Fans are awaiting a decision by US Soccer and the Open Cup committee to hold a tournament in 2021, but it’s not too early to start looking ahead to 2022 US Open Cup qualifying.
The format for the 2022 edition of the tournament has yet to be released, however the method in which teams can reach the tournament proper have been finalized including the Open Division National League Track. One of these leagues, USL League Two, formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), has held a fairly consistent qualifying process since 2012 where the league determines its entries based on the previous year’s results. The only changes have been the number of teams that the US Soccer Federation has allocated to it among the rest of the open division.
Friday night finished the regular season of USL League Two (for eligible divisions, more on that later), which means the “priority list” of teams for determining who qualifies is complete.
Beginning in 2012 and continuing in 2013, the top 16 US-based USL League Two teams qualified for the tournament directly based on how well they did the previous season. That number increased to 19 from 2014-16 and in 2017 the top 21 teams got in. Since then the number of slots awarded has gone down with 20 allocated in 2018 and 10 slots allocated in 2019. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, USL League Two had a slight bump when USSF allotted 11 teams in the 2020 tournament.
Now for 2022, the 10 eligible 11 division winners will be prioritized first, followed by the rest of the league’s teams sorted by Points-Per-Game (PPG). Different divisions played different numbers of games meaning average points per game will be used to sort the teams (followed by total wins (not averaged), average goal difference, and average goals scored). The Mountain Division is not eligible for qualification into the 2022 tournament because it was only three teams. US Open Cup Policy Section 202(a) states that a national league’s division must be at least four teams to be eligible.
EDIT (8/22/21): We received a clarification on US Open Cup Policy Section 202(a) from US Soccer. The policy applies to a entire league and not individual divisions, despite the separation of the divisions during the regular season. This means as long as you play 10 matches or more, you will be eligible as a national league like USL League Two has 75 teams in the 2021 season, well over the minimum of four.
The teams that qualify will join other Open Division teams, such as those from the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and local amateur qualifiers in the opening round of next year’s competition.
Below is the overall USL League Two standings (excluding Mountain Division clubs.) y- denotes a division champion.
| W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Avg. Pts | Avg. GD | Avg. GF | GP | ||
| 1. | y-Des Moines Menace | 11 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 7 | 25 | 33 | 2.75 | 2.083333 | 2.666667 | 12 |
| 2. | y-Portland Timbers U23 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 31 | 2.583333 | 1.583333 | 2.5 | 12 |
| 3. | y-West Chester United SC | 11 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 6 | 23 | 35 | 2.5 | 1.642857 | 2.071429 | 14 |
| 4. | y-SC United Bantams | 11 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 15 | 17 | 35 | 2.5 | 1.214286 | 2.285714 | 14 |
| 5. | y-The Villages SC | 8 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 25 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 10 |
| 6. | y-North Carolina Fusion U23 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 48 | 13 | 35 | 34 | 2.428571 | 2.5 | 3.428571 | 14 |
| 7. | y-Western Mass Pioneers | 10 | 2 | 2 | 34 | 12 | 22 | 32 | 2.285714 | 1.571429 | 2.428571 | 14 |
| 8. | y-Kalamazoo FC | 9 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 14 | 15 | 31 | 2.214286 | 1.071429 | 2.071429 | 14 |
| 9. | y-Long Island Rough Riders | 9 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 31 | 2.214286 | 1 | 1.5 | 14 |
