Jake Sillick

2024 US Open Cup Handbook: Hosting fees based on match revenue, more travel money, “ringer” rules

March 13, 2024 by Jake Sillick

New Mexico United fans. File photo by New Mexico United

After many months of negotiations, the US Soccer “Board Open Cup Subcommittee” has come to an agreement with the professional leagues, mostly Major League Soccer, on the format for the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

As reported by many other media outlets, these changes also included increased travel reimbursements for visiting teams and a new structure for tournament hosting fees. TheCup.us has recently gotten a copy of the 2024 US Open Cup Tournament Proper Handbook which outlines both of these items in detail, along with many more organizational and operational items that have been changed from 2023.

Hosting Fees

For a majority of the US Open Cup’s Modern Era (1995 to present), teams paid a fee for hosting a match to the Open Cup operation budget. This covered the tournament prize money, referee payments, and the travel reimbursements. Typically, this was a set amount of money based on the round of the competition and then a percentage of net event revenue above a certain threshold.

This process has been greatly simplified going forward, with the first three rounds only having a set fixed fee, and then rounds afterwards based on all Event Net Revenue. See the table below for changes. Event Net Revenue is defined as Gross Ticket Revenue less State & Local Taxes. Gross Ticket Revenue is all money paid for admission, including but not limited to standard tickets, premium/suite/hospitality tickets or a pro-rated portion of a season ticket package or membership.

Round	2023 Fees	2024 Fees
First Round	$750 + 15% of Event Net Revenue above $100,000	$1,000
Second Round	$2,500 + 15% of Event Net Revenue above $100,000	$1,000
Third Round	$5,000 if match did not involve a MLS team, $12,000 if it did + 15% of Event Net Revenue above $100,000	$5,000
Round of 32	$18,000 + 15% of Event Net Revenue above $100,000	30% of all Event Net Revenue
Round of 16	$25,000 + 15% of Event Net Revenue above $100,000	40% of all Event Net Revenue
Quarterfinals	$50,000 + 15% of Event Net Revenue above $100,000	40% of all Event Net Revenue
Semifinals	$100,000 + 50% of Event Net Revenue above $150,000	40% of all Event Net Revenue
Final	$325,000 + 50% of Event Net Revenue above $375,000	40% of all Event Net Revenue

Travel Reimbursements

Going forward, the changes from the hosting fees (shown above) will allow for larger travel reimbursements for visiting teams, with larger limits set deeper into the tournament (See the table below for full changes). Also, keep in mind the traveling party for 2024 is 28 individuals, up one from 27 individuals in previous years (more about that below)

Round	2023 Reimbursement Limit	2024 Reimbursement Limit
First Round	$15,000	$20,000*
Second Round	$15,000	$20,000*
Third Round	$15,000	$25,000*
Round of 32	$15,000	$45,000*
Round of 16	$15,000	$45,000*
Quarterfinals	$15,000	$60,000*
Semifinals	$15,000	$60,000*
Final	$30,000	$90,000*

In addition, if any traveling club hits their cap for a match, additional reimbursement may be issued if the tournament total Gross Ticket Revenue is above $6.75 million dollars. 30% of all money above that amount may be given out until teams are whole or no more money is left.

Example: If tournament Gross Ticket Revenue is $7.75 million, then $300,000 (30% of $1,000,000) is added to the reimbursement pool. Teams that hit the cap for the round will be given extra reimbursement on a pro-rated basis if they were not made whole.

Additional changes include: Allowing for charter flights to be reimbursed, which are still subject to the maximum limit per team per round, and an increase in meal per diem maximum from $75 per person to $100 per person (still a max of 2 days / 6 meals)

Flights will only be reimbursed if the distance of the flight itself from origin to destination is more than 250 miles one way. This is an increase from 200 miles in 2023.

Hotels and meals will only be reimbursed if the trip is at least 150 miles one way. This is an increase from 120 miles in 2023. Ground transportation is covered regardless.

Teams may also apply for a hardship waiver to have more than the maximum limit covered if the rates for hotels and flights are “excessive due to market conditions”.

Increase in bench staff

The number of team staff members allowed on field on the team’s bench has been increased from nine (9) persons to 10. Each team will be allowed to select not more than seven (7) staff members, two (2) certified athletic trainers and one (1) team physician on the bench for a total of 10 individuals. Previously, there was no specification on the types of staff members on the bench, as in all nine staff members could be coaches.

Roster Rules

Two major roster rules have been changed for 2024, one for the Open Division teams from Local Qualifying, and one for the MLS NEXT Pro reserve teams.

Teams that entered via the Open Division Qualifying Rounds (fall qualifying) have had rosters expanded from 25 to 30 players.

For MLS NEXT Pro teams which are owned by or roster materially managed by a higher division MLS team, there have been special rules added for loans from the first team to the reserve team.

Normally, short term loans from other U.S. clubs (defined as less than 90 days) are not allowed in the Open Cup except when the loan comes from a foreign club, or comes from a reserve pro team up to the first team.

With reserve teams now back in the tournament, but no corresponding first team that is also playing, US Soccer set some additional rules for loans that come from the first team down to the MLS NEXT Pro team playing in the Open Cup. These are important because while the loan still has to be at least 90 days, there is no provision against recalling and ending that loan early at any point.

In addition to the eligibility rules noted above, players on contracts with MLS first teams may play for their club’s MLS NEXT Pro team only in the following circumstances:
- The loan (of at least 90 days) must be confirmed to U.S. Open Cup staff and announced by the team and/or league no later than 2 p.m. CT the day prior to the match.
- Player must not make a salary above the MLS first-team league maximum salary budget charge (unadjusted for allocation money, designated player status or any other roster mechanism).
- Player must not be averaging more than 15.0 minutes per game in MLS first-team league matches up though the Match Day immediately preceding an Open Cup match.
- No more than seven (7) players on loan from an MLS First Team to an MLS NEXT Pro team can be included in an 18-player game-day roster for an MLS NEXT Pro team. In the event of hardship, MLS NEXT Pro teams may apply to the Commissioner to include more than seven (7) players.

Procedure of Draws

With the new format, the draw procedure for each round has been adjusted.

First Round: Teams were paired geographically with the restriction that teams from the same Division (Division III) cannot be paired to play each other. Instances where a logical geographic fit doesn’t exist will be resolved by random selection. If three or more teams are from the same proximity, pairings for these teams will be made by random selection.

Second Round: The 32 teams advancing from the First Round will be paired geographically, with no restrictions. Instances where a logical geographic fit doesn’t exist will be resolved by random selection. If three or more teams/pairings are from the same proximity, pairings for these teams will be made by random selection.

A note for the first two rounds: In a random selection scenario, the random selection will be completed so that teams that faced each other in the previous edition of the competition avoid being paired in back-to-back editions.

Starting in the third round is when the draw groups come into play.

Third Round: There will be geographic groups of 4 to 6 teams, with exactly 50% of each group being USL-C teams entering in the Third Round. All USL-C teams will be drawn to face a Second Round winner and not another USL-C team. Any teams who are precluded from playing each other until the Final will not be placed in a group where they could be paired. Instances where a logical geographic fit doesn’t exist in determining the groups will be resolved by random selection.

