The Third Round of the Open Division Local Qualifying Tournament for the 2020 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup kicks off this weekend with 12 games. Saturday, Nov. 23 has seven games on the schedule, followed by five more on Sunday.
However, the day before the first batch of games were set to take place, the United States Soccer Federation announced that this would be the final round of the competition. To put it simply, it’s “Win & You’re In” weekend.
According to the USSF’s announcement:
The fourth qualifying round, which was conditionally scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 21-22, has been removed from the competition calendar. The U.S. Open Cup Committee made this decision today after reviewing the number of professional teams expected to be eligible for the 2020 tournament and projecting the berths available for Open Division clubs.
The 12 winners from this weekend will join the 2019 USASA Amatuer Cup champion Newtown Pride FC in the 2020 US Open Cup. The “tournament proper”, as many refer to it as.
Stay tuned to TheCup.us Twitter account (@USOpenCup) for updates from every game all weekend long.
#USOC2020 ESSENTIALS
2020 US Open Cup Qualifying Schedule / Results
2020 US Open Cup Qualifying Round 1 Game-By-Game Review
2020 US Open Cup Qualifying Round 2 Game-By-Game Review
2020 US Open Cup Qualifying Goalscoring Leaders
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23
L.A. Monsters FC
(USCS / SoCal Premier League)
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Chula Vista FC
(USCS / SoCal Premier League)
Terra Nova Park – Chula Vista, CA
Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO: NONE
A pair of SoCal Premier League rivals will square off in the opening match of this weekend’s qualifying action as Chula Vista FC hosts the Los Angeles Monsters FC. The winner will be the first of two Open Division Local teams to qualify from Southern California.
The newly-renamed L.A. Monsters FC (previously South Bay Monsters FC, San Pedro Monsters FC), cruised to a 4-1 win over SC Trojans FC in their Second Round match to reach Round 3 for the second time in three years. They began their journey with a 4-0 win over Valley United SC. They are attempting to qualify for the US Open Cup for the first time in the club’s fourth attempt.
Chula Vista FC, who has qualified for the US Open Cup on two previous occasions (2015, 2017), and even has a pro team upset on their resume. However, they almost didn’t reach the Third Round, needing a dramatic penalty kick shootout win over Academica SC. They overcame a two-goal deficit in the final 11 minutes of regulation and then defeated Academica, 2-1 in the shootout. It’s an extremely rare scoreline for a shootout. Chula Vista players missed three attempts, while goalkeeper Cristian García saved four Academica kicks. To put it in perspective, there have been 127 penalty kick shootouts in the Modern Era of the US Open Cup (1995-present), and while this game is not part of the tournament proper, there has never been a goalkeeper that has made four saves in a single shootout.
Hurricane FC
(USASA / UPSL)
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Miami United FC Under-23s
(USASA / UPSL)
Kendall Soccer Park – Miami, FL
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO: NONE
A pair of South Florida teams from the UPSL will battle for a spot in the 2020 US Open Cup.
After a blowout win over Atletico Miami CF in Round 1, Miami United FC Under-23s needed a late goal to eliminate last year’s Cinderella story, the Florida Soccer Soldiers. United’s senior squad has punched their ticket to the US Open Cup three times (2015, 2017, 2018), but the Under-23s are seeking their first trip to the tournament proper.
Hurricane FC went the opposite route to Round 3. They took out International Soccer Association in a lengthy penalty kick shootout in Round 1, followed by a one-sided road win over the Orlando FC Wolves. This is the first time that Hurricane FC had advanced in back-to-back matches in three previous US Open Cup qualifying campaigns.
Nashville United
(USASA / Middle Tennessee Soccer Alliance)
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Soda City FC Sorinex
(USASA / Central League)
Saluda Shoals Soccer Park – Columbia, SC
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO
Soda City FC Sorinex is pulling out all the stops for their qualifying match against Nashville United. Free admission and barbecue is on the menu at Saluda Shoals Soccer Park in Columbia, SC. They are trying to bring out a crowd to try to clinch their first-ever US Open Cup berth after falling one game short of the final round in their debut last year.
They reached Round 3 without leaving their home state of South Carolina. Soda City edged Charleston United in penalty kicks before cruising past the Georgia Revolution FC Reserves, 4-2. Soda City is attempting to become the first Open Division Local team from South Carolina to qualify for the tournament in the Modern Era (1995-present).
