A date with a Major League Soccer team was the prize for 16 lower division teams in the Second Round of the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
The Tuesday night schedule saw a pair of lower division teams pull off cupsets with the Charlotte Independence knocking off the Charleston Battery in extra time and Union Omaha edging Indy Eleven 2-1.
A 9-man One Knoxville team (USL League One) avoided a disaster with a penalty kick win over USL League Two side Asheville City SC. The remaining three games saw the favorites take care of business with shutout wins.
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The Richmond Kickers of USL League One were the lone cupset of the 10 games on Wednesday night. The 1995 US Open Cup champions scored a late goal to beat Loudoun United of the USL Championship 1-0.
Of the remaining nine games, six of them were shutout wins, and two of them went to penalty kicks. One of those shutout wins was a renewal of a Michigan rivalry with Detroit City FC edging the Flint City Bucks 1-0. Amateur side Vermont Green of USL League Two attracted another sell-out crowd but they would fall in a PK shootout to Westchester SC (USL League One).
Below you will find a brief summary of all of the Second Round games with links to the full match report as they become available.
TUESDAY, MARCH 31
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C)
2:0
Virginia Dream FC (UPSL)
Highmark Stadium – Pittsburgh, PA
By Colby Bangasser
Despite the first half ending 0-0, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC displayed their dominance against the visitors, Virginia Dream FC. By the end of the first 45 minutes, Pittsburgh maintained possession 65% of the time, and outshot Virginia 9-1 (20-3, overall). Goalkeeper Héctor Guerrero did his part for Virginia to keep it scoreless, recording 3 saves.
The Riverhounds came out in the second half on the front foot. Virginia’s backline had been strong in the first half, but it only took 6 minutes for Pittsburgh to break the deadlock. Robbie Mertz whipped in a cross from a free kick to find his captain, Danny Griffin, running at the back post. Griffin slotted it into the net for his 4th career Open Cup goal, tying the record for goals by a Hound in Open Cup history.
Eliot Goldthorp had been a handful for Virginia all night. His hard work was finally rewarded after winning a penalty and converting it in the 59th minute. Héctor Guerrero guessed the right way, but couldn’t get a hand to Goldthorp’s shot. Goldthorp nearly had himself a brace after his cross caught Guerrero off his line, but just hit the inside of the post.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Asheville City SC (USL-2)
1:1
One Knoxville SC (USL-1)
Greenwood Field (UNC Asheville) – Asheville, NC
One Knoxville advances 3-2 on penalty kicks
By Timothy Belin
One Knoxville SC had their goalkeeper to thank after surviving a two-man deficit to advance on penalties against Asheville City SC in North Carolina.
The Tennessee side traveled to Asheville City and looked fairly comfortable against the amateur side after taking the lead in the 33rd minute off a Braudilio Rodrigues goal. But the game turned on its head in the 50th minute. Asheville’s Ryan Holmes cleared the ball off the line to stave off the 2-0, and One Knox’s Stavros Zarokostas got sent off in the immediate aftermath after he shoved an Asheville substitute while looking to restart play quickly.
Asheville took the ascendency with the numerical advantage and eventually leveled things in the 66th when Simon Carlson wrong-footed Jonathan Burke from the spot. The hosts could not press the advantage further, however, even after One Knox’s Teddy Baker also received his marching orders for a second yellow-card offense in the 90th minute.
Despite playing 30 minutes of extra time with nine men, One Knox saw the game to penalties, notably thanks to 12 saves by Burke in goal. The shotstopper then proved the hero in the shootout, saving three of Asheville’s four attempts to send USL League One’s reigning champions through to Round 3.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
FC Naples (USL-1)
3:0
FC America CFL Spurs (UPSL)
Paradise Coast Sports Complex – Naples, FL
By Clement Williams
An early 1st minute penalty set the tone for USL League One’s FC Naples’ comfortable 3-0 win over FC America CFL Spurs.