Round of 32 and Round of 16: This is where the 4 team “mini brackets” come into play. There will be 8 mini brackets of 4 teams, and each bracket will have exactly 1 MLS team, 1 SEEDED USL-C team that enters in the Round of 32, and 2 winners from the Third Round. Groupings from the Third Round will have no bearing on this draw. The brackets will be as geographic as possible. Within the brackets, there are no restrictions on matchups. The Round of 16 match-up will be the winners of the two games within the bracket. Instances where a logical geographic fit doesn’t exist in determining the bracket groups will be resolved by random selection. Any teams who are precluded from playing each other until the Final will be placed in different bracket groups. In the event not all teams apply to host in the Round of 16, bracket groups will be constructed and teams will be drawn in the Round of 32 so that there is a viable host for the Round of 16. If viable brackets are not possible, the Round of 16 draw will be held separately after the Round of 16.

Quarterfinals to the Final: There will be NEW, made from scratch, four team mini brackets made at the Quarterfinals, with no restrictions besides geography (East and West). Quarterfinal and Semifinal matchups will be within those brackets, with the winners from the East bracket and the West bracket facing off in the Final. Any teams who are precluded from playing each other until the Final will be placed in different brackets.

Finally, the hosting determination for ALL matches in the tournament remains unchanged from past years. If both teams apply to host and meet venue requirements, which are also materially unchanged from previous years, then the selection is random, either by coin flip, or the draw itself (H1 vs. A1, H2 vs. A2 in the four-team mini brackets, with H1 vs. A1 winner hosting the next round in the mini bracket)

The Final will have a separate draw to determine hosting, following the same process as previous years where the four semifinal teams are drawn to determine hosting priority for the Final.

Governance Changes

As reported by other media outlets and now confirmed in this handbook, the Board of Directors at US Soccer appointed a “Board Open Cup Subcommittee” to negotiate these 2024 Open Cup changes with the pro leagues, mostly MLS. The governance of the Open Cup is outlined in the “National Championship Policy” of US Soccer’s policy documents, Policy 102(4)-1.

For the 2024 competition only, the Subcommittee has fully replaced the normal Open Cup committee and all duties they have, including temporarily changing this Policy for just this year. The US Soccer website has now removed the page for the Open Cup Committee, seemingly confirming this.

One of the sections of Policy 102(4)-1 accounts for emergencies.

Section 107. Matters not provided for and emergencies
The Committee may determine any matters not provided for in this policy. The Committee may also act to change matters included within this policy when emergency circumstances require and report the changes to the National Board of Directors of the Federation. An action of the Committee under this section is final.

The Committee is now the Board Open Cup Subcommittee and this section above could, according to one source, possibly explain why the Subcommittee can make these temporary changes without full approval of the board.

The full temporary changes made by the Board Open Cup Subcommittee are listed below.

Team Eligibility (Section 201)
For the 2024 U.S. Open Cup, the professional league members with teams registered in a Division I, Division II and Division III league may determine which teams from their league which qualified by sporting merit for the 2024 tournament proper with an allowance for teams competing in Concacaf Champions Cup in 2024 to opt out of the tournament, and were approved by the Subcommittee.

Team Eligibility (Section 202 (e) )
A team owned by a higher-level Outdoor Professional League Team may participate in the competition, provided that the higher-level team failed to qualify for the 2024 tournament proper or are competing in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Role of the Committee (various)
The Board Subcommittee will fill all roles of the Open Cup Committee provided for by U.S. Soccer Policy regarding the 2024 U.S. Open Cup.
• Section 103: Provide direction to the Commissioner.
• Section 104 / Section 306: Appoint the Adjudication and Disciplinary Panel, and serving as the appeals body for Adjudication & Discipline Panel. The Commissioner will lead Adjudication and Disciplinary Panel meetings, but will not have a vote.
• Section 107: The Board Subcommittee will address matters not provided for and emergencies. regarding emergencies/matters not provided.

Things that have not changed

Despite all of these changes, many things remain unchanged from previous tournaments.

Prize Money is unchanged from 2023: $300,000 to the champion, $100,000 to the runner-up, and then $25,000 to each furthest advancing lower division team by division (Division II, Division III, Open Division)
Venue requirements remain unchanged materially, with some minor changes made for an additional team bench spot, and a provision for having enough restroom facilities at a venue.
VAR is still in place for the Semifinals and Final, with the possibility of expansion into the Quarterfinals. Our sources tell us that VAR can be implemented at (almost) any venue, and is not tied to any venue requirement. This includes lower division stadiums that normally don’t have VAR for their league matches.
As mentioned above, there isn’t any changes to how hosting is determined for any match of the tournament.
Matches will still have up to 7 allowed substitutes on a bench, for a maximum of 18 players on a match day roster. Substitution rules also remain unchanged, with 5 allowed in regular time and an additional substitution in extra time. The concussion sub trial is still in place as well.
Entry fees and Performance Bond amounts remain unchanged
- All teams: $1,500.00 for a performance bond, returned within 60 days of a team’s elimination AND after they have met all financial and administrative responsibilities.
- Entry Fees: $200 for Open Division, $400 for Division III, $600 for Division II, and $700 for Division I
Cooling Breaks and Ramadan Fast Breaks are still in place for this year.
The champion will still receive a spot in the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup, with the runner-up qualifying if the champion qualifies in a different way (Leagues Cup, MLS Supporters Shield, MLS Cup, etc). If both finalists qualify from other ways, it will default to the next best team in the MLS Supporters Shield standings.
- However, one caveat is that CONCACAF has final say over the entries to its tournament, (see the CCC regulations) and may designate the MLS first team to qualify in place of the MLS NEXT Pro team if they were to win. Nothing official has been stated to this effect, but multiple sources have confirmed this with us.

2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Results

March 3, 2024 by Jake Sillick

2022 US Open Cup Final trophy — Photo: Mathieu Starke

Click on the scores below for match reports
All Times Eastern / All future dates subject to change

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League Abbreviation Key
Colorado Premier League (CPL)	Liga Deportiva Morazan (LDM)	Major League Soccer (MLS)	Maryland Super Soccer League (MSSL)	Midwest Premier League (MWPL)
MLS NEXT Pro (MLSNP)	National Independent Soccer Association (NISA)	National Premier Soccer League (NPSL)	United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)	United Soccer League of Pennsylvania (USLPA)
United States Soccer League (USSL)	USL Championship (USL-C)	USL League One (USL-1)	USL League Two (USL-2)

