Yesterday, US Soccer announced the pairings and hosting scenarios for the Second Round of the 2023 US Open Cup. In this round, 24 Division II teams from the USL Championship as well as 22 Division III pro teams from the three different leagues will enter the tournament. They will be joined by the 14 winners from the First Round to make 60 teams playing across 30 matches.
The 46 professional teams joining includes a new debutant from USL Championship in Loudoun United FC. They were recently sold by D.C. United to other local ownership, which makes them independent of the MLS team and eligible for the US Open Cup. However, D.C. United still retains a minority ownership of Loudoun United. That relationship will prevent the two clubs from facing each other unless both make the Final. Twenty-three other USL Championship teams will also make their return.
From the Division III leagues, there are 12 USL League One teams including debutants Lexington Sporting Club and One Knox SC. NISA will have 9 clubs, including debutants Club de Lyon, Gold Star FC Detroit, and Savannah Clovers FC.
It’s important to remember that Club de Lyon’s Open Division team, which competes in NISA Nation, is also competing in the tournament. The team that earned its spot through local qualifying is a separate entity from the professional Division III side. The two teams will not play each other unless both make the final. There are two other similar situations in the tournament as well. Project 51O of USL League Two is owned by Oakland Roots of USL Championship. Park City Red Wolves SC of USL League Two is owned by Chattanooga Red Wolves SC of USL League One. That makes a total of 4 pairs of teams that will be separated.
Finally, there is one MLS NEXT Pro club that is joining the competition, Rochester NY FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos. However, the club has no head coach as of this article’s publication, and very few players on staff, with more leaving every day due to the uncertain nature of the club. The MLS Next Pro season is likely to begin in late March.
The club also hasn’t made a social media post since January 4, which in most situations means a cutting of funds in some way. RNYFC’s website indicates Laura Alexandria Marketing are the social media team.
There has never been forfeit by a professional team in the modern era of the US Open Cup (since 1995). Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC would be the beneficiary if it was to happen. The two teams are scheduled to play April 4-6.
The pairings for this round were made with geography in mind, with random selection deciding matchups where there were 3 or more teams in a geographical area, or if a logical geographic fit did not exist.
However, there is one rule that is prioritized for this and all rounds of the competition over geography. Teams from the same qualifying pool cannot meet in their first Open Cup game of the tournament. Each pro division is considered a unique qualifying pool, regardless of the number of leagues in the division. For this round, the Division II teams in the USL Championship could not face each other. The three Division III leagues could also not face each other. This is only for this round, these matchups are fine in any subsequent round. Winners from the First Round must also be matched up with either a Division II or Division III team.
New this year is an additional rule for the first and second rounds only. If random selection decides a matchup in the competition, it will be done in a way to prevent any rematches from the previous year’s tournament. The logic can be flipped as well, meaning if there is a rematch from the previous year’s US Open Cup, then it must not have been decided by random selection, but a logical geographical pairing was made.
Home teams were then decided by random selection among teams that applied to host. Clubs whose venue meets minimum tournament standards are given priority.
Unlike in recent years, teams competing in the first two rounds will now have to pay a fixed hosting fee to the USSF. This means that every team, regardless of round, will be paying an additional cost. The costs have also been increased in every subsequent round from last year.
This is largely in part due to the new policy that all referee costs (match pay and travel costs) for the tournament proper are paid by US Soccer instead of the host team. The travel reimbursement limit for each match has also increased from $13,000 a match to $15,000 a match. The travel reimbursement limit for the final also increased to $30,000 from around $25,000. In past tournament budgets, travel reimbursements and hosting fees were roughly equal.
The new fixed hosting fees are as follows:
- $750 for the First Round (14 matches)
- $2,500 for the Second Round (30 matches)
- $5,000 for the Third Round for matches not involving a MLS team (6 matches)
- $12,000 for the Third Round matches involving a MLS team (18 matches)
- $18,000 for the Round of 32 matches (16 matches)
- $25,000 for the Round of 16 matches (8 matches)
- $50,000 for the Quarterfinal matches (4 matches)
- $100,000 for the Semifinal matches (2 matches)
- $325,000 for the US Open Cup Final
The total fixed hosting fees for 2023 is $1,544,500. This is a 74% increase from the 2022 tournament which had $888,000 in fixed hosting fees.
In addition, a percentage of ticket revenue (less sales tax and local taxes) above a certain threshold is paid as a hosting fee. For 2023, this is 15% of all ticket revenue above $100,000. At the Semifinal round it is 50% of all ticket revenue above $150,000. For the Final it is 50% of all ticket revenue above $375,000
Eighteen lower-seeded MLS teams will join the 30 winners of this round in the Third Round, which will be played on April 25-26. The remaining eight higher-seeded MLS teams will enter in the Fourth Round (Round of 32)
Dates and times will be set at a later date by US Soccer in conjunction with the teams. The second round will be played April 4-6, 2023.
