The 2022 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) season has reached the Final Four. With the vast majority of the season completed, we can take a look at which teams will have the highest priority of qualifying for the 2022 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
How this list is made is determined by using the format outlined in the 2023 US Open Cup Open Division Handbook.
After years of either steady or increasing berth totals for teams between 2011 and 2018, the NPSL experienced its first decrease in tournament slots in 2019 going from 18 (22 after including last minute Play-in teams) to 14. This stayed steady for the 2020 tournament with 14 entrants before COVID-19 would cancel both the 2020 and 2021 tournaments. It then decreased again with only 10 entrants in the 2022 tournament. With expansion coming across the board from all professional leagues, it would seem likely that the number of berths for both NPSL and USL League Two could go down again or at best remain level. The final allocation will not be determined until the professional leagues have finalized their entrants in early January 2023.
NPSL’s CLASSIFICATION RULES
Heading into the 2023 US Open Cup, the NPSL has 92 teams that are eligible for the competition divided into four regions: South (30), East (29), Midwest (18), and West (15).
The first eight possible berths are awarded to teams that advanced deep into the 2022 NPSL playoffs. Slots one and two are reserved for the champion and runner-up, respectively. Slots three and four are given to the teams that reached the semifinals and teams five through eight are held by the remaining quarterfinalists. Teams finishing at the same round will be ordered by regular season points per game. The Top 8 teams are:
- FC Motown (national champion)
- Crossfire Redmond (national runner-up)
- Muskegon Risers (national semifinalist, 2.6 PPG)
- Tulsa Athletic (national semifinalist, 2.42 PPG)
- Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 (regional finalist, 2.83 PPG)
- El Farolito (regional finalist, 2.4 PPG)
- Appalachian FC (regional finalist, 2.1 PPG)
- Cleveland SC (regional finalist, 2.08 PPG)
After that, the next spots are purely given out on a regular season points per game basis to the next team in the next region that gets a spot. This is ordered by the the number of teams in each region. For the 2023 Open Cup, it would go South, East, Midwest, West, South, East, Midwest, West, and so forth until every spot has been filled. If a team declines the spot or is ineligible to take any spot, the next team in the region ranking gets the spot. What this means is if, for example, 11 NPSL teams qualify for the 2023 Open Cup, it will be guaranteed to be 3 teams each from the South, East, and Midwest regions, and 2 teams from the West region, even if it’s a team much further down a regional ranking compared to a team from another region.
It’s near certain that teams listed in the top eight are all but guaranteed a spot in the 108th edition of the US Open Cup. But if there’s more, there could be a third team from each region. More than 12 teams is unlikely given the number of Open Division slots overall.
With all that out of the way, here are the 2022 NPSL US Open Cup berth rankings. This year we will give the rankings for each region, with 1st place being the regional champion, and 2nd place being the region runner up. The teams are then ordered by PPG, with the tiebreakers being average goal difference and then average goals scored.
