLean 74’ (Ahrens)
New Bedford – Tec White 57’ , Werner Nilsen, Billy Gonsalves (McNab), Bill McPherson 81’, Tom Florie

Stix, Baer & Fuller – Labarge, Gregg, Erbe, Hebberger, Lehman, Benoist, McLean (Hart), Roe, McCarthy, Ahrens, O’Reilly (Pastor)

New Bedford Whalers – Watson, Rebello, McMillen, Caldwell, Montgomerie, McPherson, Florie, Gonsalves, Nilsen, White, McNab

Att – 7,371 | Referee – James McFarlane

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1933 – Stix Baer & Fuller (St. Louis, MO) 3:1 (1:0, 2:1) New York Americans (New York, NY)
Stix, Baer & Fuller win National Challenge Cup on 3:1 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Stix, Baer & Fuller 1:0 New York Americans
4/16/33 | Sportsman’s Park – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Stix – Bill McLean 2’

Stix, Baer & Fuller – Labarge (Vaughan), Nolan, Lehman (Hebberger), Bohlman, Watson, McPherson, McLean, Roe, Nilsen, Gonsalves, McNab

New York – Chesney, Moorhouse, Glover, Ballantyne, Fleming, Hendren, Milne (Michaels), O’Brien, Michaels, Haeusler, Schwarcz (O’Brien)

Attendance: 15,200  | Referee – David Evans

SECOND LEG – New York Americans 1:2 Stix, Baer & Fuller
4/23/33 | Starlight Park – Bronx, NY

Scoring Summary
Americans – George Michaels
Stix – Bill McLean, Werner Nilsen

New York – Chesney, Moorhouse, Glover, Ballantyne, Fleming, Hendren, Milne, O’Brien, Michaels, Haeusler, Schwarcz

Stix, Baer & Fuller – Labarge, Nolan, Lehman, Bohlman, Watson, McPherson, McLean, Roe, Nilsen, Gonsalves, McNab

Attendance: 4,200  | Referee – P. Howley

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1934 – Stix, Baer & Fuller (St. Louis) 11:5 (4:2 aet, 2:3, 5:0) Pawtucket Rangers (Rhode Island)
Stix, Baer & Fuller win National Challenge Cup on 11:5 aggregate

FIRST LEG –  Stix, Baer & Fuller 4:2 (AET) Pawtucket Rangers
4/1/34 | Walsh Memorial Stadium – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Stix – Alec McNab 4’, Billy Gonsalves 91’, Werner Nilsen 110’, Ed Flavin 116’
Pawtucket – Jimmy McAuley 15,’ (PK), Robert McIntyre 104’

Stix, Baer & Fuller – McGowan, Nolan, Lehman, Hebberger (Bohlman), Watson, McPherson, McLean, Roe, Nilsen (Flavin), Gonsalves, McNab

Pawtucket – Conroy, Ferris, Czerkiewicz, Auld (Parks), Raposa, Martinelli, Florie, Harvey, Dick, McAuley, McIntyre

Att – 7,122  | Referee – Ed Donaghy

SECOND LEG – Pawtucket Rangers 3:2 Stix, Baer & Fuller
4/8/34 | Coats Field – Pawtucket, RI

Scoring Summary
Pawtucket  – Robert McIntyre 15’ n/a’, Jimmy McAuley 83’
Stix – Werner Nilsen 27’, Billy Gonsalves

Pawtucket – Conroy, Czerkiewicz, Ferrie, Martinelli, Raposa, Parks, Harvey, Dick, McIntyre, McAuley, Florie. Sub: Auld

Stix, Baer & Fuller – McGowan, Lehman, Nolan, McPherson, Watson, Hebberger, McNab, Gonsalves, Nilsen, Roe, McLean

Att – 4,500  | Referee – William Murray

THIRD LEG – Stix, Baer & Fuller 5:0 Pawtucket Rangers
4/16/34 | Walsh Memorial Stadium – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Stix – Billy Gonsalves 41’ 57’, Werner Nilsen 70’ 81’, Bill McLean 80’

Stix, Baer & Fuller – McGowan, Lehman, Nolan, McPherson, Watson, Hebberger, McNab, Gonsalves, Nilsen, Roe, McLean

Pawtucket – Conroy, Czerkiewicz, Ferrie, Martinelli, Raposa, Auld (Parks), Harvey, Dick, McIntyre, McAuley, Florie

Att – 8,000   | Referee – Thomas Crompton

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1935 – Central Breweries (St. Louis, MO) 7:5 (5:2, 1:1 AET, 1:3) Pawtucket Rangers (Pawtucket, RI)
Central Breweries win National Challenge Cup on 7-5 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Central Breweries 5:2 Pawtucket Rangers
4/28/35 | Walsh Memorial Stadium – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Central – Billy Gonsalves (2), Bert Patenaude (2), Alex McNab
Pawtucket – Raposa, Jimmy McAuley

Central Breweries – Hamm, Kramer, Nolan, Kane, Lehman, Hebberger, McNab, Gonsalves, Patenaude, Roe, McLean

Pawtucket – Park, Czerkiewicz, Bowden, McPherson (Smith), Raposa, Martinelli, Harvey, Dick, McIntyre, McAuley, Moniz

Attendance: 4,500. | Referee – James McFarlane

SECOND LEG – Pawtucket Rangers 1:1 (AET) Central Breweries
5/6/35 | Coats Field – Pawtucket, RI

Scoring Summary
Pawtucket – Herb Dick 50’
Central – Billy Gonsalves

Pawtucket Rangers – Conroy (Park), Czerkiewicz, Bowden, McPherson, Raposa, Martinelli, Harvey (Myrtle), Dick, McIntyre, McAuley, Moniz

Central Breweries – Hamm, Kramer, Nolan, Kane, Lehman, Hebberger, McNab, Gonsalves, Patenaude (Pastor), Roe, McLean

Attendance:  | Referee – Andrew Tehel

THIRD LEG – Central Breweries 1:3 Pawtucket Rangers
5/12/35 | Newark School Stadium – Newark, NJ

Scoring Summary
Central – Willie McLean 20’
Pawtucket – Herb Dick 54’ 80’, Robert McIntyre 52’

Central Breweries – Hamm, Kramer (Gregg), Nolan, E. Kane, Lehman, Hebberger (Bohlman), McNab, Gonsalves, Patenaude, Roe, McLean

Pawtucket Rangers – Conroy, Czerkiewicz, Bowden, McPherson, Raposa, Martinelli, Harvey (Smith), Dick, McIntyre, McAuley, Moniz

Att – 3,000  | Referee – Andrew Tehel

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1936 – Philadelphia German American FC (Philadelphia, PA) 5:2 (2:2, 3:0) Shamrocks SC (St. Louis, MO)
Philadelphia German American FC win National Challenge Cup on 5:2 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Shamrocks 2:2 Philadelphia German American FC
4/26/36 | Walsh Memorial Stadium – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Shamrocks -  Werner Nilsen 7’ 68’
German Americans – Ray Richards 9’, Fiedler 90’

Shamrocks – Rodriguez, Lehman, Davidson, Kane, Watson, Hebberger, McNab, Nilsen, Patenaude, Gonsalves, Pastor

German-Americans – Denton, Stoll, Harker, Crockett, Pietras, Allemose, Richards, Nichol, Nemchik, Fiedler, Ryan

Att – 3,400  | Referee – Michael Boylan

SECOND LEG – German-Americans 3:0 Shamrocks
5/3/36 | Rifle Club Grounds – Philadelphia, PA

Scoring Summary
German Americans – George Nemchik 25’ 34’, Ray Richards 69’

German-Americans – Denton, Stoll, Harker, Crockett, Pietras, Allemose, Richards, Ryan, Nemchik (Lutkfedder), Fiedler, McAlees

Shamrocks – Rodriguez, Lehman, Davidson, Kane, Watson, Thompson, McNab, Nilsen, Roe, Gonsalves, Pastor

Att – 8,000. | Referee – A.S. Gordon

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1937 – New York Americans (New York, NY) 4:3 (0:1, 4:2) Shamrocks SC (St. Louis, MO)
New York Americans win National Challenge Cup on 4:3 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Shamrock SC 1:0 New York Americans
4/11/37 | Public Schools Stadium – St. Louis, MO

Scoring Summary
Shamrocks – Eddie Kane 45’

Shamrocks – John Hamm, Erbe, Hebberger, Begley, Watson, Lehman, Eddie Kane (Eagan), Billy Gonsalves, Werner Nilsen, Roe, Joe Strattman

Americans – Stan Chesney, Moorhouse, Hendron, Smith, Martinelli, John McManus, Ferreira (Crabb), Rudy Kuntner, George Michaels, Joe McManus, Ed Lennon

Att – 5,083  | Referee – Thomas Crompton

SECOND LEG – New York Americans 4:2 Shamrock SC
4/18/37 | Starlight Park – Bronx, NY

Scoring Summary
Americans – Jim Smith 2’ (McManus), Rudy Kuntner, George Michaels 57’ (Lennon), Freddy Ferreira 70’
Shamrocks – Billy Gonsalves, Joe Strattman 47’

Americans – Stan Chesney, Gross, Moorhouse, Hendren, Martinelli, John McManus, Jim Smith, Rudy Kuntner, Michaels, Joe McManus (Fred Ferreira), Ed Lennon (Crapp)

Shamrocks – John Hamm, Erbe, Hebberger, Begley, Watson, Lehman (Egan), Alec McNab, Billy Gonsalves, Werner Nilsen, Roe (Eddie Kane), Joe Strattman

Att – 6,000  | Referee – James Walders  | Linesmen – J.C. Armstrong, Manuel Antonio

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1938 – Sparta Garden City (Chicago, IL) 6:2 (3:0, 3:2) St. Mary’s Celtic (Brooklyn, NY)
Sparta Garden City win National Challenge Cup on 6-2 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Sparta Garden City 3:0 St. Mary’s Celtic
4/17/38 | Sparta Stadium – Chicago, IL

Scoring Summary
Sparta – James McDermott 6’, Frank Trimmel, James Wolf

Sparta – Silovsky, Scott, Mrnka, Tomich, Nudera, Pearson, Munro, Trimmel, McDermott (Rezek), Vicek, Wolf

St. Mary’s – Othen, Kelso, Czerkiewicz, De Rostaing, McGregor (Black), Weir, Aitken, Steele (Hynes), J. McEwan, Sneddon, W. McEwan