At home, Naples always looked like the likely winner following their early spotkick, but were nevertheless met with a determined performance from their UPSL opponent. FC America’s difficult hill to climb was further exacerbated by a questionable straight red card to their #10 Pedro Espindola just before the stroke of halftime.
Ultimately, down to 10 men against a higher division opponent, FCA and their busy goalkeeper João Kastrup did themselves credit by only conceding two second half goals.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Indy Eleven (USL-C)
1:2
Union Omaha (USL-1)
Michael A. Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, IN
By Tim Abbott
With both teams showing possibilities but no edge, the game turned on a 58th minute red card for Indy keeper Reice Charles-Cook for sliding out and denying a goalscoring opportunity, bringing down an Omaha attacker. The visitors from Nebraska would then go ahead through Samuel Owusu with a bullet of a header from a Diego Gutierrez cross in the 75th minute.
Nine minutes later, Kempes Tekiela (Assisted by Adrian Billhardt) made it 2-0. That second goal would prove to be the game-winner because Indy’s Jack Blake would cut the lead in half with a goal in the third minute of stoppage time. With the win, it was Union Omaha’s sixth time eliminating a team from a higher division.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Charlotte Independence (USL-1)
3:2
Charleston Battery (USL-C)
Mecklenburg County Sportsplex – Matthews, NC
After Extra Time
By Michael Battista
After giving up a two goal lead in the second half, Charlotte Independence were still able to pull off a cupset victory over Charleston Battery, 3-2 in extra time. A goal in the depths of extra time by a ghost of Battery’s past pushed Charlotte to a date with a Major League Soccer team.
The home side was able to take a lead into halftime thanks to Souaibou Marou in the 37th minute. The forward was fed by midfielder Luis Álvarez, who sliced through the Charleston defense to find the former Cameroon national team player on the right side for the opener. In the 58th, Luis Álvarez netted himself a goal when an Enzo Martínez fast break set him up outside the box.
The visiting USL Championship side wasn’t ready to go down yet though. Nanan Houssou and Maalique Foster combined for goals in the 70th and 77th minutes to tie the game at 2-2. That score led until the end of regulation, but not before Battery’s Jeremy Kelly was shown a second yellow in stoppage time to bring his team down to 10 men.
After a quiet first half of extra time, penalty kicks looked imminent. However Viggo Ortiz, assisted by Javen Romero, answered in the 118th minute with a right footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. The game-winner coming from a player who spent the last two years between the Battery academy and the first team.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Valley 559 FC (UPSL)
0:4
Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C)
Clovis East High School – Clovis, CA
By Jake Sillick
It was a romp for the Sacramento Republic as they took an early lead and built upon that for a 4-0 win tonight in Clovis, Calif. The captain, Lee Desmond, started early for the visitors in the 11th minute with a header on a nice floating cross by Dominik Wanner. Wanner would then score from an unbelievable individual effort in the 36th minute, beating a couple defenders before finishing with his left foot.
Just two minutes later, the Republic were back on the attack and Brandon Cambridge would find Kyle Edwards for the third goal on all three shots in goal in the first half for Sacramento.
Valley 559 had their share of chances, even hitting one off the post in the first half, but they couldn’t convert any all night and Kyle Edwards would find his second goal of the night in the 64th minute. He would finish with two goals and an assist for the match, with Wanner scoring one and assisting on two others. Desmond also had to clear one off the line in the first half to keep the clean sheet for Sacramento.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1
Chattanooga FC (MLSNP)
1:0
Tennessee Tempo FC (UPSL)
Finley Stadium – Chattanooga, TN
By Michael Battista
The lone MLS NEXT Pro side left in the competition advanced to play a team from their parent league. Chattanooga FC beat amateurs and 2025 UPSL Spring champion Tennessee Tempo FC, 1-0, in front of just under 3,000 fans at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga FC.