ROUND 1	AWAY TEAM	SCORE	HOME TEAM	VENUE
March 19	Miami United FC (USSL)	1:0	Chattanooga FC (MLSNP)	Finley Stadium – Chattanooga, TN
March 19	Savannah Clovers FC (NISA)	2:0	Brave SC (USL-2)	H.G. Morse Stadium – Middleton, FL
March 19	Duluth FC (NPSL)	0:2	Forward Madison FC (USL-1)	Breese Stevens Field – Madison, WI
March 19	Lexington Sporting Club (USL-1)	3:4	Vermont Green FC (USL-2)	Virtue Field – Burlington, VT
March 19	Maryland Bobcats FC (NISA)	2:0	West Chester United SC (NPSL)	YSC Sports – Wayne, PA
March 19	FC America CFL Spurs (USSL)	0:1	South Georgia Tormenta FC (USL-1)	Tormenta Stadium – Statesboro, GA
March 19	Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (USL-1)	4:1	Tulsa Athletic (NPSL)	Athletic Field at Hicks Park – Tulsa, OK
March 19	FORO SC (UPSL)	2:2 (4:3 PK)	Austin FC II (MLSNP)	Parmer Field – Austin, TX
March 19	El Farolito (NPSL)	2:1	Timbers2 (MLSNP)	Providence Park – Portland, OR
March 20	Christos FC (MSSL)	0:1	Richmond Kickers (USL-1)	City Stadium – Richmond, VA
March 20	Club de Lyon FC (NISA)	3:2	AS Frenzi (UPSL)	Daytona State College Soccer Stadium – Daytona Beach, FL
March 20	Greenville Triumph SC (USL-1)	1:0	South Carolina United FC (USL-2)	SCUFC Southeastern Freight Lines Soccer Complex – Columbia, SC
March 20	One Knoxville SC (USL-1)	2:0	Asheville City SC (USL-2)	Greenwood Field (UNC Asheville) – Asheville, NC
March 20	Georgia Lions SC (NISA)	L:W (Forfeit)	Apotheos FC (NPSL)	Silverbacks Park Stadium – Atlanta, GA
March 20	Hudson Valley Hammers (USL-2)	">1:5	New York Red Bulls II (MLSNP)	Pittser Field (Montclair State Univ.) – Montclair, NJ
March 20	Chicago City SC (USL-2)	0:6	Chicago Fire FC II (MLSNP)	SeatGeek Stadium – Bridgeview, IL
March 20	MNUFC2 (MLSNP)	3:0	Chicago House AC (Midwest PL)	Langhorst Field (Elmhurst Univ.) – Elmhurst, IL
March 20	Central Valley Fuego FC (USL-1)	2:1	FC Folsom (UPSL)	Folsom Lake College – Folsom, CA
March 20	MesoAmerica FC (LD Morazan)	0:1	Irvine Zeta FC (NISA)	Championship Soccer Stadium – Irvine, CA
March 20	Redlands FC (USL-2)	1:2	LA Force (NISA)	Long Beach Community College – Long Beach, CA
March 20	Spokane Velocity FC (USL-1)	1:0	Ballard FC (USL-2)	Memorial Stadium – Seattle, WA
March 20	Des Moines Menace (USL-2)	2:2 (5:4 PK)	Capo FC (NISA)	Jserra Catholic High School – San Juan Capistrano, CA
March 21	Michigan Stars FC (NISA)	1:0	Steel City FC (NPSL)	Ambrose Urbanic Field – Pittsburgh, PA
March 21	NYCFC II (MLSNP)	3:0	FC Motown (NPSL)	Pittser Field (Montclair State Univ.) – Montclair, NJ
March 21	Brockton FC United (UPSL)	2:4 (AET)	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USL-1)	CHI Memorial Stadium - East Ridge, TN
March 21	South Carolina United Heat (UPSL)	1:0	Crown Legacy FC (MLSNP)	Mecklenburg County Sportsplex – Matthews, NC
March 21	Union Omaha (USL-1)	4:0	Western Mass Pioneers (USL-2)	Lusitano Stadium – Ludlow, MA
March 21	Charlotte Independence (USL-1)	2:0	Vereinigung Erzgebirge (USLPA)	Cairn University – Langhorne, PA
March 21	NoVa FC (USL-2)	2:3	Carolina Core FC (MLSNP)	UNCG Soccer Complex – Greensboro, NC
March 21	Arizona Monsoon FC (NISA)	1:2 (AET)	Lubbock Matadors (NPSL)	LCU Soccer Field – Lubbock, TX
March 21	Azteca FC (Colo PL)	0:3	Colorado Rapids 2 (MLSNP)	Dick's Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City, CO
March 21	Irvine Zeta FC II (UPSL)	1:2	Ventura County FC (MLSNP)	Dignity Health Sports Park Track & Field Stadium – Carson, CA

ROUND 2	AWAY TEAM	SCORE	HOME TEAM	VENUE
April 2	Maryland Bobcats (NISA)	2:5	Richmond Kickers (USL-1)	City Stadium – Richmond, VA
April 2	South Carolina United Heat (UPSL)	0:0 (3:4 PK)	Charlotte Independence (USL-1)	American Legion Memorial Stadium – Charlotte, NC
April 2	New York Red Bulls II (MLSNP)	2:4	NYCFC II (MLSNP)	Belson Stadium – Queens, NY
April 2	FORO SC (UPSL)	0:2	Lubbock Matadors (NPSL)	LCU Soccer Field – Lubbock, TX
April 2	Michigan Stars FC (NISA)	2:0 (AET)	MNUFC2 (MLSNP)	Allianz Field – St. Paul, MN
April 2	El Farolito (NPSL)	2:1	Central Valley Fuego FC (USL-1)	University of California Merced - Bobcat Field – Merced, CA
April 3	Club de Lyon FC (NISA)	0:2	Miami United FC (USSL)	UPSL Stadium – Pembroke Pines, FL
April 3	Savannah Clovers FC (NISA)	0:4	South Georgia Tormenta FC (USL-1)	Tormenta Stadium - Statesboro, GA
April 3	Greenville Triumph SC (USL-1)	3:2 (AET)	One Knoxville SC (USL-1)	Regal Stadium – Knoxville, TN
April 3	Carolina Core FC (MLSNP)	2:1	Vermont Green FC (USL-2)	Virtue Field – Burlington, VT
April 3	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USL-1)	1:0	Apotheos FC (NPSL)	Silverbacks Park Stadium – Atlanta, GA
April 3	Forward Madison FC (USL-1)	0:2	Chicago Fire II (MLSNP)	SeatGeek Stadium – Bridgeview IL
April 3	Des Moines Menace (USL-2)	1:3	Union Omaha (USL-1)	AL F. Caniglia Field – Omaha, NE
April 3	Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (USL-1)	3:2 (AET)	Colorado Rapids 2 (MLSNP)	Dick's Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City, CO
April 3	Irvine Zeta FC (NISA)	3:0	Ventura County FC (MLSNP)	Dignity Health Sports Park Track & Field Stadium – Carson, CA
April 3	LA Force (NISA)	0:1	Spokane Velocity FC (USL-1)	ONE Spokane Stadium – Spokane, WA

ROUND 3	AWAY TEAM	SCORE	HOME TEAM	VENUE
April 16	Rhode Island FC (USL-C)	4:4 (4:5 PK	Charlotte Independence (USL-1)	American Legion Memorial Stadium – Charlotte, NC
April 16	Greenville Triumph SC (USL-1)	1:3	Louisville City FC (USL-C)	Lynn Family Stadium – Louisville, KY
April 16	Michigan Stars FC (NISA)	0:1	Detroit City FC (USL-C)	Keyworth Stadium – Hamtramck, MI
April 16	Lubbock Matadors (NPSL)	1:3	New Mexico United (USL-C)	Rio Rancho High School – Rio Rancho, NM
April 16	El Farolito (NPSL)	1:2 (AET)	Oakland Roots SC (USL-C)	CSUEB Pioneer Stadium – Hayward, CA
April 17	Loudoun United FC (USL-C)	0:0 (5:4 PK)	Richmond Kickers (USL-1)	City Stadium – Richmond, VA
April 17	NYCFC II (MLSNP)	3:2 (AET)	Hartford Athletic (USL-C)	Trinity Health Stadium – Hartford, CT
April 17	Carolina Core FC (MLSNP)	0:1	North Carolina FC (USL-C)	WakeMed Soccer Park – Cary, NC
April 17	Miami United FC (USSL)	0:2	Memphis 901 FC (USL-C)	AutoZone Park – Memphis, TN
April 17	South Georgia Tormenta FC (USL-1)	4:2	Miami FC (USL-C)	FIU Soccer Stadium – Miami, FL
April 17	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USL-1)	2:4 (AET)	Birmingham Legion FC (USL-C)	Varsity Soccer Field (Univ. of Montevallo) – Montevallo, AL
April 17	El Paso Locomotive FC (USL-C)	0:0 (3:5 PK)	Union Omaha (USL-1)	Werner Park – Papillion, NE
April 17	Indy Eleven (USL-C)	1:0	Chicago Fire FC II (MLSNP)	SeatGeek Stadium – Bridgeview, IL
April 17	Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (USL-1)	1:2	FC Tulsa (USL-C)	University of Tulsa Soccer and Track Stadium – Tulsa, OK
April 17	Irvine Zeta FC (NISA)	1:2	Monterey Bay F.C. (USL-C)	Cardinale Stadium – Seaside, CA
April 17	Spokane Velocity FC (USL-1)	1:2 (AET)	Las Vegas Lights FC (USL-C)	Cashman Field – Las Vegas, NV