Nashville has had one of the easiest paths to to the Third Round. United received a first round bye and then crushed Springfield FC, 8-0. Nashville are led by a few former pros, including the Tampa Bay Rowdies all-time leading scorer Georgi Hristov and former MLS player Alen Kozic scoring in the 50th and the 55th minutes who each scored goals in that game. Nashville advances to Round 3 as they try to qualify for the US Open Cup for the first time after losing in a “Win & You’re In” game during the 2018 competition to FC Kendall (Fla.).
Livonia City FC
(USASA / Michigan Premier Soccer League)
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Louisiana Krewe FC
(USASA / Gulf Coast Premier League)
St. Thomas More Catholic HS – Lafayette, LA
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO
Livonia City are making the longest trek of any team in the Third Round of the qualifying tournament. The Michigan Premier Soccer League team will hop on a plane from Southeast Michigan to Lafayette, Louisiana to take on Louisiana Krewe FC. Two players will be passing on the flight (one player who does not fly, and a supportive teammate) and will make the nearly 1,200-mile journey by car.
Both clubs are seeking their first US Open Cup berth with Louisiana Krewe making their debut this year, and Livonia City making their second attempt. City were eliminated in penalty kicks in the Third Round by FC Maritsa (St. Louis) last year.
Livonia came out on top in a penalty kick shootout in the opening round against Wayne County Sporting (Detroit, Mich.) before knocking out Ann Arbor FC 6-2 to advance to Round 3. This is the third straight home game for the Krewe, who eliminated fellow Louisiana club Northshore United in Round 1 and needed a late goal by Henrique Pimpoa to edge the Houston-based Athletic Katy KC, 3-2 to advance to this weekend’s “Win & You’re In” match.
Celtic Cowboys Premier
(USSSA / Austin Men’s Soccer Association)
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NTX Rayados
(USASA / North Texas Premier Soccer Association)
Premier Park (Field 1) – Balch Springs, TX
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO: NONE
The final two Texas teams meet to determine which amateur team will represent the Lone Star State in the 2020 US Open Cup. NTX Rayados and Celtic Cowboys Premier also boast the top scorers in this USOC qualifying campaign. Rayados’ Mohamed Sesay tops the scoring charts with six goals after a four-goal performance in a 7-0 win over Inocentes in the second round, while Celtic’s Chris Wright notched four of his own in a 7-1 first round win over Central Texas Lobos.
The Austin-based Cowboys are making their first appearance in the Third Qualfying Round, while the Rayados are looking to clear the final hurdle in extending their record of most appearances in the US Open Cup by an Open Division Local qualifier. The North Texans are chasing a ninth consecutive qualification into the tournament proper.
This is the third time the two teams have met in the Open Division Local qualifying tournament, with NTX Rayados winning both times. In their first meeting in the 2017 tournament, NTX Rayados cruised to a 7-0 win, and they won the rematch the following year, 4-1.
Olympic Club
(USASA / San Francisco Soccer Football League)
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Azteca FC
(USSSA / Colorado Premier League)
Aurora Public Schools Stadium – Aurora, CO
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO: NONE
The Olympic Club of San Francisco heads east of the Rockies to take on Azteca FC.
Olympic Club boasts several former MLS, NASL and USL players among their ranks. Four of those players account for six of the Olympic’s eight goals thus far in qualifying (Matt Fondy and Aaron Kovar – 2 goals each; Thomas Sanner and Bryan Burke – 1 goal each). In Olympic Club’s first attempt at qualifying, they began with wins over fellow Northern California UPSL clubs JASA RWC and the Oakland Stompers.
Azteca FC, who qualified for the 2017 and 2018 US Open Cup tournaments, enter this game with seven straight wins in Open Cup qualifying against six different Colorado opponents; FC Boulder Harpos being the only repeat victim. Jovany Herrera, Daniel Jimenez and Juan Simental each have a pair of goals in the two qualifiers thus far in a 5-0 win over Athletic Club of Sloan’s Lake and a 3-2 extra time win over FC Union Jerez. .
Cal FC
(USASA / UPSL)
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Oxnard Guerreros
(USASA / UPSL)
Del Sol Stadium – Oxnard, CA
Kickoff: 9:30 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO: NONE
Cal FC, best known for their upset of the Portland Timbers in the 2012 US Open Cup, are one game away from returning to the tournament that they made their name for the fifth time in club history and the second year in a row. Their opponent, the Oxnard Guerreros, are hoping to make some history of their own, but they need to use their home field advantage to beat Cal FC to get into the US Open Cup for the first time.