Att – 4,000  | Referee – W.J. Arms

SECOND LEG – St. Mary’s Celtic 2:3 Sparta Garden City
4/24/38 | Starlight Park – Bronx, NY

Scoring Summary
St. Mary’s – William McEwan 58’, Jimmy McEwan 69’
Sparta – James MacDermott 27’ 73’, Frank Trimmel 23’

Sparta – Silovsky, Scott, Mrnka, Tomich, Nudera, Pearson, Munro, Trimmel, McDermott, Vicek, Wolf. Sub: Rezek

St. Mary’s – Othen, Kelso, Czerkiewicz, De Rostaing, McGregor, Weir, Aitken, D. McEwan, J. McEwan, Sneddon, W. McEwan. Sub: Black

Att – 10,000  | Referee – M. LeBrun

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1939 – St. Mary’s Celtic (Brooklyn, NY) 5:1 (1:0, 4:1) Manhattan Beer (Chicago, IL)
St. Mary’s Celtic win National Challenge Cup on 5-1 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Manhattan Beer 0:1 St. Mary’s Celtic
4/30/39 | Sparta Stadium – Chicago, IL

Scoring Summary
St. Mary’s – Duke Nanoski 76’

Manhattan Beer – Griffiths, Henney, Davidson, Rarity, Al. Garcia, Robb, Ar. Garcia, Gonsalves, Salcedo, Cuthbert, Williamson (Lillie)

St. Mary’s Celtic – Othen, Kelso, Czerkiewicz, McGuire, Black, McManus, Aitken, Kuntner, Nanoski, Steele, W. McEwan (Mervine)

Att – 5,000  | Referee – James Carleton

SECOND LEG – St. Mary’s Celtic 4:1 Manhattan Beer
5/7/39 | Starlight Park – Bronx, NY

Scoring Summary
St. Mary’s – Duke Nanoski 44’ 52’, William McEwan 1’, Kuntner 63’ (PK)
Manhattan – Billy Gonsalves (PK)

St. Mary’s Celtic – Othen, Kelso, Czerkiewicz, McGuire, Black, McManus, Aitken, Kuntner, Nanoski (Blomdahl), Steele, W. McEwan (Mervine)

Manhattan Beer – Griffiths, Henney, Davidson, Rarity, Al. Garcia, Ogilvie, Ar. Garcia, Gonsalves, Salcedo, Cuthbert (Lillie), Robb

Att – 8,000  | Referee – James Carlson  | Linesmen – Ed Donaghy, Fred Coggin

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1940 – Baltimore SC (Baltimore, MD) 2:2 (0:0, 2:2) Sparta Fallstaff (Chicago, IL)
Aggregate drawn 2:2, Sparta and Baltimore declared co-champions

FIRST LEG – Baltimore SC 0:0 Sparta Fallstaff
5/5/40 | Baltimore, MD

Baltimore SC – Schuerholz, Knoerlein, Amrhein, Winterling, Nixon, Lubertine, Reich, Finnerty, Patzsche, Ernst, Law, Schwanke (unknown which player was a sub)

Sparta – Silovski, Scott, Mrnka, Benek, Pearson, Nudera, Waldron, Fraser, McDermott, Trimmer, Wolf.

Att – 3,000  | Referee – Phil Fox

SECOND LEG – Sparta Fallstaff 2:2 (aet) Baltimore SC
May 12, 1940 | Sparta Stadium – Chicago, IL

Scoring Summary
Sparta – Billy Fraser (pen), Frank Trimmel
Baltimore – Charles Ernst, William Schwanke

Sparta – Silovsky, Scott, Mrnka, Rezek, Nudera,Pearson, Waldron, Fraser, McDermott, Trimmel, Wolf | Subs: Hamous, Peterson

Baltimore SC – Schuerholz, Winterling, Amrhein, Nixon, Lubertine, Reich, Finnery, Monroe, Ernst, Law, Schwanke | Sub: Patzsche

Att – n/a | Referee – Phil Fox

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1941 – Pawtucket Rangers (Pawtucket, RI) 8:5 (4:2, 1:3 — 3:0 after extra time) Chrysler SC (Detroit, MI)
Pawtucket Rangers win National Challenge Cup on 8-5 aggregate after extra time

FIRST LEG – Pawtucket Rangers 4:2 Chrysler SC (3:1 HT)
5/4/41 | Pawtucket, RI

Scoring Summary
Pawtucket – Mike Souza 3′, Walter Dick, Ed Valentine, Dave McEwan
Chrysler- Tommy Ferrans (PK), Tony Barra

Pawtucket – Rogalla, Margerson, Quinn, Dick, Ouelette, Anderson, Moniz, Souza (Rainone), Valentine, McEwan, Florie

Chrysler – Nelson, Williamson, Ferrans, Clemens, Nielsen, Hay, Barra, Lenard, Campbell, Borg, Molly

Att – 3,500 | Referee – James Johnstone

SECOND LEG – Chrysler SC 3:4 (AET) Pawtucket Rangers (3:1 FT, aggregate 5-5 after full time)
5/11/41 | Detroit, MI

Scoring Summary
Chrysler – Neil Campbell, John Lenard, Tony Barra
Pawtucket – Ed Valentine 90’, Dave McEwan 97′ 119′, Tommy Florie

Chrysler – Schmidtke, Williamson, Ferrans, Patria, Nielsen, Hay, Barra, Lenard, Campbell, Borg, Molly | Subs: Syme, Clemens

Pawtucket – Rogalla, Margerson, Quinn, Dick, Ouelette, Anderson, Moniz, Rainond, Valentine, McEwan, Florie | Sub: Czerkiewicz

Att – 2,500 | Referee – James Johnstone

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1942 – Gallatin (Pittsburgh, PA) 6:3 (2:1, 4:2) Pawtucket Rangers (Pawtucket, RI)
Gallatin win National Challenge Cup on 6-3 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Gallatin 2:1 Pawtucket Rangers
5/17/42 | Legion Field – Donora, PA

Scoring Summary
Gallatin – Charley Walters 36’, John Roman 75’
Pawtucket – Ed Valentine 27’

Gallatin – Bedogone, Dante Villani, Pascarella, Luba, Lewis, Harrison, John Roman, Lyons, Elgie Grant, Barney Visnich, Charley Walters

Pawtucket – Rogala, S. Quinn, Czerkiewicz, Dick, Coughlin, Ellis, Robello, Norman, Valentine, Moniz, Travers

Att – 2,000  | Referee – Pucker

SECOND LEG – Pawtucket Rangers 2:4 Gallatin
5/31/42 | Coats Field – Pawtucket, RI

Scoring Summary
Pawtucket – Dave McEwan 43′, Oulette 87′
Gallatin – Johnny Roman 47′ 65′, Elgie Grant 41′, Bernie Visnich 55′

Pawtucket – Rogala, S. Quinn, Ellis, Dick, Anderson (Coughlin), Norman, Robello (Oullette), Moniz, Valentine, McEwen, Travers

Gallatin – Bedogone, Dante Villani, Pascarella, Luba, Lewis, Harrison, John Roman, Lyons, Elgie Grant, Barney Visnich, Charley Walters

Att – n/a | Referee – Manuel Cordero  | Linesmen – Whitaker, Pasquale

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1943 – Brooklyn Hispano (Brooklyn, NY) 2:2 (after 2 OT periods) Morgan-Strasser (Pittsburgh, PA)
5/24/43 | Starlight Park – Bronx, NY

Scoring Summary
Hispano – Billy Gonsalves, Fabri Salcedo 148’
Morgan – Pete Pawlick 37’, Felix Mitchell 149’

Hispano – Olaf, Compton, Hudi, Fernandez, Barrio, Brady (Liss), Westerman, Gonsalves, Quinones, Anderson (Denehan), Salcedo | Subs: Denehan, Liss

Morgan-Strasser – Deyor, Kuten, Donelli, McKinnen, Pawlick (Cinerolli), Pletersek, Mitchell, Pucker, Grant, Visnick, Monaco

Attendance: 6,000  | Referee – Leslie Kenyon  | Linesmen – S. Galin, J. Donohue

Abandoned due to exhaustion and darkness after 153 minutes, Replay –  ordered

REPLAY – Brooklyn Hispano 3:2 Morgan Strasser
5/30/43 | Starlight Park – Bronx, NY

Scoring Summary
Hispano – Fabri Salcedo 35’ 44’, Billy Gonsalves 32’
Morgan – Elgie Grant 40’ 48’

Hispano – Olaf, Compton, Hudi, Fernandez, Barrio, Brady, Bainlardi, Gonsalves, Salcedo, Westerman (Miguez), Pruha

Morgan-Strasser – Deyor, Kuten, Donelli, McKinnen, Pawlick, Pletersek, Mitchell, Pucker (Cimerolli), Grant, Visnick, Monaco (Cherry)

Att – 6,500  | Referee – Leslie Kenyon  | Linesmen – S. Galin, J. Donohue

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1944 – Brooklyn Hispano (Brooklyn, NY) 4:0 Morgan-Strasser (Pittsburgh, PA)
5/14/44 | Polo Grounds – New York, NY

Scoring Summary
Hispano – Fabri Salcedo 41’, Carlos Temes 67’, Billy Gonsalves 88’, John Pruha 89’

Brooklyn Hispano – Olaf, Taggart, Hudi, Fernandez, Barrio, Brady, Aja (Westermann), Gonsalves, Salcedo, Temes, Pruha

Morgan-Strasser – DiOrio, Bobish, F. Donelli, Gossett, Hart, Pawlick, Mitchell, Pucker, Grant (Cimarelli) (Urbanic), A. Donelli, Pletesek

Attendance: 12,000  | Referee – Harry King  | Linesmen – Sam Gallin, Manuel Piri

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1945 – Brookhattan (New York, NY) 6:3 (4:1, 2:1) Cleveland Americans (Cleveland, OH)
Brookhattan win National Challenge Cup on 6-3 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Brookhattan 4:1 Cleveland Americans
6/10/45 | Starlight Park – Bronx, New York

Scoring Summary
Brookhattan – Al Jenette n/a’, 83’ (PK), Charles Waller (Kuntner) 18’,  Rudy Kuntner n/a’ (PK)
Americans – John Havrilik 40’