ROUND OF 32	AWAY TEAM	SCORE	HOME TEAM	VENUE
May 7	FC Tulsa (USL-C)	1:0	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C)	Highmark Stadium – Pittsburgh, PA
May 7	Charlotte Independence (USL-1)	0:3	Atlanta United FC (MLS)	Fifth Third Bank Stadium – Kennesaw, GA
May 7	Detroit City FC (USL-C)	3:3 (10:9 PK)	Houston Dynamo FC (MLS)	Shell Energy Stadium – Houston, TX
May 7	Memphis 901 FC (USL-C)	0:1	FC Dallas (MLS)	Toyota Stadium – Frisco, TX
May 7	Oakland Roots SC (USL-C)	0:1	San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)	PayPal Park – San Jose, CA
May 7	Loudoun United FC (USL-C)	2:1	Orange County SC (USL-C)	Championship Soccer Stadium – Irvine, CA
May 7	Monterey Bay F.C. (USL-C)	0:2	Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C)	Heart Health Park – Sacramento, CA
May 8	South Georgia Tormenta FC (USL-1)	2:3 (AET)	Charleston Battery (USL-C)	Patriots Point Soccer Stadium – Mount Pleasant, SC
May 8	San Antonio FC (USL-C)	0:2	Indy Eleven (USL-C)	The Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl – Indianapolis, IN
May 8	Phoenix Rising FC (USL-C)	2:1 (AET)	North Carolina FC (USL-C)	WakeMed Soccer Park – Cary, NC
May 8	Birmingham Legion FC (USL-C)	4:6 (AET)	Tampa Bay Rowdies (USL-C)	Al Lang Stadium – St. Petersburg, FL
May 8	Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (USL-C)	0:1	NYCFC II (MLSNP)	Belson Stadium – Queens, NY
May 8	Sporting Kansas City (MLS)	2:1 (AET)	Union Omaha (USL-1)	Al F. Caniglia Field – Omaha, NE
May 8	Real Salt Lake (MLS)	2:4	New Mexico United (USL-C)	Isotopes Park – Albuquerque, NM
May 8	Los Angeles FC (MLS)	3:1	Las Vegas Lights FC (USL-C)	Cashman Field – Las Vegas, NV
May 8	Louisville City FC (USL-C)	2:2 (4:5 PK)	Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)	Starfire Sports Complex – Tukwila, WA

ROUND OF 16	AWAY TEAM	SCORE	HOME TEAM	VENUE
May 21	Atlanta United FC (MLS)	0:0 (5:4 PK)	Charleston Battery (USL-C)	Patriot's Point Soccer Stadium – Mount Pleasant, SC
May 21	New Mexico United (USL-C)	3:0	NYCFC II (MLSNP)	Belson Stadium – Queens, NY
May 21	FC Tulsa (USL-C)	0:4	Sporting KC (MLS)	Children's Mercy Park – Kansas City, KS
May 21	San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)	3:4 (AET)	Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C)	Heart Health Park – Sacramento, CA
May 21	Loudoun United FC (USL-C)	0:3	Los Angeles FC (MLS)	BMO Stadium – Los Angeles, CA
May 22	Detroit City FC (USL-C)	0:3	Indy Eleven (USL-C)	Michael A. Carroll Stadium (IUPUI) – Indianapolis, IN
May 22	FC Dallas (MLS)	2:1	Tampa Bay Rowdies (USL-C)	Al Lang Stadium – St. Petersburg, FL
May 22	Phoenix Rising FC (USL-C)	1:2	Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)	Starfire Sports Complex – Tukwila, WA

QUARTERFINALS	AWAY TEAM	TIME	HOME TEAM	VENUE
July 9	Indy Eleven (USL-C)	2:1	Atlanta United FC (MLS)	Fifth Third Bank Stadium – Kennesaw, GA
July 9	Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)	2:1	Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C)	Heart Health Park – Sacramento, CA
July 10	FC Dallas (MLS)	1:2 (AET)	Sporting KC (MLS)	Children's Mercy Park – Kansas City, KS
July 10	New Mexico United (USL-C)	1:3	Los Angeles FC (MLS)	BMO Stadium – Los Angeles, CA

SEMIFINALS	AWAY TEAM	TIME	HOME TEAM	VENUE
Aug. 27	Indy Eleven (USL-C)	0:2	Sporting KC (MLS)	Children's Mercy Park – Kansas City, KS
Aug. 28	Los Angeles FC (MLS)	1:0	Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)	Starfire Sports Complex – Tukwila, WA

FINAL	AWAY TEAM	TIME	HOME TEAM	VENUE TBD
Sept. 25	Sporting KC (MLS)	1:3 (AET)	Los Angeles FC (MLS)	BMO Stadium – Los Angeles, CA

Commentary: US Soccer denies MLS’ attempt to ruin Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

January 2, 2024 by Jake Sillick

After a Major League Soccer Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 13, the league announced on Friday evening, December 15, that they were “planning” to be represented by their MLS NEXT Pro teams in the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. MLS stated that they would then reevaluate their participation for future years at a later date.

Five days after MLS announced their decision, U.S. Soccer stated “after thoughtful consideration,” that MLS’ request for a waiver to use MLS NEXT Pro teams would be denied. This decision came at the “recommendation of U.S. Soccer staff and adopted by the Pro League Task Force.”

Both organizations have stated they will continue to work together to enhance and improve the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Needless to say, this news came as a shock to the staff at TheCup.us, a media outlet that has been covering the US Open Cup extensively for the last 20 years. Most would argue that removing MLS teams from the competition would have done significant damage to the Open Cup, which is open to all professional and amateur teams under the US Soccer umbrella. The tournament, which has been the United States’ only true national championship since it was launched in 1913, would have denied all lower division professional and amateur teams from competing on the field with the country’s top division. Imagine if Premier League teams like Arsenal or Liverpool pulled out of the FA Cup.

Aside from those MLS fans not being able to see their team compete, it would also deny lower division clubs the opportunity to face off against MLS teams. This format is unique in American sports. What would an event whose primary draw is the David vs. Goliath matchup be without Goliath?

On top of that, taking away the teams that draw the most fans and replacing them with reserve teams that rarely draw more than a couple thousand fans per game, at most, would have been a blow to the tournament’s bottom line and the relevance of the tournament. (MLS NEXT Pro does not publish attendance figures)

Since MLS first entered the tournament in 1996, it has been no secret that there are teams in the league that value the US Open Cup more than others. There are teams, who would likely not compete in the tournament. However, this tournament has always featured starting XI lineups as teams get through playing lower division teams and into the latter stages of the tournament. Teams are not playing a mostly reserve based roster from even the Quarterfinals.