x- Regional Champion, y- Regional runner-up
EAST REGION
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pts/GP | GD/GP | GF/GP |
| 1 | x-FC Motown | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 13 | 19 | 23 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 3.2 |
| 2 | y-Appalachian FC | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| 3 | Hartford City FC | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 26 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 2.1 |
| 4 | Electric City Shock | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 10 | 19 | 23 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.9 |
| 5 | Alexandria Reds | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 2.2 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | West Chester United SC | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 21 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 2.6 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 21 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 2.2 |
| 8 | Northern Virginia United | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 |
| 9 | Virginia Beach City FC | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 19 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
| 10 | Valeo FC | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 18 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 1.9 |
| 11 | Georgia Revolution FC | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.6 |
| 12 | Jackson Lions FC | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 32 | 23 | 9 | 16 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 3.2 |
| 13 | North Alabama SC | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 15 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| 14 | Apotheos FC | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| 15 | FC Frederick | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 13 | 1.3 | 0 | 1.8 |
| 16 | Cedar Stars | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 18 | -6 | 11 | 1.1 | -0.6 | 1.2 |
| 17 | New York Shockers | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1.6 |
| 18 | Philadelphia Lone Star FC | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 29 | -6 | 10 | 1 | -0.6 | 2.3 |
| 19 | Torch FC | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 10 | 1 | -1 | 1.4 |
| 20 | Kingston Stockade FC | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 15 | -4 | 9 | 0.9 | -0.4 | 1.1 |
| 21 | FC Monmouth | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 8 | 0.8 | -0.9 | 1 |
| 22 | Atlantic City FC | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 24 | -13 | 8 | 0.8 | -1.3 | 1.1 |
| 23 | LSA Athletico Lanier | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 27 | -20 | 8 | 0.8 | -2 | 0.7 |
| 24 | Georgia Storm SA | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 25 | -11 | 7 | 0.7 | -1.1 | 1.4 |
| 25 | Pennsylvania Classics | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 7 | 0.7 | -1.2 | 1.5 |
| 26 | Grove Soccer United | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 20 | -15 | 6 | 0.6 | -1.5 | 0.5 |
| 27 | Hershey FC | 10 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 27 | -18 | 6 | 0.6 | -1.8 | 0.9 |
| 28 | First State FC | 10 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 25 | -9 | 5 | 0.5 | -0.9 | 1.6 |
| 29 | Syracuse FC | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 17 | -9 | 5 | 0.5 | -0.9 | 0.8 |
SOUTH REGION
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pts/GP | GD/GP | GF/GP |
| 1 | x-Tulsa Athletic | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 10 | 26 | 29 | 2.416667 | 2.166667 | 3 |
| 2 | y-Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 11 | 25 | 34 | 2.833333 | 2.083333 | 3 |
| 3 | Miami Beach Club de Futbol | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 8 | 17 | 24 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 2.5 |
| 4 | Laredo Heat SC | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 30 | 8 | 22 | 27 | 2.25 | 1.833333 | 2.5 |
| 5 | Southern States Soccer Club | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 14 | 21 | 27 | 2.25 | 1.75 | 2.916667 |
| 6 | OKC 1889 FC | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 26 | 2.166667 | 0.5 | 1.666667 |
| 7 | Miami United FC | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 10 | 16 | 21 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 2.6 |
| 8 | Central Florida Panthers SC | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| 9 | FC Brownsville | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 15 | 23 | 25 | 2.083333 | 1.916667 | 3.166667 |
| 10 | Corinthians FC of San Antonio | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 29 | 20 | 9 | 24 | 2 | 0.75 | 2.416667 |
| 11 | Irving FC | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 31 | 11 | 20 | 23 | 1.916667 | 1.666667 | 2.583333 |
| 12 | Denton Diablos FC | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 15 | 16 | 22 | 1.833333 | 1.333333 | 2.583333 |
| 13 | Lubbock Matadors SC | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 20 | 1.666667 | 0.833333 | 2.083333 |
| 14 | New Orleans Jesters | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 28 | 24 | 4 | 19 | 1.583333 | 0.333333 | 2.333333 |
| 15 | Pensacola FC | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 19 | 1.583333 | -0.16667 | 1.75 |
| 16 | Sunflower State FC | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 18 | 1.5 | -0.08333 | 1.583333 |
| 17 | Naples United FC | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.2 |
| 18 | Demize NPSL | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 20 | -2 | 16 | 1.333333 | -0.16667 | 1.5 |