Cal FC, a team loaded with a mix of local Southern California talent and former pros, began their journey with a 9-2 win over Quickening (US Club Soccer/SoCal Premier League). They followed that up with a 3-1 win over fellow UPSL side Alta California Sol. The winning goal was scored by former LA Galaxy academy player Willie Raygoza.
Oxnard got to this year’s final round with a 2-0 home shutout win over the Santa Monica United FC. They followed that up with a 7-1 road win over Outbreak FC thanks to a hat trick by Raul Gonzalez and two more goals by Brenton Frame.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24
New York Pancyprian Freedoms
(USASA / Cosmopolitan Soccer League)
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Brockton FC United
(USASA / Bay State Soccer League)
Everett Memorial Stadium – Everett, MA
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO: TBD
The three-time US Open Cup Champion New York Pancyprian Freedoms are back in the third round of qualifying for the second straight year. The team is now set to travel 215 miles, the longest it’s had to go since the qualifying tournament started in 2016, to face off against Brockton FC United.
For the Freedoms, the team will be trying to qualify for the first time since 2016 and 5th time in the Modern Era (1995-present). The organization has also qualified as members of the PDL (1999) and once more as a member of the USL D-3 Pro League (2002 as the New York Freedoms). The team received a bye into the second round of 2020 qualification earlier this year and won its second round match over Cedar Stars Academy (CSA Westchester in tournament logs) thanks to a man-advantage and second half goals by Adam Himeno and Nicholas Psarras.
The team has one of the richest histories in lower division American soccer both in-and-out of the USOC. As members of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, one of the oldest continuously running leagues in the country, the Freedoms have won the league championship eight times. Additionally, the team has qualified or attempted to qualify for every National Challenge Cup / U.S. Open Cup since its inception in the early 1970s and former player Jeffrey Matteo is tied for the second most all-time assists in the tournament proper.
For the home-team, history is something they’ll be looking to make rather than look back on. Brockton FC United is attempting to qualify for the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in its 13 year history. Originally founded in 2006 as Tarrafal FC, the organization has teams compete in both the United Premier Soccer League and the Boston, MA-based Bay State Soccer League. The team won promotion to the BSSL’s top division last season and also won the 2014 Massachusetts Amateur Champions Cup.
In Brockton’s first qualification tournament, the team has been lead on offense by Leandro Alves. The forward has scored all of the teams goals against both Juve-Pro Soccer (1 goal) and Safira FC (2 goals), landing him one of the top spots on TheCup.us’ 2020 Qualifying Goal Scorers list. The former University of Vermont player was drafted in the third round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by DC United.
West Chester United SC
(USASA / United Soccer League of Pennsylvania)
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Vereinigung Erzebirge
(USASA / United Soccer League of Pennsylvania
Vereinigung Erzebirge Clubhouse (Field 1) – Warminster, PA
Kickoff: 2 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO
West Chester United SC and Vereinigung Erzebirge (VE) meet once again in the US Open Cup qualifying after the former advanced, 1-0, in last year’s first qualifying round. This time the two USL of Pennsylvania rivals are both one win away from reaching the 2020 tournament.
West Chester is looking to reach the tournament proper for the third time in club history, and the second year in a row. In 2019, the team reached the second round after the team beat NPSL side FC Baltimore Christos on penalty kicks. This year in qualifying, United has scored four or more goals in both its games against Danubia Swabian and Lansdowne Yonkers FC. Two of its players, Andrew Bishop and Charles Wilson, have scored three goals each so far in the competition.
The recent success of WCU will be up against nearly 90 years of history in Vereinigung Erzebirge. The team was started as a part of the social club founded by immigrants from the Erzgebirge region of eastern Germany and was a founding member of the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania in 1959. In that league, the team and WCU have become fierce rivals as VE has finished runner up to West Chester every season since 2017 in the top flight. Coming into this game, Vereinigung has already eliminated two other historic PA clubs, Ukrainian Nationals & United German Hungarians, and can bury old demons with one more win over the defending league champs.
VE, who qualified for the US Open Cup many times before the Modern Era, has only reached the Open Cup proper once since 1995. In 2002, they were one-and-done against the South Jersey Barons (D-3 Pro League), a team now known as the Ocean City Nor’easters.