Nathan Koehler scored his team’s only goal, his fourth since joining CFC last March. A corner kick in the 44th minute by Daniel Mangarov found the head of the Georgia native. Koehler redirected the ball past an out of position Tempo goalkeeper, François Djiba. The amateurs tried to push for an equalizer, with former MLS and Open Cup hero Kwadwo Poku starting in the midfield for Tempo, but a solid defensive performance saw the pro side through.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Richmond Kickers (USL-1)
1:0
Loudoun United FC (USL-C)
City Stadium – Richmond, VA
By Sam Brummitt
Loudoun United FC (USL-C) traveled down Interstate 95 to face off against the Richmond Kickers (USL-1) in a Second Round match at City Stadium in Richmond, VA. The last time these two teams faced each other in the Open Cup was in the Third Round of the tournament in April of 2024, when Loudoun advanced on penalties after a scoreless game. On Wednesday night, it was the Richmond Kickers that came out on top with a 1-0 win.
After a first half that only saw one shot on goal between the two teams, Loudoun United used several substitutions early in the second half to try to shake up their attack.
It seemed that neither side could create any good chances in open play and that the opening goal would come from a set piece. A long throw by Richmond in the 64th minute led to a shot by Mujeeb Murana that went just over the crossbar. Loudoun’s first shot on target came in the 92nd minute when a free kick from the top of Richmond’s box went into the wall and landed at the feet of Arquímides Ordóñez who kicked the ball towards the center of the goal. Richmond’s goalkeeper saw just enough of the ball to make a diving save. In the 95th minute, Richmond’s Sam Layton got his head on the ball in front of goal off of a corner kick but couldn’t direct it on target.
In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Richmond pushed the ball to Loudoun’s goal line and squared the ball to Lucca Dourado who scored with one touch on his right foot. Stoppage time extended for another six tense minutes before the final whistle blew and the Richmond players celebrated their upset of a USL Championship side with the home crowd.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Rhode Island FC (USL-C)
2:0
Hartford Athletic (USL-C)
Centreville Bank Stadium – Pawtucket, RI
by Connor Bunnell
In a rain-soaked clash between the USL Championship’s two New England sides, reigning Eastern Conference runners-up Rhode Island FC knocked out last year’s USL Cup kings Hartford Athletic with a 2-0 win to claim all-time El Clamico bragging rights.
The first half was all about setpieces, opportunities, and Rhode Island striker Jerome “J.J.” Williams. The first big breakthrough came in the 12th minute, when, in the scramble after an RIFC corner, Williams dished with his head to left back Aldair Sanchez, who scored off a left-footer to get the Anchormen on the board first. Eighteen minutes later, shortly after Hartford’s best chance to that point, another setpiece brought similar results, as Williams headed home his strike partner Agustín Rodriguez’s corner kick to double the score.
Despite the scoreline going into halftime, Hartford had actually enjoyed a slight edge in possession in the opening 45, and as Rhode Island turtled up to try and close it out on sheer defensive guile, the visitors got the chance to see a lot more of the ball in the second half. However, no matter what they did, Athletic just couldn’t crack RIFC open. La Liga alum Koke made two crucial saves, and substitute Logan Dorsey managed to block a shot right at the line while facing the wrong way. Thus, Rhode Island preserved its scoreline and will face an MLS side in the Round of 32 for the second consecutive year.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Vermont Green FC (USL-2)
0:0
Westchester SC (USL-1)
Westchester advances, 4-3 on penalty kicks
Virtue Field – Burlington, VT
By Michael Battista
The defending USL League Two champion and defending USL League One wooden spoon winner battled it out in front of a sold out Virtue Field in Burlington, Vermont. In the end, the home side’s missed chances caught up to them. Westchester SC advanced past Vermont Green FC 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout, after a scoreless draw and will now take on a Major League Soccer team for the first time in the next round.
It really was Vermont’s game to lose as the amateurs outshot Westchester 5-1 in the first half and 11-5 overall in regulation. The visitors only had one shot on target in the 90 minutes as well. The issues didn’t end for Westchester as head coach George Gjokaj was shown a straight red for abusive language in the 75th minute, though his team began to connect more passes and pushes as time went on.