| 10. | y-Mississippi Brilla FC | 8 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 11 | 15 | 27 | 2.076923 | 1.153846 | 2 | 13 |
| 11. | y-Park City Red Wolves SC | 5 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 17 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 10 |
| 12. | Chicago FC United | 9 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 9 | 22 | 29 | 2.416667 | 1.833333 | 2.583333 | 12 |
| 13. | South Georgia Tormenta FC 2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 12 | 21 | 31 | 2.214286 | 1.5 | 2.357143 | 14 |
| 14. | Boston Bolts | 10 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 16 | 13 | 30 | 2.142857 | 0.928571 | 2.071429 | 14 |
| 15. | Ocean City Nor’easters | 9 | 2 | 3 | 40 | 12 | 28 | 30 | 2.142857 | 2 | 2.857143 | 14 |
| 16. | Flint City Bucks | 9 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 10 | 25 | 29 | 2.071429 | 1.785714 | 2.5 | 14 |
| 17. | Lionsbridge FC | 9 | 3 | 2 | 38 | 16 | 22 | 29 | 2.071429 | 1.571429 | 2.714286 | 14 |
| 18. | Seacoast United Phantoms | 9 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 19 | 14 | 29 | 2.071429 | 1 | 2.357143 | 14 |
| 19. | West Virginia United | 9 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 20 | 11 | 29 | 2.071429 | 0.785714 | 2.214286 | 14 |
| 20. | Kings Hammer | 8 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 28 | 2 | 0.571429 | 1.785714 | 14 |
| 21. | Cedar Stars Rush | 8 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 27 | 1.928571 | 0.928571 | 2 | 14 |
| 22. | Northern Virginia FC | 8 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 26 | 1.857143 | 0.428571 | 1.928571 | 14 |
| 23. | Grand Rapids FC | 7 | 2 | 5 | 35 | 17 | 18 | 26 | 1.857143 | 1.285714 | 2.5 | 14 |
| 24. | PDX FC | 7 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 24 | 9 | 22 | 1.833333 | 0.75 | 2.75 | 12 |
| 25. | Tampa Bay United | 5 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 18 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 10 |
| 26. | New York Red Bulls U23 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 25 | 1.785714 | 0.928571 | 1.642857 | 14 |
| 27. | Corpus Christi FC | 7 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 23 | 1.769231 | 0.384615 | 1.538462 | 13 |
| 28. | Manhattan SC | 7 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 24 | 1.714286 | 0.928571 | 2 | 14 |
| 29. | Tri-Cities Otters | 7 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 16 | 12 | 24 | 1.714286 | 0.857143 | 2 | 14 |
| 30. | St. Louis Scott Gallagher | 6 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 20 | 1.666667 | 0.333333 | 2 | 12 |
| 31. | Florida Elite SA | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 10 |
| 32. | Texas United | 6 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 19 | 1 | 21 | 1.5 | 0.071429 | 1.428571 | 14 |
| 33. | East Atlanta FC | 6 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 24 | -6 | 21 | 1.5 | -0.42857 | 1.285714 | 14 |
| 34. | FC Motown | 6 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 20 | 1.428571 | 0.214286 | 1.285714 | 14 |
| 35. | Asheville City SC | 6 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 20 | -4 | 20 | 1.428571 | -0.28571 | 1.142857 | 14 |
| 36. | AHFC Royals | 5 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 24 | 1 | 20 | 1.428571 | 0.071429 | 1.785714 | 14 |
| 37. | Colorado Rush | 4 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 10 |
| 38. | Little Rock Rangers | 6 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 1.357143 | 0 | 1.214286 | 14 |
| 39. | South Bend Lions | 5 | 5 | 4 | 27 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 1.357143 | 0.714286 | 1.928571 | 14 |
| 40. | New Jersey Copa FC | 5 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 18 | -3 | 18 | 1.285714 | -0.21429 | 1.071429 | 14 |
| 41. | Oakland County FC | 5 | 6 | 3 | 28 | 32 | -4 | 18 | 1.285714 | -0.28571 | 2 | 14 |
| 42. | Peachtree City MOBA | 5 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 25 | -3 | 17 | 1.214286 | -0.21429 | 1.571429 | 14 |
| 43. | Charlotte Eagles | 5 | 7 | 2 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 17 | 1.214286 | -0.28571 | 1.5 | 14 |