New York Brookhattan – Rozbora, Konciak, Mellon, Bellamez, Briscoe, Michaels, Waller, Kuntner, Nemchik (McIntyre), Jennette, Fisher

Cleveland Americans – Tangler, Thomson, Fair, Berkes, Smith, Davies, Havrilik, Axe, Ross, Gabler, Schempp (Caraffi)

Att – 3,000 | Referee – Sam Galin  | Linesmen – August Schmitt, Fred Coggins

SECOND LEG – Cleveland Americans 1:2 Brookhattan
6/16/45 | Shaw Field – Cleveland, Ohio

Scoring Summary
Americans – John Havrilik (Smith) 32’
Brookhattan – Rudy Kuntner 65’, Al Jennette 69’

Cleveland Americans – Tangler, Thomson, Fair, Berkes, Smith, Davies, Havrilik, Axe, Ross, Gabler, Caraffi | Sub: E. Schempp

New York Brookhattan – Rozbora, Lopez, Mellon, Bellamez, Briscoe, Michaels,Waller, Kuntner, Nemchik, Jennette, Fisher | Subs: McIntyre, Slavin

Att – n/a  | Referee – H. Schumacher

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1946 – Viking AA (Chicago, IL) 3:2 (1:1, 1:2) Ponta Delgada (Fall River, MA)
Viking AA win National Challenge Cup on 3:2 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Ponta Delgada 1:1 Viking AA
7/7/46 | Ponta Delgada Stadium – Tiverton, Rhode Island

Scoring Summary
Ponta Delgada – Ed Souza
Viking – Jim McDermott 2’

Ponta Delgada – Romanowicz, Martin, Machado, Quinn, Ferrara, Braga, Moniz, Rego, Freeman, Souza, Chapiga

Vikings – Wisniewski, Kuell (Sebby), Jensen, O’Boyle, Phillips, Dawson, Bostrom, Coombes, McDermott, Nemchick, Hritz (List)

Att – 6,000 | Referee – William Stoddart

SECOND LEG – Viking AA 2:1 Ponta Delgada
7/14/46 | Comiskey Park – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Viking – Jim McDermott 28’ 47’
Ponta Delgada – Joe Czapiga 10’

Vikings – Arends, Kuehl, Jensen, O’Boyle, Phillips, Dawson (Anderson), Brostrom (Sebby), Coombs, McDermott, Nemchek, Hritz.

Ponta Delgada – Romanowicz, Martin, Machado, Quinn, Ferreira, Braga, Moniz, Souza, Freenman (Travis), Rega, Chapiga.

Att – 5,000   | Referee – Sam Gallin

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1947 – Ponta Delgada (Fall River, MA) 9:3 (6:1, 3:2) Sparta SC (Chicago, IL)
Ponta Delgada win National Challenge Cup on 9-3 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Ponta Delgada 6:1 Sparta SC
8/31/47 | Fall River, Massachusetts

Scoring Summary
Ponta Delgada- Ed Souza (2), John Travis, John Souza, Ed Valentine, Joe Ferreira
Sparta – Francis Quinn

Ponta Delgada – Walter Romanowicz, John Machado, Manuel Martin, Joeseph Rego, Joe Ferreira (Joeseph Michaels),
Jesse Braga (Jim Delgado), Frank Moniz (Vincent Luciano), Ed Souza, Ed Valentine, John Souza, John Travis

Sparta – Silovsky, Scott, Mrnka, Hamous, Rarity, Rezek, Vanek, Mejia, Quinn, Kuhn, Ackagillar

Att – n/a  | Referee – Fred Coggins

SECOND LEG – Sparta SC 2:3 Ponta Delgada (1:1 HT)
9/7/47 | Sparta Stadium – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Sparta -  Francis Quinn (PK), Raffel Mejia 58′
Ponta Delgada – Jim Delgado, John Travis 53′, Ed Valentine

Chicago Sparta – Silovsky, Scott, Mrnka, Hamous, Rarity, Bohm, Vanek, Mejia, Quinn, Kuhn, Novak. Subs: Wolf, Rezak, Pearlman

Ponta Delgada – Walter Romanowicz, John Machado, Manuel Martin, Joeseph Rego, Joe Ferreira, Jesse Braga, Frank Moniz, Ed Souza, Ed Valentine, John Souza, John Travis. Subs: Joeseph Michaels, Vincent Luciano, Jim Delgado

Att – 5,000  | Referee – Ted Herbe

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1948 – Simpkins Ford (St. Louis, MO) 3:2 Brookhattan-Galicia (New York, NY)
10/17/48 | Sportsman’s Park – St. Louis, Missouri

Scoring Summary
Simpkins – Bill Bertani, Frank Wallace, Henry Merlo 89’
Brookhattan-Galicia – Joe Gaetjens, Rodolfo Llana

Simpkins - Borghi, Galimbert, Annis, M. Mangavero, Colombo, Lange, H. Mungavero, Pariani, Bertani, Dueker, Wallace | Subs: Barrale, Perez, Merlo

Brookhattan – Barnes, Bassett, Ruddy, Llana, Granados, Dios, Roure, Villanon, Gaetjens, Jennette, Carro | Subs: Brandaris, Burges

Att – n/a  | Referee – Jack Maher

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1949 – Morgan Strasser (Pittsburgh, PA) 4:3 (1:0, 4:2) Philadelphia Nationals (Philadelphia, PA)
Morgan Strasser win National Challenge Cup on 4:3 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Philadelphia Nationals 1:0 Morgan-Strasser
5/15/49 | Holmes Stadium – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Nationals – Nick Kropfelder

Nationals – Schuerholz, Dick, Compton, J. Smith, Knoerlein, Bahr, McIlvenny, Oliver, Kropfelder, McFaul, Sullivan

Morgan-Strasser – Fisher, Gossic, A. DiOrio, F. Tkach, W. Tkach, Chappel, Innarelli, Teyssier, Klemash. N. DiOrio, Mitchell

Att – 1,200. | Referee – Jack Cahill

SECOND LEG – Morgan-Strasser 4:2 Philadelphia Nationals
5/29/49 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Morgan – Gustave Teyssier (2), Nick DiOrio, Henry Mannering
Nationals – Nick Kropfelder, John Sullivan (PK)

Morgan-Strasser – Fisher, Gossic, A. DiOrio, F. Tkach, W. Tkach, Chappel, Mitchell, Teyssier, Klemash, N. DiOrio, Mannerling

Nationals – Schuerholz, Dick, Compton, Smith, Knoerlein, Bahr, Dunn, Oliver, Kropfelder, McFaul, Sullivan

Att – n/a  | Referee – Sam Galin

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1950 – Simpkins Ford (St. Louis, MO) 3:1 (2:0, 1:1) Ponta Delgada (Fall River, MA)
Simpkins Ford win National Challenge Cup on 3:1 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Simpkins Ford 2:0 Ponta Delgada
4/22/50 | St. Louis, Missouri

Scoring Summary
Simpkins – Gino Pariani, Bill Bertani

Simpkins – Borghi, Galimberti, Annis, Lange, Colombo, Desmuke, Randazzo, Pariani, Bertani, Barrale, Wallace | Subs: McHugh, Stein, Dubois

Ponta Delgada – Kitchen, Rego, Andrews, Braga, Ferreira, DeNardo, Moniz, Travis, E. Souza, J. Souza, Millington | Subs: Medeiros, Francini, Gianotti

Attendance: 2,501  | Referee – Eli Korer

SECOND LEG – Ponta Delgada 1:1 Simpkins Ford
5/7/50 | Ponta Delgada Stadium – Tiverton, Rhode Island

Scoring Summary
Ponta – Eddie Souza 20’ (PK)
Simpkins – Buddy Marshak 85’

Ponta Delgada – Kitchen, Rego, Andress, Braga, Ferreira (Medeiros), DeNardo, Tavis (Giannotti), E. Souza, Moniz, J. Souza, Millington

Simpkins – Borghi, Galimberti, Annis, Lange (Mungavero, McHugh), Colombo, Desmuke, Randazzo, Pariani, Stein (Marshall), Barrale, Wallace

Att – 3,310  | Referee – Sam Galin

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1951 – German Hungarian SC (New York, NY) 8:6 (2:4, 6:2 aet) Heidelberg SC (Pittsburgh, PA)
German Hungarian SC win National Open Cup on 8-6 aggregate after extra time

FIRST LEG – Heidelberg SC 4:2 German Hungarian SC (2:1 HT)
6/10/51 | Bridgeville Park – Bridgeville, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Heidelberg – Mike Zimbicki (2), Merle Utchel (PK), Mike Bobish
German Hungarian – Andy Hritz, John Souza

Heidelberg – Aleski, Dupilka, Monaco, Pozzi, D. Utchel, Fesh, M. Utchel, Zimbicki, Bobish, Bernard Sypien, Norwich

German Hungarian – Louis Scott, Milenko Ralich, Flaherty, Wolf, Krapf, Aiello, E. Souza, Horowitz, Andy Hritz, J. Souza, Klomm

Referee – Ramous  | Linesmen – McCahill, Hlad

SECOND LEG – German Hungarian SC 6:2(aet) Heidelberg SC (2:1 HT, aggregate drawn 6:6 at full time)
6/17/51 | Metropolitan Oval – Queens, New York

Scoring Summary
German Hungarian – Andy Hritz (4), John Souza, Ed Souza
Heidelberg – Merle Utchel (2)

German Hungarian – Louis Scott, Milenko Ralich, Flaherty, Wolf, Krapf, Healy, Klomm, E. Souza, A. Hritz, J. Souza, S. Hritz | Subs: Bartkus, Sturgess, Horowitz, Aiello

Heidelberg – Aleski, Dupilka, Monaco, Pozzi, D. Utchel, Fesh, M. Utchel, Zimbicki, Bobish, Bernard Sypien, Jablonski | Subs: Norwich

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1952 – Harmarville (Pittsburgh, PA) 7:5 (3:4, 4:1 aet) Philadelphia Nationals (Philadelphia, PA)
Harmarville wins National Open Cup on 7-5 aggregate after extra time

FIRST LEG – Harmarville 3:4 Philadelphia Nationals
6/1/52 | Consumer Field – Harmarville, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Harmarville – Steve Grivnow (2), Sonny Yacopec
Nationals – Owens (2), Cier (2)