After two scoreless extra time halves, both teams stepped up to the spot for penalty kicks. Westchester took the lead after round one when Vermont’s Andrew Millar had his chance saved by Westchester keeper Matías Molina. Though the home side rebounded, sinking three straight while Westchester went two for four on attempts. With a win on the line, Vermont’s Mitch Baker skied his attempt to force sudden death. Westchester’s Bryan Vásquez converted and Molina saved the next Green attempt to send Westchester into the next round.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Lexington Sporting Club (USL-C)
0:2
Louisville City FC (USL-C)
Lexington SC Stadium – Lexington, KY
By Craig Tower
On a beautiful night for soccer, Louisville City FC showed up in Lexington determined to move on in the Open Cup and showed their intent through scrappy goals on both sides of halftime.
The significant investment of Tower Sports Group in Lexington SC – including over $80 million for the soccer-specific stadium and investments in players such as Aaron Molloy and Arturo Ordoñez – has left the team still wondering what it must be like to grasp the Commonwealth Cup, the rivalry cup disputed between the two teams.
After 20 minutes of back-and-forth action, Louisville’s Jansen Wilson whipped a free kick near the left corner to the back post in the 24th minute. Babacar Niang towered over the defender on the post and pinged his header off the underside of the crossbar, then after it bounced further wide of the goal, Tola Showunmi drove the ball off the post. The ball pinged back through the defender’s feet before it found Niang again. Niang more than atoned for his initial miss by driving home the rebound to put Louisville in the driver’s seat.
After the half, Louisville continued to work and found gold again in the 54th minute from open play when Wilson drove down the left wing and launched a peppery effort from the edge of the box that was blocked by Lexington keeper Oliver Semmle. The deflection fell kindly to Mukwelle Akale at the right side of the goal, and he dragged the ball back before firing a shot that was deflected by Showunmi past the flailing Semmle.
Lexington showed no more motivation to score after the second goal by Louisville, and without controversy, injury, or conflict to add much time, the referee ended the game after 3 minutes of injury time.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Flint City Bucks (USL-2)
0:1
Detroit City FC (USL-C)
Don Batchelor Stadium – Grand Blanc, MI
By Josh Hakala
A lot has changed since Detroit City FC and the Flint City Bucks last met in the US Open Cup. In 2018, the Bucks were known as Michigan Bucks and represented Metro Detroit (Pontiac, Mich.) and were one of the best amateur clubs in the country and the US Open Cup’s most accomplished giant killer (a record 11 pro team upsets). That year, Detroit City FC was only a few years old and had already developed a rabid following as an amateur team in the NPSL.
Fast forward to 2026 and Detroit City FC’s fanbase remains one of the strongest in the country, but is now a pro team in the USL Championship. The Bucks are still one of the best amateur teams, but have moved about an hour north to the city of Flint, Mich.
All three of the previous meetings between the clubs were when they were both amateur teams. But on Wednesday night, in the fourth meeting, DCFC earned their first regulation win over the Bucks in Open Cup play. A blunt showing by both teams saw the game’s only goal scored on a bobbling blast by Detroit City’s Alex Dalou at the top of the penalty area after a mazy dribble in from the left wing in the 40th minute.
The Bucks won the first meeting at home in 2015 3-0, and Detroit City won penalty kick shootouts in 2016 and 2018. With Wednesday’s win, Detroit advances to play an MLS team for the fifth year in a row in the Round of 32.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (USL-C)
1:1
Spokane Velocity FC (USL-1)
Colorado Springs advances, 4-2 on penalty kicks
Weidner Field – Colorado Springs, CO
By Jim Coppock
The Colorado Springs Switchbacks hosted League One side, Spokane Velocity, on a damp and chilly night. Both sides were looking for a shot at the Third Round. Spokane came in lacking much of their firepower. Most prominently, Luis Gil and Shavon John-Brown, who were injured and on international duty, respectively. Colorado Springs outshot Spokane all evening. The final tally was 29-3; 11 of those coming in extra time. It was a very physical game with 40 total fouls – Spokane with 21 of them.
