UPDATE (9/11/19): Due to the withdrawal of Izee Auto FC from their league competition (and disqualifying them from the US Open Cup), US Soccer rearranged the first round draw. There will now by 8 teams receiving a bye into the second round instead of five. Eighty of the 88 teams will participate in the first round of qualifying. The matches below have been updated and include dates, times, and venues. The original article from August 26, 2019 is left unchanged below:
With the 2019 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final set to take place tomorrow, the qualifying tournament for next year’s tournament has been announced.
The United States Soccer Federation announced the first round matchups for next month’s Open Division Local qualifying tournament for the 2020 US Open Cup.
Out of the 89 teams that registered to take part, five of them received byes into the second round, leaving 84 teams to play 42 games over the weekend of Sept. 21-22. Dates, times and venues for each game will be announced at a later date.
The teams that are taking part in the competition are mostly amateur — although there are no rules limiting professional teams from participating — and represent 18 different states and the District of Columbia (21 different state soccer associations).
The teams will represent 18 different states and the District of Columbia (21 different state associations) and will feature teams from 26 different leagues. For the fifth year in a row, the most represented league is the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) which entered 33 teams, which is two fewer than the 35 they entered in last year’s competition, and six fewer than the 39 that participated in the 2018 qualifying tournament.
The Open Division Local Qualifying tournament was launched in 2016 as an alternative to holding state and regional qualifying tournaments. Now, all teams from any US Soccer-affiliated leagues just need to register. The competition begins in the fall and all entrants are divided up regionally to minimize travel, with the teams that advance the furthest qualifying for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup which will begin in the spring. The number of teams that will qualify for the tournament, and the number of rounds that will be required, is yet to be determined as it will depend on the number of professional teams that will take part in the 107th edition of the Open Cup next year.
Of the 89 teams, 53 of the teams have competed in the Open Division tournament before, leaving 36 new teams.
One team has already punched their ticket into the 2020 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Newtown Pride FC won the 2019 USASA Amateur Cup championship which earned them an automatic berth into next year’s Open Cup. The Connecticut-based club has qualified for the first time after being unsuccessful each year since 2013 to qualify, finally getting over the hump.
The matchups for the opening round of the qualifying tournament are listed below:
2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – Open Division Local Qualifying Schedule
First Qualifying Round
East Region
Date | Game (home team listed first) | Time | Venue |
Sept. 21 | Kendall Wanderers (Mass.) vs. Safira FC (Mass.) | 12 p.m. ET | Danehy Park, Field 3; Cambridge, Mass. |
Sept. 21 | Juve-Pro Soccer (Mass.) vs. Brockton FC United (Mass.) | 7 p.m. ET | Ashland High School; Ashland, Mass. |
Sept. 21 | SOCA (Va.) vs. World Class Premier Elite FC (Md.) | 7 p.m. ET | Charlottesville High School, Stadium Turf Field; Charlottesville, Va. |
Sept. 21 | Steel FC (Pa.) vs. Germantown City FC (Md.) | 7:45 p.m. ET | Shady Side Academy; Pittsburgh, Pa. |
Sept. 22 | CSA Westchester (N.J.) vs. Jackson Lions FC (N.J.) | 12 p.m. ET | Ramapo College of New Jersey; Mahwah, N.J. |
Sept. 22 | Steel Pulse FC (Md.) vs. Tartan Devils Oak Avalon (Pa.) | 2 p.m. ET | Troy Park; Elkridge, Md. |
Sept. 22 | Danubia Swabian (Pa.) vs. West Chester United (Pa.) | 2:30 p.m. ET | Rosemont College, Main Varsity Field; Bryn Mawr, Pa. |
Sept. 22 | Ukrainian Nationals (Pa.) vs. Vereinigung Erzgebirge (Pa.) | 3 p.m. ET | Ukrainian American Sports Center, Main Turf Field; North Wales, Pa. |
Sept. 22 | FC Millennium International (Md.) vs. CD Huateras (Va.) | 6 p.m. ET | Heurich Community Park, Turf Field; Hyattsville, Md. |
Sept. 22 | Doradus FC (Va.) vs. Alianza Futbol Club (Va.) | 6 p.m. ET | Howison Homestead Soccer Complex; Woodbridge, Va. |
Sept. 22 | Clifton Elite FC (N.J.) vs. Lansdowne Yonkers FC (N.Y.) | 8:15 p.m. ET | Athenia Steel Recreation Complex; Clifton, N.J. |
First Round Byes (5): Christos FC (Md.); Federal City Wanderers (D.C.); New York Pancyprian Freedoms (N.Y.); United German Hungarians (Pa.); Virginia United (Va.)