Harmarville – Malinowski, Yacopec, Smith, D. Utchel, M. Utchel, Prucnal, Pitchok, Halasowski, R. Craddock, DiOrio, Grivnow | Subs: Bernabei, T. Craddock

Nationals – Radzay, Dick, Reid, Dunn, Calquhoun, Bahr, Oliver, Cier, Owens, McLaughlin, Duffin | Subs: Shaw, Naughton

Att – n/a  | Referee – J. Moreman, J. Ramos

SECOND LEG – Philadelphia Nationals 1:4 (aet) Harmarville (1:2 FT, aggregate drawn 5:5 at full time)
6/8/52 | Holmes Field – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Harmarville – Nick DiOrio, Sonny Yakopec, Don Utchel, Don Malinowski
Nationals – Nick Kropfelder

Nationals – Radzay, Dick, Reid, Dunn, Calquhoun, Bahr, Cier (Shaw), Owens, Kropfelder, McLaughlin, Duffi

Harmarville – Malinowski, Yacopec, Bernabei, Halasowski, D. Utchel, Prucnal, R. Craddock, Grivnow, M. Utchel, DiOrio, Pitchok | Subs: Baxter, Macarouich

Attendance – n/a  | Referee – Ralph Rosner

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1953 – Falcons SC (Chicago, IL) 3:0 (2:0, 1:0) Hamarville (Pittsburgh, PA)
Falcons SC win National Open Cup on 3:0 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Falcons SC 2:0 Harmarville
4/19/53 | Sparta Stadium – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Falcons – Henry Grabowski 78′ (PK) 80′

Falcons – Mottes, Simpson, Chwalinski, Roels, Krupa, Jonca, Cholawicki, Wolanin, Iwanicki, Ziggy Mroz, Grabowski
Harmarville – Malinowski, Buck, Bernabei, Kaydic, Baxter, Prusnall, Grivinow, Halesowski, Yacopec, D’Orio

Att – 2,245  | Referee – Henry Karcher

SECOND LEG – Harmarville 0:1 Falcons SC
4/26/53 | Consumer Field – Harmarville, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Falcons – Ted Czowiecki 15’

Harmarville – Malinowski, Bernabei, Utchel, Kaydic, Baxter, Prusnall, Grivinow, Halesowski, Yacopec, D’Orio, Pietersek | Subs: Marcovich, Baxter, Campabella

Falcons – Mottes, Simpson, Steglinski, Krupa, Jonca, Iwanicki, Grabowski, Cholawicki, Ziggy Mroz, Roels, Ted Czowiecki, Zyzda | Subs: Semp, Wolanin, Adamczyk, Chwalinski, Jedryas, Fryer

Sent Off – Bob Kadyk, Harmarville (time n/a’)

Shots on Goal – Harmarville 26, Falcons 11

Att – 2,000  | Referee – Sam Gailin  | Linesmen – Roy Bruno, Adam Mucci

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1954 – New York Americans (New York, NY) 3:1 (1:1, 2:0) Kutis SC (St. Louis, MO)
New York Americans win National Open Cup on 3:1 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Kutis SC 1:1 New York Americans
4/18/54 | St. Louis, Missouri

Scoring Summary
Kutis – J. Maiseman 1’
Americans – Harry Quigley

Kutis -  Burkhard, Wecke, Julius, Murpjy, Keough, Kehoe, Corona, Meisemann, Rooney, Mendoza, Schultz | Subs: Weigel, Fink, Pelizzaro

Americans – McGrail, Springthorpe, Milne, Adair, O’Connell, McCreary, Casey, Gillespie, Quigley, Santamauro, Monsen | Subs: Marina

Att – 4,500  | Referee – Prudencio Garcia

SECOND LEG – New York Americans 2:0 Kutis SC
5/16/54 | Triborough Stadium – Randalls Island, New York

Scoring Summary
Americans – Harry Quigley, Cornelius Casey

Americans – McGrail, Springthorpe, Milne, Marina, O’Connell, McCreary, Casey, Gillespie, Quigley, Santamauro, Monsen

Kutis – Burkard, Wecke, Julius, Murphy, Keough, Bohlman, Corona, Merseman, Rooney, Mendoza, Schultz

Att – 2,754 | Referee – John McLean | Linesmen – James Morrison, Sam Armstrong

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1955 – Eintracht SC (New York, NY) 0:2 Danish American SC (Los Angeles, CA)
4/24/55 Rancho Cienega Stadium – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
Eintracht – John Pinezich (2)

Danish American – Svend Engedahl, Carl Clausen, Bud Lillie (captain), Jimmy Agnew, Pete Gray, Kenny Fewings, Brandon Delaney, George Kay, Sven Martensen, Billy Agnew, Rolf Ganger
Substitutes: Hugh Johnston, Finn Sorensen, Jannich Hansen, Gunnar Neilsen
Manager: Charlie McGillivray, Assistant Manager: Al Cooper, Trainer: Nils Luft

Eintracht – Wolfgang Rademacher, Edgar Speikmann (Deiter Grossman), Eberhard Herz, Frederick Sheerer, John Hughes, Edward Oakes, Jacob Gassen, Helmut Bicek, Karl Heintz Reutzel (John Pinezich), Hans Graf, Alan King
Manager: Peter Schneider

Att – 6,000  | Referee – Charles Chetcuti (San Francisco), Linesman: Hugh Reid, Jules Willems

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1956 – Harmarville Hurricanes (Pittsburgh, PA) 3:2 (0:1, 3:1 aet) Schwaben (Chicago, IL)
Harmarville Hurricanes win National Open Cup on 3:2 aggregate after extra time

FIRST LEG – Schwaben 1:0 Harmarville Hurricanes
4/28/56 Winnemac Stadium – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Schwaben – Joe Kohlberger 38′

Referee – Paul Rechnitzer

SECOND LEG – Harmarville Hurricanes 3:1 (aet x2) Schwaben (0:0 HT, 2:1 FT, agg. drawn 2:2 at FT)
5/5/56 Consumer Field – Harmarville, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Harmarville – Harry Pitchok 83’, Tom Craddock, George Resavage 142′
Schwaben – Joe Kohlberger 50’

Harmarville – Malinowski, Yacopec, Bernabei, Kadyk, Baxter, Scabolini, Utchel, T. Craddock, B. Craddock, Halasowski (Pitchock), Resavage.

Schwaben – Benesch, Bogner, M. Bachmeier, Ruschienski, Buechers, Wichert, J. Bachmeier, F. Bachmeier, Krug, Juengling, Kohlberger.

Att – 5,000  | Referee – William Rose

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1957 – Kutis SC (St. Louis, MO) 6:1 (3:0, 3:1) New York Hakoah (New York, NY)
Kutis SC win National Open Cup on 6-1 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Kutis SC 3:0 New York Hakoah
3/31/57 Public Schools Stadium – St. Louis, Missouri

Scoring Summary
Kutis – William Looby, Harry Keough (PK), Jan Huisman (og)

Kutis – Burkhard, Wecke, Whitehead, R. Murphy, Keough, Pelizzaro, Vasquez,Meisemann, Rooney, Mendoza, Cook
Substitutes: Eppy, Looby, J. Murphy

Hakoah – Bell, Springthorpe, Huismann, Mahrer, Wauters, Silbersteion, Sonnenblick, Nash, Monsen, Hughes, Hynes
Substitutes: Dobrin, Novisky

Att – 5,000  | Referee: R. Glebner

SECOND LEG – New York Hakoah 1:3 Kutis SC
4/14/57 Zerega Oval – Bronx, New York

Scoring Summary
Hakoah – Lloyd Monsen 77’ (PK)
Kutis – William Looby 23’, Richard Meisemann 32’, Bob Roney 55’

Hakoah – Bell, Springthorpe, Huisman, O. Decker, R. Decker, Silberstein, Sonnenblick, Nash, Wauters, Hughes, Monsen | Subs: Hynes, Mahrer

Kutis – Burkhard, Whitehead, R. Murphy, Pelizzaro, Keough, Eppy, Meisemann, Looby, Rooney, Mendoza, Cook | Subs: James Murphy, Thomas Murphy, Vasquez, Joe Carrenza

Att – 2,500 | Referee – Nils Dahlquist | Linesmen – James McLean, Samuel Armstrong

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1958 – Pompei SC (Baltimore, MD) 1:2 (aet) Los Angeles Kickers (Los Angeles, CA)
6/8/58 Kirk Avenue Stadium – Baltimore, Maryland

Scoring Summary
Pompei – Ed DeFonse 70’
Kickers – Willie Carson 30’ n/a’

Att – 6,500

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1959 – McIlvaine Canvasbacks (Los Angeles, CA) 4:3 (3:0 HT) Fall River SC (Fall River, MA)
6/7/59 Rancho La Cienega Stadium – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
McIlvaine – Fred Cameron (2), Alex O’Neill, Al Herman 89′
Fall River – William Silva, Jack Sharples, Allison (all second half, tying goal at 88′)

McIlvaine – Ordonez, Milne, Rafferty, Sloway, Evans, Davis, Herman, Bicek, Cameron, Steel, O’Neill | Subs: Lopez, Segura, Muir

Fall River – Noga, Kemby, DeNardo, Felix, Kerr, Arruda, Costa, Sharples, Silva, McCallum, Allison | Subs: Souza

Att – 3,800  | Referee – George Woods

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1960 – Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia, PA) 5:3(aet) Los Angeles Kickers (Los Angeles, CA)
5/29/60 Edison Field – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Nationals – Mike Noha (5)
Kickers – Al Zerhusen, Werner Staake, Eberhard Herz

Nationals – Didriksen, Varga, Smolinski, Krawetz, Racz, Ely, Ferris, Noha, Campo, Dlugosz, Pethon | Subs: Chayka-Falk, Sanchez

Kickers – Ottoboni, Staacke, Evans, Weiss, Isak, Baxter, Habel, Herz, Carson, Steel, Zerhusen | Subs: Oakes

Att – 5,500  | Referee – Nels Dahlquist

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1961 – Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia, PA) 7:4 (2:2, 5:2) United Scots (Los Angeles, CA)
Ukrainian Nationals win National Open Cup on 7-4 aggregate

FIRST LEG – United Scots 2:2 Ukrainian Nationals
6/11/61 Wrigley Field – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
United Scots -Al Zerhusen (2)
Nationals – Stanly Dlugosz (2)