The number of starting XI players playing for a MLS team vs. a USL team is no different than a Manchester United or Chelsea playing against a team from EFL Championship or League One. This happens worldwide and it’s done because managers feel that they can risk a less-than-top starting XI and still win the match, which would result in a reward of getting those same starting players a needed break.

This risk and reward equation is done consistently across all countries and their cup competitions on a yearly basis. It can result in upsets (or “cupsets”) which create great storylines, of course, but are devastating for the fans of the MLS team that is upset. When MLS managers get this equation wrong, they are accused of not taking the cup seriously, when it’s just a misjudgment of their team’s depth and/or a USL team’s quality. That is not the same thing and it’s unfair to call any team that doesn’t play a less than starting XI lineup against a USL team as not taking the cup seriously. The way to eliminate being upset for an MLS team is to have quality beyond the starting XI in a roster, not by demanding a starting XI against “inferior” competition. Playing in multiple competitions simultaneously is a part of this sport and teams manage it worldwide.

The Timeline of Events

Based on our sources within US Soccer, MLS and the federation began discussions in August of 2023 on how to improve the US Open Cup in a way that would make both organizations satisfied. While no details of these discussions have been made public, it’s clear now that MLS first team’s participation was part of the discussion points.

Within a month or two of that, longtime Open Cup committee member and MLS Executive VP Todd Durbin resigned from the committee. That departure left the committee without MLS representation, something that remains as of the publication of this article. The Open Cup committee generally implements the US Open Cup policy as approved by the US Soccer Board of Directors and then ratified by the general membership body (called the National Council). They also direct US Soccer staff on how to operate the tournament. This includes deciding what dates the tournament is played on and lots of other particulars of the tournament. (Here is an archive of the same page linked above from June 2023 with Todd Durbin listed)

UPDATE: US Soccer has confirmed to us that Todd Durbin was replaced by recently hired MLS EVP of Sporting Product & Competition Nelson Rodriguez and confirmed at the September board meeting, the website just hadn’t been updated yet.

At the end of the qualifying rounds for the 2024 US Open Cup just prior to Thanksgiving, US Soccer also announced the schedule for the 2024 tournament proper. This remained largely unchanged in terms of the number of rounds and the dates of the competition.

2024 LAMAR HUNT US OPEN CUP SCHEDULE
First Round: Tuesday, March 19 – Thursday, March 21
Second Round: Tuesday, April 2 – Wednesday, April 3
Third Round: Tuesday, April 16 – Wednesday, April 17
Round of 32: Tuesday, May 7 – Wednesday, May 8
Round of 16: Tuesday, May 21 – Wednesday, May 22
Quarterfinal: Tuesday, July 9 – Wednesday, July 10
Semifinal: Tuesday, Aug. 27 – Wednesday, Aug. 28
Final: Wednesday, Sept. 25

Based on US Open Cup policy, the deadline for entering next year’s Open Cup for professional teams is at the end of each calendar year (Dec. 31) although our sources indicate that US Soccer was pushing the pro leagues to have their paperwork in sooner so the tournament staff could begin scheduling and conducting draws for the competition at least two months prior to its start in March 2024. The deadline for all teams to get their paperwork in for the 2023 US Open Cup was on Dec. 20, 2022.

Reasons for MLS to make this decision

Fixture congestion

MLS has routinely stated that there is too much fixture congestion on the schedule. The US Open Cup takes up 6 potential scheduling windows during the season.

However, since the US Open Cup is a single elimination tournament, MLS regularly schedules makeup dates on US Open Cup dates as teams are eliminated and those midweeks become available.

With 26 MLS teams in the tournament, by the Round of 16 a minimum of 10 will be eliminated, and only playing 1-2 US Open Cup games. This does not include any upsets. By the Quarterfinals, 18 teams will be guaranteed to be eliminated, playing only 2-3 US Open Cup matches.

Contrast that with the Leagues Cup where the entire league is scheduled at least two matches, with many essentially guaranteed at least a third game. The Leagues Cup also completely breaks the MLS schedule for the tournament, while US Open Cup is interspersed into the season, finishing before the MLS Cup playoffs begin.

MLS would also prefer to not schedule matches during major international tournaments in the summer. Each MLS team is scheduled for 5-6 matches during the 2024 Copa America played in the United States.

Getting time for younger players in meaningful matches

MLS’ goal of having a pipeline from academy to their first team includes getting meaningful minutes against similar competition in US Open Cup matches for their reserves and academy players. MLS feels that the US Open Cup is too restrictive in that regard and they would rather just enter their MLS NEXT Pro teams directly.

However, the US Open Cup policy and handbook contradict this notion.

These roster rules have been in place since 2017, and have only gone through one minor revision in the pandemic. In January 2021, the US Open Cup policy was amended and removed a provision limiting the number of international players on any gameday 18-man lineup (starters and substitutes combined) to a maximum of five. The removal of this rule thereby defaulted any international player rules to the rules of the professional league the team belonged to.

If there are any restrictions to roster sizes or loans or international players beyond these listed above, they are done only at the league level and are either decided by MLS themselves or through collective bargaining with the MLS Players Association.

In fact, MLS teams have already regularly used MLSNP players, with an extreme case that happened in the 2023 Round of 32 on May 10. Los Angles FC traveled to Monterey Bay FC (USL Championship) and in that game, 10 of the 11 starters in that game were players loaned from LAFC 2 of MLS NEXT Pro.

Money

Sources at MLS state that they are unhappy with the general economics of the tournament, namely three things: the prize money given out for the competition, the take of the hosting fees that come into US Soccer to support this, and the amount of the travel reimbursement given out to the visiting teams.

Prize Money

Prize money for the US Open Cup winner and runner-up are roughly equivalent to the prize money given out to the MLS Cup winners and runner-up. Both champions receive $300,000, the US Open Cup runner-up receives $100,000 and the MLS Cup runner-up receives $150,000.

Beyond the finalists though, the prize money differs a lot more, as MLS Cup playoffs awards a total of $1.1 million dollars while the US Open Cup only has a total of $475,000. Of that US Open Cup total prize pool, $75,000 is prize money specifically reserved for non-MLS teams.

It would be great to see the prize money increase overall for this tournament, but to believe that the prize money for the US Open Cup is somehow that much more paltry compared to the other major domestic cup competition in this country is just not based in the facts, and certainly not at the very top for the finalists. To say that the prize money is the reason “teams don’t take it seriously” is ridiculous on its face, because why should MLS teams take MLS Cup seriously by that argument?

Hosting Fees

US Soccer takes a flat hosting fee from every match of the tournament, ranging from $750 for a first round match to $325,000 for the Final. On top of that, US Soccer takes a percentage of event net revenue (event gross revenue minus sales tax) after an amount is met, similar to a standard deductible on your income taxes. This ranges from 15% of all sales above $100,000 for matches from the start to the Quarterfinals, 50% of all sales above $150,000 for the Semifinals, and 50% of all sales above $375,000 for the Final.

US Soccer has for many years treated semifinals and finals as similar as possible to a US Men’s National Team or US Women’s National Team game, where the entire operation is theirs, from the on-field MC, to the PA announcer, to the TV crews, to the advertising and scoreboard operations. For those games, the home team provides what they normally would for a national team game, such as security and other stadium staff.

This would be similar to a NCAA Tournament game held on a school’s field or court, where it is a “neutral” game that just happens to be hosted by one school.