Colorado Springs would open the scoring first on the cusp of halftime through Talen Maples, who left-footed an Adrien Perez free kick to the back post. Colorado Springs had all of the shots in the first half of the game. Spokane’s first shot (and shot on goal) did not happen until the clock struck 60 minutes gone. It was on Spokane’s third shot that they were able to level the score. Andrew Booth, who was signed to the team just six hours before kickoff, headed home a free kick from Joe Gallardo in the 87th minute to force the extra 30 minutes.
Extra time was controlled by the Switchbacks. Despite outshooting Spokane 11-0, they were unable to find a second goal.
The penalty shootout also belonged to the Switchbacks. Christian Herrera saved the first two penalties he faced. Talen Maples had the chance to potentially end it after three rounds, but his attempt hit the foot of the post and bounced away. Spokane converted their next two, making the tally 3-2, but Sadam Masereka converted his fifth round chance for the 4-2 shootout win.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
San Antonio FC (USL-C)
0:1
FC Tulsa (USL-C)
After Extra Time
Toyota Field – San Antonio, TX
By Jordan Beech
All it takes is one moment of magic, and that’s all there was as Remi Cabral took advantage of an errant back pass to send FC Tulsa into the Round of 32, 1-0, over San Antonio FC.
San Antonio was playing down a man after Akeem Ward received a second yellow card for a hard foul in the first extra time period. It was a rough outing that saw 59 fouls called and 14 cards handed out, San Antonio and Tulsa tied for the second-most fouls in a single Open Cup match in the Modern Era (1995-present). The Western Mass Pioneers and Danbury United also had 59 fouls in a First Round match in 2007.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
New Mexico United (USL-C)
0:4
El Paso Locomotive (USL-C)
UNM Soccer Stadium – Albuquerque, NM
By Ashle Lynn Paige
New Mexico United and El Paso Locomotive, the Derby Del Camino Real and a battle for a spot in the Open Cup Third Round. It was the first meeting between the clubs who’ve had opposite starts to 2026. Coming into the match El Paso had won three of four on the season while New Mexico had lost two of four. The Locos dominated their rivals to the north almost from the word go, ending in a 4-0 victory over United.
The first half was a relatively even affair until Álvaro Quezada late first half goal that saw him slip in a shot from the six following a cheeky through ball sent in. But everything changed in the second half following Ousman Jabang’s second yellow and sending off in the 59th minute. From there El Paso took the train into overdrive mode, smashing New Mexico as often and hard as possible.
Just minutes after the sending off Alex Méndez sent an absolute screamer of a free kick directly into goal from well over thirty yards out. Rubio Rubin scored six minutes after, hammering the nail in the coffin with 20 minutes left. Eric Calvillo added a fourth tally with just minutes to play on a beautiful shot off the volley to really slam home El Paso’s first regulation win in New Mexico since 2023.
[+] FULL MATCH REPORT (with video highlights)
Orange County SC (USL-C)
1:2
Phoenix Rising FC (USL-C)
After Extra Time
Championship Soccer Stadium – Irvine, CA
By Ashle Lynn Paige
Three goals, 43 fouls, and 15 yellow cards was the story of the match although it could have been very different if not for an awful first half mistake from Orange County. It ended up being another extremely chippy match that took extra time to decide, with Phoenix ultimately coming out the victors.
Phoenix Rising’s first goal was explicitly the result of a terrible mistake from Orange County goalkeeper Alexander Rando. Rando attempted to clear the ball and whiffed on the attempt, sending it back and to the side leaving a loose ball and wide open goal. Gunnar Studenhofft made a dash to the ball, snagged it, and then walked it into the unprotected goal to give Rising a late first half lead.
From there the clash ended up in a stalemate becoming more and more aggressive as the clock ticked closer to 90 minutes. With four minutes and stoppage time remaining in regulation Ourmane Sylla slipped a low roller of a shot into the goal to keep Orange County alive. Unfortunately for OCSC the draw did not last very long once extra time started. Six minutes into the extra session Aleksander Vukovic popped in a header from a set piece on what ended up being the match winner.