Referee – Thomas Callaghan

SECOND LEG – Ukrainian Nationals 5:2 United Scots
6/25/61 McCarthy Stadium – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Nationals – Herman Niss (3), Stanly Dlugosz, John Yakovino
United Scots – John McNally 63’, Al Zerhusen

Nationals – Ibanez, Borodiak, Racz, Krawetz, Vinyei, Pegorer, Niss, Mangani, Stankowicz, Yakovino, Dlugosz | Subs: Didriksen

Scots – Szipovec, McFarlane, Bujic, Danielson, Radcliffe, Cairns, Zahar, Carruthers, Radulski, McNally, Zerhusen | Subs: Milne, Meyers

Att – 6,000  | Referee – Thomas Callaghan

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1962 – Hungaria SC (New York, NY) 3:0 Scots SC (San Francisco, CA)
6/17/62 Eintracht Oval – New York City, New York

Scoring Summary
Hungaria – Andy Mate (2), Steve Karsay

Att – 2,500  | Referee – Ray Kraft

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1963 – Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia, PA) 1:0 (aet) Armenian SC (Los Angeles, CA)
6/2/63 Cambria Field – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Nationals – Mike Noha

Nationals -  Svich, Borodiak, Racz, Krawetz, O. Ferreyra, Ely, Noha, Mangani, Ferreyra, Chyzowych, Oliver | Subs: Yakovino

Armenian -  Martinez, I. Mosikian, Akau, Sentoglu, Ayzazian, Topaloglu, Carlickian, Yardinoglu, Hovahenshian, J. Mosikian, Kendinoglu | Subs: Kouwoumjian

Attendance: 4,000  | Referee – Ray Kraft

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1964 – Los Angeles Kickers-Victoria (Los Angeles) 4:2 (2:2 aet, 2:0) Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia)
Los Angeles Kickers-Victoria win National Open Cup on 4:2 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Ukrainian Nationals 2:2(aet) Los Angeles Kickers-Victoria
6/1/64 Cambria Field – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Kickers-Victoria – Helmut Weiss, Manual Abaunza
Nationals – Walt Chyzowych (2)

Nationals – Svich, Borodiak, Racz, Krawetz, Luna, Ely, Noha, Saacher-Marin, Ferreyra, Chyzowych, Whetland | Subs: Klenchek, Car

Kickers-Victoria – Bauerle, Lenhardt, E. Mata, R. Mata, B. Abaunza, W. Mata, Gauss, Weiss, M. Abaunza, Zerhusen, Herz | Subs: Helio, Norushat

Attendance: 5,000  | Referee – William Peters.

SECOND LEG – Los Angeles Kickers-Victoria 2:0 Ukrainian Nationals
6/21/64 Wrigley Field – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
Kickers-Victoria – Al Zerhusen 77’, Helmut Weiss 83’

Kickers-Victoria – Bauerle, Lenhardt, E. Mata, R. Mata, B. Abaunza, W. Mata, Gauss, Weiss, Zerhusen, M. Abaunza, Helio

Ukrainian National – Svich, Borodiak, Racz, Krawetz, Luna, Ely, Noha, Yakovino, Ferreyra, Chyzowych, Whetland

Att – 3,000  | Referee – Henry Landauer

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1965 – Ukrainian SC (New York, NY) 5:2 (1:1, 4:1 aet) Hansa (Chicago, IL)
Ukrainian SC win National Open Cup on 5:2 aggregate after extra time

FIRST LEG – Ukrainian SC 1:1 Hansa
6/27/65 Ukrainians Field – New York City, New York

Scoring Summary
Ukrainian – Jose Cap 87′
Hansa – Willy Roy 20′

Att – 1,500

SECOND LEG – Hansa 1:4 (aet) Ukrainian SC (1:1 FT, aggregate drawn 2:2 at full time)
7/4/65 Hanson Stadium – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Hansa – Willy Roy
Ukrainian – Peter Schaefer (2), Peter Smethurst, Walter Schmotolcha

Att – 3,434  | Referee – John Reega

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1966 – Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia, PA) 4:0 (1:0, 3:0) Orange County (Los Angeles, CA)
Ukrainian Nationals win National Open Cup on 4:0 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Orange County 0:1 Ukrainian Nationals
5/22/66 Rancho La Cienga Stadium – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
Nationals – Carlos Yacovino 78’

SECOND LEG – Ukrainian Nationals 3:0 Orange County
6/5/66 Cambria Stadium – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Nationals – George Benitez 18’, Carlos Yacovino 28’ (PK), Henry Wagner 35′

Ukrainian National – Tarnawsky, Borodiak, Watson, Julio, Luna, Ayala, Yacovino, Mendez, Ferreira, Wayne, Benitez

Orange County – Zamaro, McFarland, Klenchak, R. Mata, E. Mata, Grundtner, Mora, W. Mata, Cameron, M. Abuanza, Drexler

Attendance: 3,000

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1967 – Greek American SC (New York, NY) 4:2 Orange County (Los Angeles, LA)
7/23/67 Eintracht Oval – New York City, New York

Scoring Summary
Greek American SC – John Kosmides (2), Denis Nanos, Peter Tsalouhidis
Orange County – George Rabus, Radulski

Att – 2,500

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1968 – Greek American SC (New York, NY) 2:1 (1:1, 1:0) Olympic SC (Chicago, IL)
Greek American SC win National Open Cup on 2:1 aggregate

FIRST LEG – Olympic SC 1:1 Greek American SC
7/21/68 Hanson Stadium – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Olympic – Alex Nalmpantis 89′
Greek American SC – Denis Nanos 48′

SECOND LEG – Greek American SC 1:0 Olympic SC
7/28/68 Eintracht Oval – New York City, New York

Scoring Summary
Greek American SC – Bob Hatzos 50′

Referee – Billy Rose

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1969 – Greek American SC (New York, NY) 1:0 Armenian SC (Los Angeles, CA)
6/29/69 Rancho La Cienega Stadium – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
Greek American SC – Dennis Nanos 90’

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1970 – Elizabeth Sport Club (Elizabeth, NJ) 2:1 Croatia SC (Los Angeles, CA)
5/3/70 Downing Stadium – Randall’s Island, New York

Scoring Summary
Elizabeth  – Charles Chardin 76’, Hector Yanez 81’
Croatia – Ludwin Nagy 8’

Elizabeth Sport Club starting lineup: Andy Tutulic, Norbert Vollmer, Mario Gonzalez, Albert Burkhard, Billy O’Donnell, Manfred Schellscheidt, Baba Daniels, Frank O’Donnell, Heinz Teska, Chardin Delices, Hector Yanez | Subs: Garry Sacko, Erich Neudecker, Victor Gamaldo

Attendance: 2,000

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1971 – New York Hota (New York, NY) 4:6 (aet) Yugoslav SC (Los Angeles, CA)
5/17/71  Rancho la Cienega Stadium – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
Yugoslav – Jose Bergitas (3), John Helva
Hota – Horst Kneissl (2), Karl Minor (2), Paul Delano, Randy Mitrovic

Attendance: 4,700

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1972 – Elizabeth Sport Club (Elizabeth, NJ) 1:0 Yugoslav SC (Los Angeles, CA)
5/21/72 Farcher’s Grove – Union, New Jersey

Scoring Summary
Elizabeth – Walter Schmotolocha 22′

Elizabeth Sport Club starting lineup: Andy Tutulic, Mario Gonzalez, Norbert Vollmer, Tim Feeny, Barry Matty, Abe Wolanow, Manfred Schellscheidt, Miguel Gonzalez, Chardin Delices, Gary Sacko, Walter Smotolocha | Subs: Sean Tracy, Mario Barca, George Chapla, Eric Fraser, Jerry Cerrigione, Victor Gamaldo, Mave Metchick

Att – 2,000

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1973 – Maccabee AC (Los Angeles, CA) 5:3 (aet) Inter-Italian SC (Cleveland, OH)
6/10/73 Rancho La Cienga Stadium – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
Maccabee – Yaron Schmitman (2), Fesscha Emmanuel
Inter – Roman Rosul 36′, Vito Iozzo 78′, Jim McMillan 98′

Sent Off – Roman Rosul (Inter-Italian SC) 85′

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1974 – Greek American SC (New York, NY) 2:0  Croatian SC (Chicago, IL)
6/3/74 Metropolitan Oval – Queens, New York

Scoring Summary
Greek American SC – Roberto Illenes 14’, Tibor Vigh 75’

Att – 2,000

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1975 – Maccabee AC (Los Angeles, CA) 1:0 Inter-Giuliana (New York, NY)
6/15/75 Murdoch Stadium – Torrance, California

Scoring Summary
Maccabee – Abraham Cohen 54′

Att – 2,152

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1976 – San Francisco AC (San Francisco, CA) 1:0 Inter-Giuliana (New York, NY)
5/23/76 Metropolitan Oval – Queens, New York

Scoring Summary
SFAC – Andy Ateugbu

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1977 – Maccabee AC (Los Angeles, CA) 5:0 United German Hungarians (Philadelphia, PA)
6/20/77  Rancho la Cienega Stadium – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
Maccabee – Abraham Cohen 59’ 80’, Carlos Roveri, Manuel Mena, Meir Segal

Att-2,125

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1978 – Maccabee AC (Los Angeles, CA) 2:0 (aet) Vasco Da Gama (Bridgeport, CT)
7/30/78 Giants Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Scoring Summary
Maccabee – Benny Beinstock, Meir Segal

Maccabee – Chantre, Kulinscenko, Mizrahi, Rulse, Marmur, Sandoval, Abraham Cohen, Carlos Roveri, Moran (BEnny Beinstock 70′), Meir Segal, Izhar Nozik

Vasco – Martin Sabourne, Moreno, Costa (McCully 85′), McGuigan, Ribeiro, Phillip Kydes, Alves, Francisco Silva, Lameirao, Feliciano, Teixeira (Kulmanides 70′)

Att – 1,000

*Played before a Cosmos-Tampa Bay NASL game

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1979 – Brooklyn Dodgers (Brooklyn, NY) 2:1 Croatian SC (Chicago, IL)
6/17/79 Winnemac Park Stadium – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Brooklyn – Michael Malenkow 12′, Joseph Junior 38′
Croatian – Mike Ivezic

Att – 1,000

Note: Brooklyn Dodgers were the same team/organization as the Brooklyn Italians.