Beyond those three final games of the tournament, very few other matches meet the standard deductible of $100,000 in ticket sales, meaning US Soccer mostly only takes the flat hosting fee the rest of the tournament. Even sold out matches early in the tournament do not meet this threshold. The exact amounts per game are not disclosed, however, nor is the entire total amount taken in each season. Only the total revenue and expenses for the Open Cup in a given Fiscal Year is released by US Soccer in their audited financial statements (see below)

In addition, referee pay is no longer the responsibility of the home team as of the 2023 US Open Cup and their pay is instead baked into the hosting fee. The referees are then paid directly by US Soccer. Referee pay for US Open Cup games is collectively bargained between PRO (the referee assignment organization owned jointly by US Soccer, the Canadian Soccer Association, and MLS) and the referee union, PSRA.

Travel Reimbursements

All teams that travel in the tournament proper of US Open Cup receive a travel stipend from US Soccer with a maximum limit of $15,000 per match, doubling to $30,000 for the Final. This stipend can be used for flights, ground transportation, hotels, and meals on a per diem basis. Teams must show all receipts from traveling to receive this money. From talking with team officials, this amount of money is generally sufficient if only ground coach transportation is required to travel for a match. Once flights are required, this amount stops being enough to cover everything.

This travel stipend is a major reason for the regionalization of matchups and draws for the tournament, as any travel overruns above the stipend are the responsibility of the team, and also if a match is hyper local, such as two teams from the same city, US Soccer will not have to provide the maximum amount of the stipend.

The Overall US Open Cup Budget

Fiscal Year	Revenues	Expenses	Profit
4/1/2021-3/31/2022	$26,700	$168,720	-$142,020
4/1/2020-3/31/2021	$645,223	$25,602	$619,621
4/1/2019-3/31/2020	$1,496,683	$1,489,753	$6,930
4/1/2018-3/31/2019	$1,075,674	$1,192,013	-$116,339
4/1/2017-3/31/2018	$1,501,411	$1,138,863	$362,548
4/1/2016-3/31/2017	$999,962	$922,519	$77,443
4/1/2015-3/31/2016	$1,327,523	$1,072,601	$254,922
4/1/2014-3/31/2015	$1,080,298	$1,002,711	$77,587
4/1/2013-3/31/2014	$1,193,912	$959,038	$234,874
4/1/2012-3/31/2013	$1,120,596	$593,886	$526,710
4/1/2011-3/31/2012	$629,978	$377,678	$252,300
4/1/2010-3/31/2011	$442,772	$371,151	$71,621
4/1/2009-3/31/2010	$404,705	$429,963	-$25,258
4/1/2008-3/31/2009	$351,981	$423,748	-$71,767
4/1/2007-3/31/2008	$300,252	$408,892	-$108,640
4/1/2006-3/31/2007	$236,402	$439,801	-$203,399
4/1/2005-3/31/2006	$188,004	$402,911	-$214,907
4/1/2004-3/31/2005	$182,202	$414,143	-$231,941
Total	$13,204,278	$11,833,993	$1,370,285

To break this all down even further, listed above are the actual Revenue and Expenses for the Open Cup as reported in the federation’s yearly audited statements. Such revenues and expenses that would be a part of this would include:

Revenues:

Hosting fees
Entry fees
Forfeited performance bonds
Fines

Expenses:

Prize money
Travel stipends
Tournament operating costs
Referee pay (new, and not shown in this table, yet)

This does not include any revenue from sold marketing rights for the tournament, including any TV deals. That is a separate line item on US Soccer’s statements.

Prior to 2023 for the last 20 years, US Soccer sold all commercial rights to Soccer United Marketing (abbreviated SUM, a marketing company wholly owned by Major League Soccer) and this includes the US Open Cup. Since the Open Cup is mixed into the national team’s TV money, it is hard to quantify how much money the US Open Cup brought in, even from the 2019-2022 deal with ESPN+ that was specifically sold by SUM. If MLS has had an issue with how much money the Open Cup has brought in, their own marketing company could have used the 20 years they had the tournament as their client to bring it to better heights.

On the whole, it makes no sense for US Soccer coming from MLS that they want to decrease the revenues on this budget (hosting fees) while also increasing expenditures (travel reimbursements) for a tournament that runs on a mostly balanced budget for the operations of the tournament. US Soccer is under no obligation to run this tournament at a major loss. If MLS doesn’t want US Soccer taking in so much in hosting fees, a grand way to do to that is to not host the games in the first place. Nobody is making them host. Yet, they continue to do so, for obvious reasons, as hosting is a big advantage to winning vs. the lower divisions. If they have an issue with how much US Soccer takes for semifinals and finals, then US Soccer is also free to go back to neutral site finals, which would result in likely just a lump sum payment for the facility use, similar to a US National Team game, and all the ticket proceeds go US Soccer.

One more note regarding the financial aspect of the US Open Cup: The federation’s ability to increase the prize money and to improve travel reimbursements is centered around its ability to market the tournament, and therefore attract sponsors. More specifically a much talked about title sponsor. If US Soccer wants to make the tournament more financially lucrative for the teams involved, they need to attract sponsors. However, MLS’ attempt to remove their teams from the competition would appear to be counterproductive because MLS teams (which have the largest fan bases and are the Goliath in the “David vs. Goliath” matchups, which are the main draw of the competition) exiting the Open Cup would severely handicap the federation’s ability to sell the tournament to potential sponsors.

Reasons US Soccer have to deny this waiver

Professional League Standards

US Soccer Professional League Standards is the document used to govern the sanctioning of all professional soccer in this country. FIFA grants US Soccer exclusive authority over the professional and amateur game in the United States, although Congress only grants that authority specifically over the amateur game and selecting national teams per the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act as written in 1978 and modified in 1998.

While that authority over the professional game is being challenged in court by NASL in an antitrust lawsuit, US Soccer still maintains that control as of now and does so in part through this document. The PLS document is authored and modified by the Professional League Standards Task Force, which is then sent to the professional leagues for review and feedback before being submitted for approval by the Board of Directors at US Soccer.

The most recent revision of this document was ratified by the board March 17, 2023 and can be found here. As stated in the first section for Division I Men’s Outdoor Soccer, of which MLS is the only league sanctioned as such, all teams are required to participate in US Soccer and CONCACAF competitions for which they are eligible for.

US Open Cup team eligibility rules

US Soccer also requires the same thing of Division III leagues as well, of which MLS NEXT Pro is one of three leagues sanctioned at this level. However, Open Cup policy specifically makes any professional team who is owned by a higher division professional team ineligible. As the rule currently is, the teams that fall under this rule are the 25 MLS NEXT Pro teams that are owned by MLS teams. The remaining two teams, Chattanooga FC and Carolina Core FC, are independently owned and are still eligible for the U.S. Open Cup. D.C. United is the only United States based MLS team without a MLS NEXT Pro team, so if this plan would have been approved, D.C. United would have not had any representation in the tournament at all.

This rule was enacted before the 2016 U.S. Open Cup as the second, lower division teams owned by MLS was growing from 5 to 9 in USL Championship (named USL Pro at the time).

The Open Cup committee has a policy that two teams with either an affiliation or shared ownership in the competition must be separated at all times in the competition, until it is impossible to separate them in the Final. This is easily accomplished with a few of these pairs of teams in the competition, but would become increasingly difficult as the number of pairs increase, while still maintaining regionalization of the pairings and limiting travel costs.

In fact, a different restriction is the reason the Second Round of the 2022 and 2023 US Open Cup has had a cross country match each time. The early rounds of the tournament are supposed to be as local as possible, but the additional restriction implemented by the committee is that teams from the same entry pool may not face each other immediately in the round that they enter the tournament. Because of this, Division II teams could not face Division II teams and Division III teams could not face Division III teams in the Second Round of those two tournaments. Because of the lack of enough Division III teams in the Western US and the lack of enough Division II teams in the southeastern United States, the leftover Division II teams in the west and the leftover Division III team in the Southeast would face off.