| 44. | FA Euro New York | 4 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 17 | 1.214286 | -0.14286 | 1.357143 | 14 |
| 45. | Houston FC | 5 | 8 | 1 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 16 | 1.142857 | -0.78571 | 1.142857 | 14 |
| 46. | Charlotte Independence 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 16 | 1.142857 | -0.14286 | 1.428571 | 14 |
| 47. | Ogden City SC | 3 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 23 | -5 | 11 | 1.1 | -0.5 | 1.8 | 10 |
| 48. | Philadelphia Lone Star FC | 5 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 28 | -6 | 15 | 1.071429 | -0.42857 | 1.571429 | 14 |
| 49. | Round Rock SC | 4 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 21 | -6 | 15 | 1.071429 | -0.42857 | 1.071429 | 14 |
| 50. | Reading United AC | 4 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 27 | -9 | 15 | 1.071429 | -0.64286 | 1.285714 | 14 |
| 51. | Black Rock FC | 4 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 28 | -10 | 15 | 1.071429 | -0.71429 | 1.285714 | 14 |
| 52. | Wake FC | 4 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 33 | -12 | 15 | 1.071429 | -0.85714 | 1.5 | 14 |
| 53. | Kaw Valley FC | 4 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 31 | -13 | 12 | 1 | -1.08333 | 1.5 | 12 |
| 54. | Dalton Red Wolves SC | 4 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 13 | 0.928571 | -0.71429 | 1 | 14 |
| 55. | Brazos Valley Cavalry F.C. | 3 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 27 | -5 | 13 | 0.928571 | -0.35714 | 1.571429 | 14 |
| 56. | Toledo Villa FC | 3 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 40 | -18 | 13 | 0.928571 | -1.28571 | 1.571429 | 14 |
| 57. | OVF Alliance | 3 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 26 | -10 | 11 | 0.916667 | -0.83333 | 1.333333 | 12 |
| 58. | Weston FC | 2 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 16 | -8 | 9 | 0.9 | -0.8 | 0.8 | 10 |
| 59. | FC Miami City | 2 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 23 | -7 | 8 | 0.8 | -0.7 | 1.6 | 10 |
| 60. | FC Florida U23 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 17 | -9 | 8 | 0.8 | -0.9 | 0.8 | 10 |
| 61. | Morris Elite SC | 3 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 28 | -20 | 11 | 0.785714 | -1.42857 | 0.571429 | 14 |
| 62. | Green Bay Voyageurs | 2 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 23 | -13 | 8 | 0.727273 | -1.18182 | 0.909091 | 11 |
| 63. | Southern Soccer Academy Kings | 3 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 22 | -9 | 10 | 0.714286 | -0.64286 | 0.928571 | 14 |
| 64. | Lehigh Valley United | 3 | 10 | 1 | 18 | 39 | -21 | 10 | 0.714286 | -1.5 | 1.285714 | 14 |
| 65. | North Carolina FC U23 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 38 | -23 | 10 | 0.714286 | -1.64286 | 1.071429 | 14 |
| 66. | Tobacco Road FC | 3 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 44 | -32 | 10 | 0.714286 | -2.28571 | 0.857143 | 14 |
| 67. | Virginia Beach United | 2 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 25 | -13 | 9 | 0.642857 | -0.92857 | 0.857143 | 14 |
| 68. | Real Central New Jersey | 2 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 31 | -21 | 9 | 0.642857 | -1.5 | 0.714286 | 14 |
| 69. | FC Malaga City | 1 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 24 | -17 | 8 | 0.571429 | -1.21429 | 0.5 | 14 |
| 70. | Fort Wayne FC | 1 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 32 | -18 | 8 | 0.571429 | -1.28571 | 1 | 14 |
| 71. | Lane United FC | 1 | 9 | 2 | 18 | 36 | -18 | 5 | 0.416667 | -1.5 | 1.5 | 12 |
| 72. | AC Connecticut | 1 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 35 | -22 | 5 | 0.357143 | -1.57143 | 0.928571 | 14 |
| 73. | Westchester Flames | 0 | 12 | 2 | 13 | 44 | -31 | 2 | 0.142857 | -2.21429 | 0.928571 | 14 |
| 74. | Dayton Dutch Lions | 0 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 50 | -36 | 1 | 0.071429 | -2.57143 | 1 | 14 |
| 75. | FC Wichita | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 30 | -25 | 0 | 0 | -2.27273 | 0.454545 | 11 |