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1980 – New York Pancyprian Freedoms (New York, NY) 3:2 Maccabee AC (Los Angeles, CA)
6/16/80 Metropolitan Oval – Queens, New York

Scoring Summary
Freedoms – Mimis Papiaoannou 17′ 80′, Nick Kritikos 101′
Maccabee – Igor Beyder 19′, Meir Segal 30′

Fouls – Freedoms 27, Maccabee 20
Shots – Freedoms 19, Maccabee 18
Offside – Freedoms 6, Maccabee 22

Attendance: 600

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1981 – Maccabee AC (Los Angeles, CA) 5:1 Brooklyn Dodgers (Brooklyn, NY)
6/28/81 Daniels Field – Los Angeles, California

Scoring Summary
Maccabee – Dan Ben Dror 37′ 48′ n/a’, Miguel Brigida, Tony Douglas
Brooklyn – Jorge Titolo 32′ (PK)

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1982 – New York Pancyprian Freedoms (New York) 4:3 (aet) (2:2 FT) Maccabee AC (Los Angeles)
6/6/82 Hanson Stadium – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Maccabee – Tony Douglas 50′ 91′, Igor Beyder 45′
Freedoms – Evagoras Christofi 98′ 108′, K. Moraris 4′, George Touros 24′

Att – 1,200

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1983 – New York Pancyprian Freedoms (New York, NY) 4:3 (aet) Kutis SC (St. Louis, MO)
7/3/83 Delmar Stadium – Houston, Texas

Scoring Summary
Freedoms – Christos Christou 2′ (PK) 61′ (PK), Evagoras Christophi  18′ 24′
Kutis – Steve Gauvain 1′, Craig Guempel 34′, Joe Eppy 66′

New York -  Miltiadous, Frixou, Solonos, Christoforideis, Lambrou, Petsas, Nicolas, Touros, Christofi, Christou, Koutsantanou | Subs: Yennaris, Papademetriou

Kutis – Dueken, Bozesky, Guempel, Barczewski, DeRouse, Eppy, Gauvain, Tettambel, Lux, Meagher, Schell | Subs: Becher, Flecke

Att – 800  | Referee – Paul Mikol

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1984 – AO Krete (New York, NY) 4:2 Croatian SC (Chicago, IL)
6/24/84 St. Louis Soccer Park – Fenton, Missouri

Scoring Summary
Krete – Mirko Popovski 36′(PK) 81′, Drasko Cvetkovic 55′ n/a’
Croatian – Josip Malkoc 2′, Marinko Volarovic 44′

Krete – Lukovic, Cvetkovic, Ost, Carr, Nelson, Kyder, Popovski, Pedraza, McKeown, Estavillo, Malenkov

Croatian – Lisica, Novak, Galovic, Mikulski, Volarevic, Zanic, Losansky, Vlainic, Dosen, Malkos, Tyma (Milenko)

Referee – Klaus Kretschmer

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1985 – Greek American AC (San Francisco, CA) 2:1 Kutis SC (St. Louis, MO)
6/30/85 St. Louis Soccer Park – Fenton, Missouri

Scoring Summary
Greek American – Salvador Bernardez, Esmaeil Rahimipour
Kutis – Tom Roark

Greek-American – Kardzair, Vischner, Garcia, Green, Elberse, Odiye, Bernardez, Finley, Collins, Rahimpour, Ategbu.

Kutis – Dueken, Bozesky, Clarke, Barczewski, Groark, Hulcer, Gauvain, Eppy, Huber, Schell, Gallo.

Referee – Vince Mauro

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1986 – Kutis SC (St. Louis, MO) 1:0 Yugoslav SC (Los Angeles, CA)
7/13/86 St. Louis Soccer Park – Fenton, Missouri

Scoring Summary
Kutis – Ted Hantak 62′

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1987 – Club Espana (Washington DC) 0:0 (aet) Mitre Eagles (Seattle, WA)
6/21/87 St. Louis Soccer Park – Fenton, Missouri

Club Espana win US Open Cup on penalties, 3:2

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1988 – Busch SC (St. Louis, MO) 2:1 (aet) Greek American AC (San Francisco, CA)
6/25/88 St. Louis Soccer Park – Fenton, Missouri

Scoring Summary
Busch – Pat Olwig 71’, John Hayes 114’
Greek American – Michael Deleroy 35’

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1989 – HRC Kickers (St. Petersburg, FL) 2:1(aet) New York Greek American Atlas SC (New York, NY)
7/8/89 Indianapolis, Indiana

Scoring Summary
Kickers – Garth Pollonais 47’, Gordon Singleton 120’
NYGA – John Lingos 80’

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1990 – AAC Eagles (Chicago, IL) 2:1 Brooklyn Italians (Brooklyn, NY)
7/28/90 Kuntz Stadium – Indianapolis, Indiana

Scoring Summary
Eagles – Jan Kiaca, Peter Modrzejewski 87’
Brooklyn – Yves

Att – 3,116

Note-  The Brooklyn Italians are the same team as the Brooklyn Dodgers, cup finalists in 1979 & 1981

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1991 – Brooklyn Italians (Brooklyn, NY) 1:0 Richardson Rockets (USISL)
8/10/91 Brooklyn College – Brooklyn, New York

Scoring Summary
Brooklyn – Ernest Inneh 6’

Brooklyn – Radovich, Ogunsanya, Wiseman, Manning, Digner, Freitas, Jaguande (Smarth), Superbia, Yves, Silva (Russo), Inneh

Richardson -  Hall, Krejs, Wooley, Pujats, Pettigrew, Pfeil, Reynolds, Paulette, Partain (Pedrosa), Schwab (Roberts), Prampin

Sent Off – Bill Manning 23’ (Brooklyn)

Attendance – n/a  | Referee – Steve Olson

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1992 – San Jose Oaks (San Jose, CA) 2:1 Vasco Da Gama (Bridgeport, CT)
7/11/92 Kuntz Stadium – Indianapolis, Indiana

Scoring Summary
San Jose – John Hughes, Dave Palic
Vasco – Sheldon Neal 80’

San Jose Oaks – Eric Yamamoto, Thomas Vischer, Frank Van Den Brand Horininge, Steve Robertson, Roy Atkin, David Palic, Robert Gallo, Chris Dangerfield, Simon Ireland, John Hughes, George Pastor
Bench: Bruce Broughton, John Cairel, Matt Barreras, Timmy McEnery, Sean Blackman, Chris Ducar, Paul Lester.
Coach: Chris Dangerfield

Vasco de Gama – Joe Didimizio, Armindo Gomes, Steve Stoud, Fernando Quieroz, Albert Portela, Julio Liconia, Joe Barrosa, Mark Price, Josh Muscandin, Sheldon Neal, Zoltan Lovrity.
Bench: Ilidio Malheiro, Jose Morgado, Joe Quieroz, Del Nunes, Carlos Nasciemento, Denis Gomes.
Coach: Ed Martins

Att – 2,500  | Referee – Armando Orellana

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1993 – CD Mexico (San Francisco, CA) 5:0 United German Hungarians (Philadelphia, PA)
July 17, 1993 Kuntz Stadium – Indianapolis, Indiana

Scoring Summary
CD Mexico – Jose Cid del Prado 56′ 78’, Elias Fonseca 30′ 80’, Vladimir Moreno 18′

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1994 – Greek American AC (San Francisco, CA) 3:0 Bavarian SC (Milwaukee, WI)
7/30/94 – UGH Field – Oakford, Pennsylvania

Scoring Summary
Greek American – Mike Deleray 60’ 80’, Own Goal (Mike Roe) 56’

Greek-Americans – Kardzair, McNevin, Martin, Odiye, Elberse (McBride 56’), Van Rheenen, Bravo, Brockman, Wall (Petuskey 80’), Deleray, Semioli

Bavarian SC - Jim Marshall (GK), Alioto, Arnold, Gansler, Hospel (Zabala 80’), Klopp, Mike Roe, Schweinert, Stebbins, Szczepanski, Tom Zaiss (Knight 65’)

Att – 400

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1995 – Richmond Kickers (USISL Premier League) 1:1 (aet) El Paso Patriots (USISL Pro League)
8/27/95 SISD Student Activities Center – El Paso, Texas
Richmond Kickers win US Open Cup on penalties, 4:2

Scoring Summary
El Paso – Gambino Amaparan 82’ (Mercado)
Richmond – Rob Ukrop 49’ (Cowlishaw)

Penalty Kicks Summary (Goal: G, Saved : SV)
Richmond – Ukrop G, Bates G, Crawley G, Hall SV, Brady G
El Paso – Mercado G, Amparan G, Gomez SV, Sosa SV

El Paso – Jake Arrambide, Brian O’Haver, Hector Cervantes, Gambino Amparan, Arrieta, Sal Mercado, David Stewart, Rito Delgado, Guardado (Raul Gomez), Rafael Nunez (Cesar Sosa), Baeza

Richmond – Jeff Causey, Kevin Scott, Mike Clark, Brian Bates, Khary Stockton (Cox), Jon Hall, Brian Kamler (Michael Brady), Ben Crawley, Leigh Cowlishaw, Richie Williams, Rob Ukrop

Sent Off – Kevin Scott 80’ (Richmond), Hector Cervantes n/a’ (El Paso)

Attendance:  7,378. | Referee -

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1996 – DC United (MLS) 3:0 Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League)
10/30/96 RFK Stadium – Washington, DC

Scoring Summary
DC United – Raul Diaz Arce 45’, Eddie Pope 63’, Jamie Moreno 89’

DC United – Mark Simpson, Clint Peay (David Vaudreuil 46’), Eddie Pope, Jeff Agoos (Erik Imler 71’), Mario Gori, Ritchie Williams, John Maessner (Tony Sanneh 46’), John Harkes (Brian Kamler 66’), Marco Etcheverry, Raul Diaz Arce (Steve Rammel 74’), Jaime Moreno

Rochester – Bill Andracki, Fuseini Dauda, Yuri Smotrich, Rene Rivass, Gustavo Villagra, Henry Gutierrez, Tommy Tanner, Yogi McKay (Darrell Stuart 46’), Lenin Steenkamp, Doug Miller Hector Marinaro (Chris Kennell 46’)

Cautions – Richie Williams, DC United 72’, Eddie Pope, DC United 72’, Fuseini Dauda, Rochester 77’