There were five matches where the two teams were 1000 miles or more apart in the Second Round. This included a 2200 mile road trip between Oakland Roots of USL Championship traveling to Greenville Triumph of USL League One. These matches were ONLY the result of the restriction placed by the committee that prevented teams from the same division level from facing off in the Second Round.

It can be shown, therefore, that travel lengths and costs go up as more restrictions are placed on who can face off in the U.S. Open Cup in a given round.

To compensate for these teams for being ineligible, the following year in 2017 the rule was added to allow unlimited loans from ineligible teams to their parent organization. This enabled these players to be cup tied to the main MLS team and not the reserve team.

As far as we can tell, no major soccer playing country currently allows reserve teams in their cups. Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands all used to and have famous stories about those second teams, but they have since been restricted from playing in the Copa del Rey, DFB Pokal, and KNVB Cup, respectively. The largest European country we can find that still allows them is Poland in the Polish Cup.

Commercial value

Name of the competition

The US Open Cup policy used to state that the “competition shall be known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup”, but was recently changed during the pandemic by the Board of Directors of US Soccer to state “The competition name shall be determined by the Federation’s Board of Directors and has been known since 1999 as the “Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup”. This may seem like a subtle wording change, but it opens up the avenue for the U.S. Open Cup to have a title sponsor of the competition (similar to the The FA Cup being titled as the Emirates FA Cup). While we cannot say how close the federation is to obtaining a title sponsor, but TheCup.us has confirmed that this is something that US Soccer has been working on since this change was made during the pandemic.

As mentioned earlier, US Soccer may feel that the commercial value of the title sponsor would be negatively impacted without MLS’ first teams in the tournament.

TV value

Prior to 2019, the U.S. Open Cup had no TV contract except for the Final, which bounced around from Fox Soccer Channel and its properties, to ESPN and its properties, to even Gol TV. Starting in 2019, the entire competition was played on ESPN+ from the First Round to the Final. US Soccer would partner with, and pay a production company, VISTA Worldlink to produce all of the games in 2019. However, our sources confirmed that all production costs for that year were paid by US Soccer through their own budget, and not by ESPN. The deal was initially for four years, but the pandemic canceled two of those years. In 2022, not all matches were shown on ESPN+ in the first round, but US Soccer covered the remaining matches on their YouTube channel at their cost.

After the federation’s deal in 2023 with Warner Bros. Discovery, Bleacher Report’s YouTube channel would show select matches, with CBS obtaining a sublicense to show even more matches throughout the tournament, including both Semifinals and the Final. Again, just like with ESPN+, the broadcast costs were done at US Soccer’s expense, but now they had multiple broadcasters to show the matches. Once Lionel Messi started playing for Inter Miami CF and would be playing in the Semifinal match at FC Cincinnati, US Soccer was also able to secure a Spanish language broadcast on NBC Universal’s Telemundo.

Between all of these extra deals, including the money gained from having Lionel Messi in just one match, as he was injured for the Final, our sources state that the money that came in from that allowed them to, for the first time, provide much more in travel stipends for the qualifying rounds this past fall. In prior years, US Soccer would NOT pay for any travel in qualifying matches, with the lone exception being if a flight was required, of which US Soccer would cover $200 per person on the traveling party for the flights.

Without MLS teams in the tournament, US Soccer may not be able to get as much money from any TV deal they would negotiate for the tournament.

What happens now

From here, US Soccer and MLS have continued their discussions and negotiations, but any discussions would include MLS’ full participation with their first teams in the tournament, per sources close to the situation. We expect in January to early February for the final list of participating teams to be announced and the first two rounds to be drawn and the schedule fully released.

Based on the composition currently of the professional leagues and statements already announced: We expect Division III teams to enter in the First Round scheduled for March 19-21, while Division II teams will remain entering in the Second Round (April 2-3). This also adds up with the 32 amateur Open Division teams already announced entering in the First Round.

Also, because only 32 Open Division teams were announced and not more, we are also expecting more MLS teams to be seeded into the Round of 32 than in 2022 and 2023. In those two years, 8 MLS teams were seeded, while for 2024, as many as half the league (13) could be seeded into that round, with the other half entering in the Third Round. US Soccer has already announced that at least the 9 US-based CONCACAF Champions Cup teams will enter in the Round of 32.

Whatever happens this month, US Soccer does have an interest in making the U.S. Open Cup as big as it can be, especially now with all marketing done in house. Changes don’t happen overnight, but this tournament is trending in the right direction in a lot of areas and is increasing to a new record size every year. MLS’ complaints are easily refuted by facts in some places, but if they truly want their younger players to get more minutes, they can change their own rules to accommodate. But taking the teams out completely kills any chance of the competition being what they are asking for, let alone what US Soccer wants it to be.

2024 US Open Cup: Which NPSL teams could qualify?

July 31, 2023 by Jake Sillick

Players from Tulsa Athletic and FC Tulsa battle for the ball in their 2023 US Open Cup match. Photo: Tulsa Athletic

The 2023 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) season has reached the championship. With the all but the final game to go, we can take a look at which teams will have the highest priority of qualifying for the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

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 over the last two years with only 10 entrants in the 2022 tournament and 8 entrants in the 2023 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 2024.

NPSL’s CLASSIFICATION RULES

Heading into the 2024 US Open Cup, the NPSL has 92 teams that are eligible for the competition divided into four regions: South (26), Midwest (26), East (25), and West (15).

The first eight possible berths are awarded to teams that advanced deep into the 2023 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 (this will be updated as the playoffs conclude):

Tulsa Athletic (national champion, 2.3 PPG)
Apotheos FC (national runner-up, 2.1 PPG)
West Chester United SC (national semifinalist, 2.4 PPG)
Crossfire Red (national semifinalist, 2.2 PPG)
El Farolito (regional finalist, 2.8 PPG)
Steel City FC (regional finalist, 2.67 PPG)
FC Motown (regional finalist, 2.60 PPG)
Southern States Soccer Club (regional finalist, 2.3 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 2024 Open Cup, since the South and Midwest have the same number of teams, when it is their turn collectively to put forth a team, the best remaining team in each region is compared by NPSL tiebreakers (avg. points, avg. GD, avg. GF) and then the tiebreaker winner gets the next spot, with the other team getting the spot after that. 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.

UPDATE FOR THIS YEAR: While the handbook does say this, in practice, this is not how it works. NPSL will submit a list to US Soccer numbered 1st through 92nd and US Soccer will invite teams on that list in that order until the spots are allocated. This means if a team declines, for example the 11th team on the list which would be from the East region, US Soccer will then invite the 12th team on the list which is from the West region, not the East region. We have confirmed this process with US Soccer.

In the past, NPSL has usually received 10 or more slots. This past year was the first time in many years they received fewer than 10 spots in the First Round. Considering the league remained stagnant at 92 teams total, it is unlikely that NPSL will receive more than 8 spots, and could even receive fewer spots as the professional leagues continue to expand.

With all that out of the way, here are the 2024 NPSL US Open Cup berth rankings. With the exception of the very top of the list which will be listed as TBD until the playoffs conclude, it is final.