| 19 | AFC Mobile | 12 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 13 | 1.083333 | -0.08333 | 1.583333 |
| 20 | Arkansas Wolves FC | 12 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 13 | 1.083333 | -0.25 | 1.5 |
| 21 | Club Atletico Saint Louis | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 29 | -11 | 12 | 1 | -0.91667 | 1.5 |
| 22 | CF10 Houston FC | 12 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 38 | -23 | 11 | 0.916667 | -1.91667 | 1.25 |
| 23 | Forth Worth Vaqueros FC | 12 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 25 | -8 | 10 | 0.833333 | -0.66667 | 1.416667 |
| 24 | Florida Roots | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 39 | -21 | 9 | 0.75 | -1.75 | 1.5 |
| 25 | Miami Dutch Lions FC | 10 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 23 | -15 | 5 | 0.5 | -1.5 | 0.8 |
| 26 | Reign FK | 12 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 27 | -15 | 5 | 0.416667 | -1.25 | 1 |
| 27 | Austin United FC | 12 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 44 | -28 | 4 | 0.333333 | -2.33333 | 1.333333 |
| 28 | Coyotes FC | 12 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 50 | -41 | 4 | 0.333333 | -3.41667 | 0.75 |
| 29 | Magia FC | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 49 | -42 | 3 | 0.3 | -4.2 | 0.7 |
| 30 | Tallahassee SC | 12 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 38 | -26 | 2 | 0.166667 | -2.16667 | 1 |
MIDWEST REGION
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pts/GP | GD/GP | GF/GP |
| 1 | x-Muskegon Risers | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 10 | 23 | 26 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 3.3 |
| 2 | y-Cleveland SC | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 14 | 19 | 25 | 2.083333 | 1.583333 | 2.75 |
| 3 | Med City FC | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 2.5 | 1.714286 | 2.5 |
| 4 | Duluth FC | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 43 | 12 | 31 | 34 | 2.428571 | 2.214286 | 3.071429 |
| 5 | FC Columbus | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 18 | 13 | 20 | 2 | 1.3 | 3.1 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Hotspurs | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 2 | 0.75 | 2 |
| 7 | Dakota Fusion FC | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 36 | 28 | 8 | 24 | 1.714286 | 0.571429 | 2.571429 |
| 8 | Minneapolis City SC | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 27 | 2 | 22 | 1.571429 | 0.142857 | 2.071429 |
| 9 | FC Buffalo | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 20 | -5 | 16 | 1.333333 | -0.41667 | 1.25 |
| 10 | Carpathia FC | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 20 | -5 | 12 | 1.2 | -0.5 | 1.5 |
| 11 | Sioux Falls Thunder FC | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 28 | -1 | 14 | 1 | -0.07143 | 1.928571 |
| 12 | Minnesota TwinStars FC | 14 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 22 | 42 | -20 | 13 | 0.928571 | -1.42857 | 1.571429 |
| 13 | Erie Commodores | 12 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 11 | 0.916667 | -0.83333 | 1.083333 |
| 14 | Akron City FC | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 23 | -13 | 10 | 0.833333 | -1.08333 | 0.833333 |
| 15 | FC Milwaukee Torrent | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 8 | 0.8 | -0.2 | 2 |
| 16 | Joy St. Louis Park | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 36 | -21 | 10 | 0.714286 | -1.5 | 1.071429 |
| 17 | LC Aris FC | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 21 | 44 | -23 | 9 | 0.642857 | -1.64286 | 1.5 |
| 18 | Panathinaikos Chicago | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 37 | -29 | 4 | 0.4 | -2.9 | 0.8 |
WEST REGION
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pts/GP | GD/GP | GF/GP |
| 1 | x-Crossfire Redmond | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| 2 | y-El Farolito FC | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 11 | 27 | 24 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.8 |
| 3 | Sacramento Gold FC | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 12 | 17 | 25 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 2.9 |
| 4 | Napa Valley 1839 FC | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 11 | 21 | 24 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 3.2 |
| 5 | International Portland Select FC | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 21 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| 6 | SC Brave Lions | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 21 | 2.1 | 1 | 2.4 |
| 7 | Contra Costa FC | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 28 | 25 | 3 | 13 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 2.8 |
| 8 | Academica SC | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 18 | 1 | 13 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 1.9 |
| 9 | FC Davis | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 13 | 1.3 | -1.1 | 1.6 |
| 10 | Oakland SC | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 11 | 1.1 | -0.9 | 1.9 |
| 11 | FC Arizona | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 21 | -8 | 10 | 1 | -0.8 | 1.3 |
| 12 | Las Vegas Legends FC | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 24 | -4 | 9 | 0.9 | -0.4 | 2 |
| 13 | Sonoma County Sol FC | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 37 | -23 | 6 | 0.6 | -2.3 | 1.4 |
| 14 | OSA Seattle FC | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 29 | -22 | 4 | 0.4 | -2.2 | 0.7 |
| 15 | Oakland Stompers | 10 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 36 | -26 | 2 | 0.2 | -2.6 | 1 |