Att – 7,234  | Referee – Esse Baharast

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1997 – Dallas Burn (MLS) 0:0 (aet) DC United (MLS)
10/29/97 IUPUI Track & Field Stadium – Indianapolis, Indiana
Dallas Burn win US Open Cup on penalties, 4:2

Penalty Kicks Summary (Goal : G, Miss : M)
Dallas – Damian G, Kreis G, Sutter G, Peinado G, Rodriguez G
DC United – Etcheverry G, Diaz Arce M, Moreno G, Iroha G

Dallas Burn – Mark Dodd, Wade Webber, Tom Soehn, Brandon Pollard, Richard Farrer (Jorge Rodriguez 68), Daniel Peinado, Ted Eck, Mark Santel (Jason Kreis 100), Alain Sutter, Dante Washington, Gerell Elliott (Damian 73)

Shots – 20  Saves – 5  Corner Kicks – 4  Fouls – 24  Offside – 7
Cautions – Santel 12’, Damian 105’

DC United – Scott Garlick (Tom Presthus 120), David Vaudreuil, Clint Peay, Carlos Llamosa, Mario Gori, Richie Williams, Tony Sanneh (Brian Kamler 75), John Maessner (Ben Iroha 46), Marco Etcheverry, Raul Diaz Arce, Jaime Moreno

Shots – 14  Saves – 5  Corner Kicks – 10  Fouls – 9  Offside – 2
Cautions – Moreno 70’, Etcheverry 95’

Attendance:  9,776   | Referee -  Rich Grady

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1998 – Chicago Fire (MLS) 2:1 (aet) Columbus Crew (MLS)
10/30/98 Soldier Field – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Chicago – Jerzy Podbrozny 45’ (PK), Frank Klopas 99’
Columbus – Stern John 53’

Chicago – Zach Thornton, Lubos Kubik (Josh Keller 14’, Zak Isben 77’), CJ Brown, Francis Okaroh, Chris Armas, Jesse Marsch, Rich Kotschau (Frank Klopas 99’), Jerzy Podbrozny, Peter Nowak, Josh Wolff, Ante Razov

Shots – 12  Saves – 5, Corner Kicks – 7, Fouls – 25, Offside – 0

Cautions – Keller 17’, Okaroh 60’, Brown 69’

Columbus – Juergen Sommer, Michael Clark, Thomas Dooley, Ricardo Iribarren, Ansil Elcock, Robert Warzycha (Jason Farrell 78’), Andy Williams, Brian Maisonneuve (Todd Yeagley 67’), Rob Smith, Stern John, Brian McBride

Shots – 13  Saves – 6, Corner Kicks – 7, Fouls – 15, Offside – 4

Cautions – Sommer 43:, Maisonneuve 60’, Elcock 61’

Att – 18,615  | Referee – Arturo Angeles  | Linesmen – Michael Kennedy, Alberto Echevrria

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1999 – Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League) 2:0 Colorado Rapids (MLS)
9/13/99 | Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Scoring Summary
Rochester – Doug Miller (Sedgewick) 65’, Yari Allnut (Kirmse) 90’

Colorado – Ian Feuer,  David Vaudreuil, Marcelo Balboa, Peter Vermes, Tim Martin (Wolde Harris 81’), Kevin Anderson (Joey DiGiamarino 58’), Matt McKeon, Ross Paule, Darren Sawatzky (Jason Bent 76’,  Jorge Dely Valdes, Paul Bravo

Shots – 10  Saves – 3, Corner Kicks – 4, Fouls – 15, Offside – 2

Cautions – Martin 79’

Rochester – Pat Onstad, Andrew Restrepo, Craig Demmin (Mike Kirmse 51’), Scott Schweitzer, Tim Hardy, Bill Sedgewick, Nate Daligcon (Carlos Zavala 83’), Mali Walton, Yari Allnut, Mauro Biello, Darren Tilley (Doug Miller 62’)

Shots – 15  Saves – 2, Corner Kicks – 3, Fouls – 18, Offside – 3

Cautions – Tilley 38’, Miller 67’, Daligcon 69’

Att – 4,555  | Referee – Tim Wayland  | Linesmen – Craig Lowry, Nathan Clement

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2000 – Chicago Fire (MLS) 2:1 Miami Fusion (MLS)
10/21/00 Soldier Field – Chicago, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Chicago – Hristo Stoitchkov (Razov) 44’, Tyrone Marshall 88’ (og)
Miami – Welton (Lassiter) 96’+

Chicago Fire – Zach Thornton, Lubos Kubik, C.J. Brown, Evan Whitfield, Chris Armas, Diego Gutierrez (Tom Soehn 86′), DaMarcus Beasley, Dema Kovalenko, Peter Nowak (Jesse Marsch 84′), Hristo Stoitchkov, Ante Razov (Josh Wolff 84′)

Shots – 13  Saves – 22 Corner Kicks – 7, Fouls – 25, Offside – 3

Cautions – C.J. Brown 24’, Beasley 48’, Razov 55’ ,Stoitchkov 75’

Miami – Nick Rimando, Tim Sahaydak, Pablo Mastroeni, Tyrone Marshall, Brian Kamler, Jeff Bilyk (Andy Williams 75′), Jay Heaps, Martin Machon, Welton, Henry Gutierrez (Roy Lassiter, 63′), Diego Serna

Shots – 7  Saves – 5, Corner Kicks – 2, Fouls – 22, Offside – 0

Cautions – Serna 20’, Welton 27’, Heaps 27’, Bilyk 36’, Sahaydak 72’

Att – 19,146  | Referee –  Kevin Stott  | Linesmen –  Scott Weyland, Jorge Reyes | 4th Official –  Ali Sahel

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2001 – Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) 2:1 New England Revolution (MLS)
10/27/01 Titan Stadioum – Fullerton, California

Scoring Summary
Los Angeles – Ezra Hendrickson (Vanney) 70’, Danny Califf (Jones) 92’
New England – Wolde Harris 30’

Los Angeles – Kevin Hartman, Ezra Hendrickson, Danny Califf, Greg Vanney, Paul Caligiuri (Brian Mullan 64’), Peter Vagenas, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Simon Elliott, Adam Frye, Cobi Jones, Sasha Victorine (Alexi Lalas 91’)

Shots – 20  Saves – 2, Corner Kicks – 8, Fouls – 12, Offside – 3

Cautions – Danny Califf 17’, Adam Frye 89’

New England – Jose Fernandez, Leo Cullen, Mauricio Wright, Jay Heaps, Joey Franchino, Leonel Alvarez, Cate, Braeden Cloutier, Nick Downing (Ted Chronopoulos 78’), Andy Williams (Alan Woods 61’), Wolde Harris (William Sunsing 68)

Shots – 8  Saves – 6, Corner Kicks – 0, Fouls – 10, Offside – 2

Ejections – Jay Heaps 88’

Att – 4,195  | Referee – Paul Tamberino  | Linesmen -  Craig Lowry, Robert Fereday | 4th Official – Kevin Stott

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2002 – Columbus Crew (MLS) 1:0 Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
10/24/02 Columbus Crew Stadium – Columbus, Ohio

Scoring Summary
Columbus – Freddy Garcia (West) 30’

Los Angeles – Matt Reis, Ezra Hendrickson, Alexi Lalas (Mauricio Cienfuegos ’76), Danny Califf, Tyrone Marshall, Sasha Victorine, Peter Vagenas (Brian Mullan ’86), Cobi Jones, Simon Elliott, Carlos Ruiz, Chris Albright (Alejandro Moreno ’59)

Shots – 19  Saves – 4  Fouls – 13  Offside – 1  Corner Kicks – 4

Cautions – Ruiz 8’

Columbus - Jon Busch, Mike Clark, Chad McCarty, Brian Dunseth, Eric Denton, Duncan Oughton, Brian Maisonneuve, Jeff Cunningham (Dante Washington ’90), Freddy Garcia (Daniel Torres ’81), Brian West (Kyle Martino ‘65), Brian McBride

Shots – 10  Saves – 4  Fouls – 21  Offside – 1  Corner Kicks – 4

Cautions – Clark 43’, McCarty 48’ 83’ | Ejections – McCarty 83’

Att – 6,054  | Referee – Brian Hall | Linesmen – Craig Lowry, Steven Davidson, Ricardo Salazar

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2003 – Chicago Fire (MLS) 1:0 MetroStars (MLS)
10/15/03 Giants Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Scoring Summary
Chicago – Damani Ralph (Whitfield) 68’

Chicago – Zach Thornton, Kelly Gray, Jim Curtin, Carlos Bocanegra, Evan Whitfield, Chris Armas, DaMarcus Beasley, Jesse Marsch, Orlando Perez (Andy Williams 66’), Damani Ralph, Ante Razov

Shots – 10  Saves 3, Corner Kicks 6, Fouls 16, Offside 5

Cautions – Marsch 16’, Andy Williams 89’

MetroStars – Jonny Walker, Chris Leitch, Steve Jolley, Eddie Pope, Edgar Bartolomeu, Richie Williams (Mark Lisi 78’), Ricardo Clark, Amado Guevara, Eddie Gaven, Andrzej Juskowiak (John Wolyniec 69’), Clint Mathis (Mike Magee 76’)

Shots – 8  Saves 2, Corner Kicks 2, Fouls 17, Offside 3

Cautions – Bartolomeu 50’, Mathis 58’

Att – 5,183  | Referee – Kevin Stott  | Linesmen –  Nathan Clement, Craig Lowry | 4th Official – Alex Prus

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2004 – Kansas City Wizards (MLS) 1:0 (aet) Chicago Fire (MLS)
9/22/04 Arrowhead Stadium – Kansas City, Missouri

Scoring Summary
Kansas City – Igor Simutenkov 95’

Kansas City – Tony Meola (GK), Alex Zotinca, Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga Jr., Francisco Gomez (Igor Simutenkov 46′), Jack Jewsbury (Taylor Graham 68′), Kerry Zavagnin, Diego Gutierrez, Josh Wolff, Davy Arnaud

Shots – 15, Saves – 1, Fouls – 16, Corners – 1, Offside – 4

Cautions – Diego Gutierrez 80’

Chicago – Henry Ring (GK), C.J. Brown, Jim Curtin, Evan Whitfield, Kelly Gray, Logan Pause (Chris Armas 88′), Jesse Marsch, Andy Williams, Dipsy Selolwane, Nate Jaqua, Damani Ralph.

