UPDATED 4/6/13 – 2 p.m. ET
For the second year in a row, US Club Soccer (USCS) is holding a qualifying tournament to decide a spot in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. This year, eight teams, all of them based in the league NorCal Premier Soccer”, are taking part, with the winner taking on a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) team in the Qualifying Round.
The eight teams are divided into two groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals for a single-elimination tournament. The team that emerges will qualify for the 100th edition of the US Open Cup, which is scheduled to begin on May 7.
Bracket A features San Ramon SC, Cap FC and a pair of former NPSL clubs, North Coast Tsunami and Southern Oregon Fuego.
The other bracket includes some familiar names, headlined by Stanislaus United, who last year became the first US Club Soccer team to qualify for the US Open Cup. Also in Bracket B are the Fresno Fuego Future, which is a club under the umbrella of the PDL team of the same name. In fact, the Fresno Fuego PDL side were the team that knocked Stanislaus United out of the Open Cup in the opening round last year, 2-0.
Los Gatos Storm are in Bracket B, as they make their third attempt to qualify for the US Open Cup. In 2010, they made history as the first USCS team to register for the Open Cup. They were the lone entry that year, and since the USSF had no place to put them, they created a play-in game between them and the reigning NPSL champions, Sonoma County Sol. The Sol won that game 3-0. In 2011, USCS did not receive a spot in the tournament, but last year, the Storm tried to qualify again, but lost to Stanislaus United in the single-elimination qualifying tournament. The fourth team in the bracket is Bullard United who are based in Fresno.
2013 US Open Cup qualifying: US Club Soccer
| Bracket A | PTS | W | L | D | GD |
| San Ramon SC | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +11 |
| Cap FC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +6 |
| North Coast Tsunami | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -4 |
| Southern Oregon Fuego | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -13 |
March 16
Cap FC 0:3 San Ramon SC
North Coast Tsunami 1:0 Southern Oregon Fuego
March 23
Southern Oregon Fuego 0:5 San Ramon SC
March 24
Cap FC 4:2 North Coast Tsunami
March 29
San Ramon SC 3:0 North Coast Tsunami
March 30
Southern Oregon Fuego 0:7 Cap FC
| Bracket B | PTS | W | L | D | GD |
| Fresno Fuego Future | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +3 |
| Los Gatos Storm | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +3 |
| Stanislaus United | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Bullard United | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -5 |
March 16
Fresno Fuego Future 1:0 Los Gatos Storm
March 17
Los Gatos Storm 3:2 Stanislaus United
March 22
Bullard United 0:3 Los Gatos Storm
March 24
Stanislaus United 2:2 Fresno Fuego Future
March 27
Fresno Fuego Future 3:1 Bullard United
March 30
Bullard United 1:1 Stanislaus United
Tiebreakers: (1) Head-to-head (2) Goal diff. (3) Goals for (4) Goals against (5) Most shutouts
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Semifinals (April 6)
Cap FC 2:10 Fresno Fuego Future
Los Gatos Storm at San Ramon FC*
* The game was suspended when the lights went out at the stadium with the score tied 1-1 in extra time.
Final (April 27)
Fresno Fuego Future vs. Los Gatos Storm/San Ramon FC
Chukchansi Park (Fresno, CA)