Colorado Rovers
(USSSA / Colorado Premier League)
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FC Boulder Harpos
(USSSA / Colorado Premier League)
Fairview HS – Boulder, CO
Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO: NONE
FC Boulder Harpos FC and Colorado Rovers have met twice previously in the qualifying stages of the tournament, with Harpos winning both contests – 4-1 (aet) in 2015 (for the 2016 tournament) and 2-0 in 2016 (for 2017).
FC Boulder Harpos enter this contest buoyant, after winning the Colorado Premier League Final this past weekend, defeating Azteca FC 3-1. Harpos won all 8 league games in their fall season, outscoring opponents 41-to-1! The fall season is part of a 12-game unbeaten run since their last loss in July. The team will look to Brendan Roslund, Alex Masbruch, Andrew Mejia, Freddie Braun and Shane Wheeler to continue strong in Open Cup Qualifying.
The Colorado Rovers, in spite of finishing second in the table, are on a much different trajectory. In the final regular season game they were soundly defeated by Harpos 6-0. Rovers’ semi-final opponent, Azteca FC, then defeated them 2-1 the following week, leaving them on a 3-game winless streak entering this weekend.
Harpos look to return to the tournament proper for the first time since 2016. They have made it twice before (2015, 2016), losing to the Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the second round on both occasions. Rovers are looking to return to the tournament for the first time since 2014, when they lost 2-1 to Red Force FC from Florida in the first round.
Virginia United
(ANFEEU / Woodbridge Soccer League)
AT
CD Huateras
(ANFEEU / Woodbridge Soccer League)
Howison Homestead Soccer Complex (Field TBD) – Woodbridge, VA
Kickoff: 5 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO: TBD
This is just the second year that teams from the Asociacon Nacional Futbol en USA (ANFEEU) have entered the Open Division Local Qualifying tournament for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. With two Woodbridge Soccer League rivals squaring off in this “Win & You’re In” game, it is assured that the ANFEEU will have a representative in the tournament for a second straight year.
Virginia United, who stunned Christos FC in last year’s competition on their way to qualifying for the 2019 US Open Cup, will take on CD Huateras on Sunday to determine which team will punch their ticket. Between these two teams, they have won four of the last five Woodbridge Soccer League titles, with CD Huateras winning the last two summer season trophies.
United received a first round bye and then defeated Alianza FC 2-1 on the strength of pair of first half goals by Bernardo Majano, a local player who played professionally in El Salvador.
CD Huateras, playing in their first-ever qualifying tournament, may have had the most dramatic path to the final win after a pair of narrow wins against UPSL teams. They trailed 2-1 in the second half to FC Millenium International and scored two goals in the final 15 minutes to advance, 3-2. In Round 2, CDH were up 3-0 at halftime, only to see World Class Premier Elite score three goals in the final 15 minutes to send the match into extra time. After re-taking the lead, CD Huateras saw WCPE equalize again, but they scored the game-winner in the 115th minute on a goal from Christian Najar, the brother of former MLS Rookie of the Year, Andy Najar.
Steel FC
(USASA / Greater Pittsburgh Soccer League)
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Christos FC
(USASA / Maryland Major Soccer League)
North County HS – Glen Burnie, MD
Kickoff: 5 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO: NONE
The final game of 2020 US Open Cup qualifying will determine whether a tournament cinderella returns or new blood takes over.
Christos FC made national headlines in their tournament debut back in 2016 after the club scored an opening, free-kick goal against MLS side D.C. United. Despite ultimately losing the game, 4-1, the team named after a liquor store that never practices has become a known commodity in soccer circles. Christos bowed of the tournament after one game the following year in 2017 and missed it entirely in 2018, but added a USASA Werner Fricker Amateur Open Cup trophy back in 2018.
This year in qualifying, the team has only played one game thanks to a first round bye. In the second round, the team made short work of Federal City Wanderers, 7-1, where Peter Caringi III scored a hat-trick for the team and landed a spot on the top goalscorers list.
Steel FC has scored three goals in both its tournament games so far and will be looking to do so again on Sunday to reach the tournament proper for the first time. The Greater Pittsburgh Soccer League side has a variety of goal scoring threats as all of its goals have been scored by different players (including an own-goal). The team beat Germantown City FC, 3-1, in the first round before scoring twice in extra-time to beat league foe Tartan Devils Oak Avalon at Highmark Stadium in the second round.
Since joining the GPSL’s top division in 2018, Steel FC have finished runner-up in the league final to Tartan Devils Oak Avalon in its first two seasons.