Shots – 9, Saves – 4, Fouls – 25, Corners – 8, Offside – 2

Cautions – Logan Pause 21’

Att – 8,819 | Referee – Terry Vaughn   | Linesmen – Nathan Clement, Greg Barkey | 4th Official – Michael Kennedy

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2005 – Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) 1:0 FC Dallas (MLS)
9/28/05 The Home Depot Center – Carson, California

Scoring Summary
Los Angeles – Herculez Gomez 25’

Los Angeles – Kevin Hartman, Chris Albright, Ugo Ihemelu, Tyrone Marshall, Todd Dunivant, Cobi Jones, Marcelo Saragosa, Peter Vagenas, Landon Donovan, Joseph Ngwenya (Alan Gordon 90’), Herculez Gomez (Michael Umana 90’)

Shots – 18  Saves – 1  Fouls – 16  Offside – 4  Corners – 8

Cautions – Ngwenya 59’, Gomez 60’

FC Dallas – Scott Garlick, Bobby Rhine (Steve Jolley 86’), Clarence Goodson, Greg Vanney, David Wagenfuhr,Arturo Alvarez (Abe Thompson 69’), Ronnie O’Brien (Oscar Pareja 53’), Carey Talley (Aaron Pitchkolan 54’), Mark Wilson, Ramon Nunez, Roberto Mina

Shots – 9  Saves – 6  Fouls – 23  Offside – 0  Corners – 6

Cautions – Rhine 9’, Goodson 59’, Wilson 59’Attendance: 10,000  | Referee – Alex Prus  | Linesmen – Nathan Clement, Kermit Quisenberry

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2006 – Chicago Fire (MLS) 3:1 Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
9/27/06 – Toyota Park – Bridgeview, Illinois

Scoring Summary
Chicago – Nate Jaqua 10’ (Herron),  Andy Herron 16’ (Mapp), Thiago 88’ (Sanneh)
Los Angeles – Alan Gordon 51’

Chicago – Matt Pickens, C.J. Brown, Tony Sanneh, Gonzalo Segares, Nate Jaqua, Diego Gutierrez, Justin Mapp (Thiago 85), Logan Pause, Ivan Guerrero, Chris Rolfe (Jim Curtin 91+), Andy Herron (Dasan Robinson 82)

Shots – 10  Saves – 3  Fouls – 14   Offside – 2  Corner kicks – 3

Cautions – Pickens 52’, Gutierrez 59’ 89’

Ejections – Chicago – Gutierrez 89’

Los Angeles – Kevin Hartman, Chris Albright, Ugo Ihemelu (Herculez Gomez 77), Tyrone Marshall, Ante Jazic, Cobi Jones (Quavas Kirk 72), Paulo Nagamura, Peter Vagenas, Santino Quaranta (Josh Gardner 88), Alan Gordon, Landon Donovan

Shots – 14  Saves – 2  Fouls – 25  Offside – 4  Corner kicks – 7

Cautions – Albright 24’, Nagamura 52’, Quaranta 70’

Attendance: 8,185  | Referee – Terry Vaughn. | Linesmen – Chris Strickland, Richard Eddy | 4th official – Michael Kennedy

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2007 – New England Revolution (MLS) 3:2 FC Dallas (MLS)
10/03/07 Pizza Hut Park – Frisco, Texas

Scoring Summary
FC Dallas – Arturo Alvarez 30’ (Wagenfuhr), Abe Thompson 64’ (Goodson)
New England – Pat Noonan 21’, Taylor Twellman 41’ (Noonan), Wells Thompson 57’ (Noonan)

FC Dallas – Dario Sala, David Wagenfuhr (Kenny Cooper 76’), Clarence Goodson, Adrian Serioux, Drew Moor, Dax McCarty, Pablo Ricchetti (Alex Yi 46’) (Abe Thompson 63’), Juan Toja, Dominic Oduro, Carlos Ruiz, Arturo Alvarez

Shots – 12  Saves – 3  Fouls – 16  Offside – 7  Corners – 4

Cautions – Larentowicz 74’, Riley 86’

New England – Matt Reis, Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, James Riley, Andy Dorman, Jeff Larentowicz, Steve Ralston, Khano Smith, Wells Thompson (Adam Cristman 78’), Pat Noonan, Taylor Twellman

Shots – 13  Saves – 2  Fouls – 13  Offside – 3  Corners – 5

Cautions – None

Att – 10,618  | Referee – Alex Prus  | Linesmen – George Gansner; Kermit Quisenberry | 4th official – Terry Vaughn

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2008 – DC United (MLS) 2:1 Charleston Battery (USL First Division)
9/3/08 RFK Stadium – Washington DC

Scoring Summary
DC United – Luciano Emilio 4’, Fred  50’ (Simms)
Charleston – Ian Fuller 10’ (Williams)

DC United -  Louis Crayton, Marc Burch, Devon McTavish, Gonzalo Martinez, Bryan Namoff, Joe Vide (Fred, 40’), Ivan Guerrero, Clyde Simms, Santino Quaranta, Luciano Emilio (Rod Dyachenko, 7’, Marcelo Gallardo, 80’), Jaime Moreno (Ryan Cordeiro, 92’+)

Shots – 12  Saves – 1  Fouls – 13  Offside – 4  Corners – 2

Cautions – Martinez 35’,  Simms 46’

Charleston – Dusty Hudock, Nelson Akwari, Kevin Nylen, Marco Reda, John Wilson; Osvaldo Alonso, Chris Williams (Darren Spicer, 73’), Stephanie Armstrong (David Kenga, 82’), Lazo Alavanja, Ian Fuller (Aaron King, 80’), Randi Patterson

Shots – 11  Saves – 3  Fouls – 12  Offside – 4  Corners – 7

Cautions – Nylen 33’, Alfonso 62’

Att – 8,212  | Referee – Mark Geiger  | Linesmen – Gregory Barkey, Robert Fereday | 4th Official – Andrew Chapin

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2009 – DC United (MLS) 1:2 Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)
9/2/09 | RFK Stadium – Washington DC

Scoring Summary
Seattle – Fredy Montero 67’, Roger Levesque 86’ (Sebastien Le Toux)
DC United — Clyde Simms 89’ (Rodney Wallace)

DC United -  Josh Wicks (GK) 69Marc Burch, Dejan Jakovic, Fred (Santino Quaranta 46’),Christian Gomez (Milos Kocic (GK) 71’),Luciano Emilio, Chris Pontius, Ben Olsen (Rodney Wallace 82’),Clyde Simms, Bryan Namoff, Jaime Moreno

Shots – 15  Saves – 6  Fouls – 13  Offside – 2  Corners – 5

Cautions – None

Ejections – Josh Wicks 69’

Seattle – Kasey Keller (GK),  Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl, Osvaldo Alonso, James Riley, Peter Vagenas, Sebastien Le Toux,  Freddie Ljungberg,   Steve Zakuani (Roger Levesque 74’), Fredy Montero (Brad Evans 78’), Leonardo Gonzalez

Shots – 18  Saves – 5  Fouls – 4  Offside – 1  Corners – 5

Cautions – Patrick Ianni 24’, Leonardo Gonzalez 49’, Peter Vagenas 79’

Att – 17,329 | Referee – Alex Prus | Linesmen – Greg Barkey; Rob Fereday | 4th Official – Andrew Chapin

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2010 – Columbus Crew (MLS) 1:2 Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)
10/5/10 | Qwest Field – Seattle, Washington

Scoring Summary
Columbus: Kevin Burns (Steven Lenhart) – 24th minute
Seattle: Sanna Nyassi (Nathan Sturgis) – 38th minute
Seattle: Sanna Nyassi (Unassisted) – 66th minute

Seattle Sounders: Kasey Keller (GK), James Riley, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl, Nathan Sturgis, Osvaldo Alonso, Blaise Nkufo, Sanna Nyassi (79′ Alvaro Fernandez), Steve Zakuani (90′ Roger Levesque), Fredy Montero (90′+ Nate Jaqua)

Cautions – James Riley 23′ , Osvaldo Alonso 74′ , Sanna Nyassi 75′

Columbus Crew: Andy Greunebaum (GK), Frankie Hejduk, Chad Marshall, Andy Iro, Shaun Francis, Brian Carroll, Emmanuel Ekpo, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Steven Lenhart (78′ Andres Mendoza), Kevin Burns (78′ Andres Mendoza), Eddie Gaven (81′ Robbie Rogers)

Cautions – Shaun Francis 24′ , Brian Caroll 41′ , Guillermo Barros Schelotto 87′

Stats
Shots – Seattle 10:10 Columbus
On Goal – Seattle 5:1 Columbus
Saves – Seattle 0:3 Columbus
Fouls – Seattle 11:10 Columbus
Corners – Seattle 6:2 Columbus
Offsides – Seattle 0:0 Columbus

Att – 31,311 | Referee – Michael Kennedy | Linesmen – Thomas Supple, Paul Scott | 4th Official – Ricardo Salazar

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2011 – Chicago Fire (MLS) 0:2 Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)
10/4/10 | CenturyLink Field – Seattle, Washington

Scoring Summary
Seattle: Fredy Montero (Jeff Parke) – 77th min.
Seattle: Osvaldo Alonso (Unassisted) – 90th+ min.

Seattle Sounders: GK Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez, Alvaro Fernandez (Erik Freiberg 46th), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle, Michael Fucito (Roger Levesque 90th+), Fredy Montero

Cautions – Alonso 90th, Montero 90th

Chicago Fire: GK Sean Johnson; Gonzalo Segares, Cory Gibbs, Josip Mikulic (Jalil Anibaba 61st), Dan Gargan (Sebastien Grazzini 84th); Marco Pappa, Pavel Pardo, Logan Pause, Daniel Paladini (Diego Chaves 80th); Dominic Oduro, Patrick Nyarko

Cautions – Nyarko 27th, Paladini 39th, Anibaba 90th

Stats
Shots – Seattle 27:8 Chicago
On Goal – Seattle 7:4 Chicago
Saves – Seattle 4:5 Chicago
Fouls – Seattle 12:17 Chicago
Corners – Seattle 10:6 Chicago
Offsides – Seattle 0:3 Chicago

Attendance: 35,615 | Referee – Alex Prus | Linesmen – Steven Taylor; Eric Boria  | 4th Official – Josh Wilkens
Weather: Rain, 58 degrees