Central Region
Date | Game (home team listed first) | Time | Venue |
Sept. 21 | Celtic Cowboys Premier (Texas) vs. Central Texas Lobos (Texas) | 12 p.m. CT | Onion Creek Soccer Complex, Field 8; Austin, Texas |
Sept. 21 | Atletico Miami CF (Fla.) vs. Miami United FC U23 (Fla.) | 4:30 p.m. ET | Kendall Soccer Park; Miami, Fla. |
Sept. 21 | NTX Rayados (Texas) vs. FC Fort Worth Soccer Club (Texas) | 5 p.m. CT | Premier Park, Field 1; Balch Springs, Texas |
Sept. 21 | Club ATLetic (Ga.) vs. Georgia Revolution FC Reserves (Ga.) | 7 p.m. ET | Dunwoody Springs Elementary School; Sandy Spring, Ga. |
Sept. 21 | Coyotes FC (Texas) vs. San Antonio Runners (Texas) | 7 p.m. CT | Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Field 1; Temple, Texas |
Sept. 21 | Louisiana Krewe FC (La.) vs. Northshore United (La.) | 7 p.m. CT | St. Thomas More Catholic High School; Lafayette, La. |
Sept. 21 | Hurricane FC (Fla.) vs. International Soccer Association (Fla.) | 8 p.m. ET | Seacrest Soccer Complex, Field 1; Delray Beach, Fla. |
Sept. 22 | Athletic Katy FC (Texas) vs. Houston FC (Texas) | 11 a.m. CT | San Jacinto College South Campus; Houston, Texas |
Sept. 22 | Lone Star Republic (Texas) vs. Inocentes Futbol Club (Texas) | 2 p.m. CT | The Greenhill School, Frankel Field; Addison, Texas |
Sept. 22 | Charleston United (S.C.) vs. Soda City Sorinex FC (S.C.) | 4 p.m. ET | Drayton Hall Elementary School; Charleston, S.C. |
Sept. 22 | Deportivo Lake Mary (Fla.) vs. Orlando FC Wolves (Fla.) | 5:30 p.m. ET | Sylvan Lake Park; Sanford, Fla. |
Sept. 22 | Florida Soccer Soldiers (Fla.) vs. Red Force FC (Fla.) | 6 p.m. ET | Miramar Regional Park; Miramar, Fla. |
Sept. 22 | Livonia City FC (Mich.) vs. Wayne County Sporting (Mich.) | 8:30 p.m. ET | Schoolcraft College; Livonia, Mich. |
First Round Byes (3): Ann Arbor FC (Mich.); Nashville United (Tenn.); Springfield FC (Ill.)
West Region
Date | Game (home team listed first) | Time | Venue |
Sept. 21 | Chula Vista FC (Calif.) vs. Rebels Soccer Club (Calif.) | 4:30 p.m. PT | Terra Nova Park; Chula Vista, Calif. |
Sept. 21 | FC Denver (Colo.) vs. FC Boulder Harpos (Colo.) | 7 p.m. MT | Aurora Sports Park, Field 1; Aurora, Colo. |
Sept. 21 | Logroñes Denver Soccer Club (Colo.) vs. Colorado Rovers (Colo.) | 7:30 p.m. MT | North Stadium/1st Bank Field; Denver, Colo. |
Sept. 21 | USA Soccer Stars FC (Calif.) vs. Alta California Sol (Calif.) | 7 p.m. PT | Lake Forest Sports Park, Field B; Lake Forest, Calif. |
Sept. 21 | Newport FC (Calif.) vs. SC Trojans FC (Calif.) | 7 p.m. PT | Orange County Great Park, Field 15; Irvine, Calif. |
Sept. 21 | L.A. Monsters FC (Calif.) vs. Valley United SC (Calif.) | 7:30 p.m. PT | Orange County Great Park, Field 19; Irvine, Calif. |
Sept. 21 | Real San Jose (Calif.) vs. Outbreak FC (Calif.) | 7:30 p.m. PT | PAL Stadium; San Jose, Calif. |
Sept. 21 | Oakland Stompers (Calif.) vs. Contra Costa FC (Calif.) | 8:30 p.m. PT | Raimondi Park; Oakland, Calif. |
Sept. 22 | San Juan FC (Utah) vs. IPS/Marathon Taverna (Ore.) | 1 p.m. MT | Zions Bank Stadium; Herriman, Utah |
Sept. 22 | Athletic Club of Sloan’s Lake (Colo.) vs. Azteca FC (Colo.) | 2 p.m. MT | Lakewood Memorial Field; Lakewood, Colo. |
Sept. 22 | Colorado Rush (Colo.) vs. Club El Azul (Colo.) | 3 p.m. MT | Addenbrooke Park; Lakewood, Colo. |
Sept. 22 | Quickening (Calif.) vs. Cal FC (Calif.) | 2 p.m. PT | Lancaster National Soccer Center, Field 33; Lancaster, Calif. |
Sept. 22 | Gam United FC (Colo.) vs. FC Union Jerez (Colo.) | 4 p.m. MT | Lowry Sports Complex Park, Turf Field 2; Denver, Colo. |
Sept. 22 | Oxnard Guerreros FC (Calif.) vs. Santa Monica United FC (Calif.) | 6:30 p.m. PT | Del Sol Stadium; Oxnard, Calif. |
Sept. 22 | Academica SC (Calif.) vs. PV United (Calif.) | 7 p.m. PT | Our Lady of the Assumption Park; Turlock, Calif. |
Sept. 22 | JASA RWC (Calif.) vs. Olympic Club (Calif.) | 7 p.m. PT | Red Morton Community Park, Bechet Field; Redwood City, Calif. |
First Round Byes: None
Second Qualifying Round: Oct. 19-20
Third Qualifying Round: Nov. 23-24
Fourth Qualifying Round (if necessary): Dec. 21-22