2023 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP – SECOND ROUND
DIVISION II VS. DIVISION III (16 GAMES)
|
Date |
Game (home team listed first) |
Time |
Venue |
|
TBD |
Union Omaha (USLL1) vs. El Paso Locomotive FC (USLC) |
TBD |
Michael G. Morrison, S.J., Stadium; Omaha, Neb. |
|
TBD |
Central Valley Fuego FC (USLL1) vs. Monterey Bay F.C. (USLC) |
TBD |
Fresno State University Soccer Stadium; Fresno, Calif. |
|
TBD |
Detroit City FC (USLC) vs. Gold Star Detroit (NISA) |
TBD |
Keyworth Stadium; Hamtramck, Mich. |
|
TBD |
Indy Eleven (USLC) vs. Michigan Stars FC (NISA) |
TBD |
Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium; Indianapolis, Ind. |
|
TBD |
Louisville City FC (USLC) vs. Lexington Sporting Club (USLL1) |
TBD |
Lynn Family Stadium; Louisville, Ky. |
|
TBD |
Loudoun United (USLC) vs. North Carolina FC (USLL1) |
TBD |
Segra Field; Leesburg, Va. |
|
TBD |
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USLC) vs. Rochester New York FC (MLSNP) |
TBD |
Highmark Stadium; Pittsburgh, Pa. |
|
TBD |
Charleston Battery (USLC) vs. Savannah Clovers FC (NISA) |
TBD |
Patriots Point Soccer Stadium; Mount Pleasant, S.C. |
|
TBD |
Club de Lyon (NISA) vs. San Antonio FC (USLC) |
TBD |
Austin-Tindall Complex; Kissimmee, Fla. |
|
TBD |
One Knoxville SC (USLL1) vs. Memphis 901 FC (USLC) |
TBD |
Regal Soccer Stadium; Knoxville, Tenn. |
|
TBD |
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USLL1) vs. Birmingham Legion FC (USLC) |
TBD |
CHI Memorial Stadium; East Ridge, Tenn. |
|
TBD |
South Georgia Tormenta FC (USLL1) vs. Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (USLC) |
TBD |
Tormenta Stadium; Statesboro, Ga. |
|
TBD |
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (USLC) vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (USLL1) |
TBD |
Weidner Field; Colorado Springs, Colo. |
|
TBD |
Las Vegas Lights FC (USLC) vs. Los Angeles Force (NISA) |
TBD |
TBA |
|
TBD |
San Diego Loyal SC (USLC) vs. ALBION San Diego (NISA) |
TBD |
SDSU Sports Deck; San Diego, Calif. |
|
TBD |
Phoenix Rising FC (USLC) vs. Greenville Triumph SC (USLL1) |
TBD |
Phoenix Rising Stadium; Phoenix, Ariz. |
DIVISION II VS. OPEN DIVISION FIRST ROUND WINNERS (8 GAMES)
|
Date |
Game (home team listed first) |
Time |
Venue |
|
TBD |
Tulsa Athletic (NPSL) vs. FC Tulsa (USLC) -or- FC Tulsa (USLC) vs. Brazos Valley Cavalry FC (USLL2) |
TBD |
Hicks Park; Tulsa, Okla. Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium (Univ. of Tulsa); Tulsa, Okla. |
|
TBD |
Hartford Athletic (USLC) vs. Hartford City FC (NPSL) / Lansdowne Yonkers FC (N.Y.) |
TBD |
Trinity Health Stadium; Hartford, Conn. |
|
TBD |
Miami FC (USLC) vs. Jacksonville Armada FC (NPSL) / Miami United FC (Fla.) |
TBD |
FIU Soccer Stadium; Miami, Fla. |
|
TBD |
Tampa Bay Rowdies (USLC) vs. Club de Lyon (Fla.) / Nona FC (USLL2) |
TBD |
Al Lang Stadium; St. Petersburg, Fla. |
|
TBD |
New Mexico United (USLC) vs. Park City Red Wolves (USLL2) / UDA Soccer (N.M.) |
TBD |
The Univ. of New Mexico Soccer Complex; Albuquerque, N.M. |
|
TBD |
Orange County SC (USLC) vs. Ventura County Fusion (USLL2) / Capo FC (Calif.) |
TBD |
Championship Soccer Stadium; Irvine, Calif. |
|
TBD |
Sacramento Republic FC (USLC) vs. Crossfire Premier (NPSL) / Project 51O (USLL2) |
TBD |
Heart Health Park; Sacramento, Calif. |
|
TBD |
Oakland Roots (USLC) vs. El Farolito (NPSL) / International San Francisco (Calif.) |
TBD |
CSUEB Pioneer Stadium; Hayward, Calif. |
DIVISION III VS. OPEN DIVISION FIRST ROUND WINNERS (6 GAMES)
|
Date |
Game (home team listed first) |
Time |
Venue |
|
TBD |
Forward Madison FC (USLL1) vs. Bavarian United (Wis.) / Chicago House AC (Ill.) |
TBD |
Breese Stevens Field; Madison, Wis. |
|
TBD |
Des Moines Menace (USLL2) vs. Chattanooga FC (NISA) – or – Beaman United FC (Tenn.) vs. Chattanooga FC (NISA) |
TBD |
Valley Stadium; West Des Moines, Iowa Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium (MTSU); Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
|
TBD |
Richmond Kickers (USLL1) vs. Cleveland SC (NPSL) / Lionsbridge FC (USLL2) |
TBD |
City Stadium; Richmond, Va. |
|
TBD |
Maryland Bobcats FC (NISA) vs. Ocean City Nor’easters (USLL2) / West Chester United SC (Pa.) |
TBD |
Maryland Soccerplex (Maureen Hendrix Field); Boyds, Md. |
|
TBD |
Flower City Union (NISA) vs. FC Motown (NPSL) / Manhattan SC (USLL2) |
TBD |
Rochester Community Sports Complex; Rochester, N.Y. |
|
TBD |
Charlotte Independence (USLL1) vs. Appalachian FC (NPSL) / NC Fusion U23 (USLL2) |
TBD |
American Legion Memorial Stadium; Charlotte, N.C. |