Priority	Playoff Finish or Region	Team	PPG
1	National Champion	Tulsa Athletic	2.3
2	National Runner-up	Apotheos FC	2.1
3	National Semifinalist	West Chester United SC	2.4
4	National Semifinalist	Crossfire Red	2.2
5	Regional Finalist	El Farolito	2.8
6	Regional Finalist	Steel City FC	2.666667
7	Regional Finalist	FC Motown	2.6
8	Regional Finalist	Southern States Soccer Club	2.3
9	South/Midwest	Duluth FC	2.833333
10	South/Midwest	Lubbock Matadors SC	2.727273
11	East	Annapolis Blues FC	2.5
12	West	Napa Valley 1839 FC	2.2
13	South/Midwest	Naples United FC	2.7
14	South/Midwest	Des Moines United	2.5
15	East	Kingston Stockade FC	2.3
16	West	FC Arizona	1.7
17	South/Midwest	Brownsville NPSL	2.272727
18	South/Midwest	OKC 1889 FC	2.2
19	East	Greenville United	2.2
20	West	California Odyssey SC	1.7
21	South/Midwest	Michigan Rangers	2.083333
22	South/Midwest	Jacksonville Armada FC U-23	2
23	East	Alexandria Reds	2
24	West	Las Vegas Legends FC	1.7
25	South/Midwest	Dakota Fusion FC	2.083333
26	South/Midwest	West Texas FC	2
27	East	Atlantic City FC	1.9
28	West	San Ramon FC	1.6
29	South/Midwest	Med City FC	1.833333
30	South/Midwest	Corinthians FC of San Antonio	1.818182
31	East	Jackson Lions FC	1.9
32	West	Crossfire White	1.3
33	South/Midwest	FC Milwaukee Torrent	1.8
34	South/Midwest	Laredo Heat SC	1.727273
35	East	Hersey FC	1.8
36	West	Lions United FC	1.2
37	South/Midwest	Appalachian FC	1.7
38	South/Midwest	Cleveland SC	1.666667
39	East	Hartford City FC	1.7
40	West	Oakland SC	1.1
41	South/Midwest	Georgia Revolution FC	1.5
42	South/Midwest	Carpathia FC	1.333333
43	East	Philadelphia Ukranian Nationals	1.6
44	West	Sacramento Gold FC	1
45	South/Midwest	Charlottetowne Hops FC	1.4
46	South/Midwest	Erie Commodores FC	1.333333
47	East	New York Shockers	1.3
48	West	Sonoma County Sol FC	0.8
49	South/Midwest	Tallahassee SC	1.4
50	South/Midwest	Sunflower State FC	1.3
51	East	Grove United	1.2
52	West	FC Davis	0.5
53	South/Midwest	Pensacola FC	1.4
54	South/Midwest	Kansas City Sol	1.2
55	East	Electric City Shock SC	1.1
56	West	Oakland Stompers	0.5
57	South/Midwest	Atletico de Miami Beach	1.4
58	South/Midwest	Demize NPSL	1.2
59	East	Northern Virginia United	1.1
60	West	OSA Seattle FC	0.3
61	South/Midwest	Denton Diablos FC	1.363636
62	South/Midwest	Iowa Raptors FC	1.2
63	East	Pennsylvania Classics	1
64	South/Midwest	New Orleans Jesters	1.2
65	South/Midwest	Minnesota TwinStars FC	1.166667
66	East	FC Monmouth	1
67	South/Midwest	Ehtar Belleville FC	1.1
68	South/Midwest	Forth Worth Vaqueros FC	1.090909
69	East	Virginia Dream FC	1
70	South/Midwest	Global Soccer Pathways	1
71	South/Midwest	Joy St. Louis Park	1
72	East	Valeo FC	1
73	South/Midwest	865 Alliance	0.9
74	South/Midwest	Akron City FC	0.833333
75	East	Philadelphia Union DS	0.9
76	South/Midwest	Reign FK	0.8
77	South/Midwest	Georgia Storm	0.8
78	East	Virginia Beach City FC	0.6
79	South/Midwest	Austin United FC	0.727273
80	South/Midwest	Club Atletico Saint Louis	0.7
81	East	Syracuse FC	0.5
82	South/Midwest	Arkansas Wolves SC	0.7
83	South/Midwest	Miami Dutch Lions FC	0.7
84	East	FC Frederick	0.4
85	South/Midwest	LC Aris FC	0.583333
86	South/Midwest	CF10 Houston FC	0.363636
87	East	First State FC	0.3
88	South/Midwest	Sioux Falls Thunder FC	0.5
89	South/Midwest	Central Texas Coyotes FC	0.363636
90	East	Torch FC	0.3
91	South/Midwest	FC Columbus	0.25
92	South/Midwest	Florida Roots FC	0

2024 US Open Cup: Which USL League Two teams could qualify?

July 20, 2023 by Jake Sillick

Andre “Dede” Sabino of the Ocean City Nor’easters celebrates after scoring a goal against West Chester United in the First Round of the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Matt Ralph | Philadelphia Soccer Now

While the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is still in progress, with the semifinals taking place in about a month, the qualifying for the 2024 competition has been underway all summer in the national leagues.

The format for the 2024 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.

Tuesday night finished the regular season of USL League Two, which means the “priority list” of teams for determining who qualifies is (almost) 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. It’s stayed at about that number since, with 11 slots allocated in the cancelled 2020 tournament, then 10 slots allocated in 2022 and 2023 tournaments.

Now, for the 2024 Open Cup, the 17 division winners won by US based teams 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 average goal difference and average goals scored).

There is one exception to this. The USL League Two champion in the playoffs that are underway this weekend will receive the #1 overall priority for the league, ahead of all division champions. This was added by the league for the 2021 USL-2 season. Ventura County Fusion benefitted greatly from this as 2022 champion, moving up from well outside the spots to qualify to being first in line.

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. There will also be a first round spot given to the USASA National Amateur Cup champion and the UPSL Spring Season National champion.

Below is the overall USL League Two standings. y-denotes division champion. After the playoffs conclude, this post will be updated and z- denotes the playoff champion. Bold denotes teams still alive in the playoffs.

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	PTS	PTS/GP	GD/GP	GF/GP
1	z-Ballard FC	12	10	1	1	41	13	28	31	2.583	2.333	3.417
2	y-Chicago City SC	12	11	1	0	36	9	27	33	2.750	2.250	3.000
3	y-Texas United	12	10	0	2	72	5	67	32	2.667	5.583	6.000
4	y-Fort Wayne FC	12	10	0	2	31	3	28	32	2.667	2.333	2.583
5	y-Long Island Rough Riders	14	12	1	1	44	9	35	37	2.643	2.500	3.143
6	y-Asheville City SC	12	10	1	1	36	9	27	31	2.583	2.250	3.000
7	y-AHFC Royals	12	10	1	1	33	11	22	31	2.583	1.833	2.750
8	y-Monterey Bay FC 2	12	10	1	1	32	12	20	31	2.583	1.667	2.667
9	y-Flint City Bucks	12	10	1	1	29	9	20	31	2.583	1.667	2.417
10	y-Seacoast United Phantoms	14	11	2	1	34	18	16	34	2.429	1.143	2.429
11	y-Park City Red Wolves SC	10	7	0	3	18	7	11	24	2.400	1.100	1.800
12	y-Lionsbridge FC	12	9	2	1	31	10	21	28	2.333	1.750	2.583
13	y-NC Fusion	14	10	2	2	32	12	20	32	2.286	1.429	2.286
14	y-The Villages SC	12	8	1	3	24	7	17	27	2.250	1.417	2.000
15	y-Redlands FC	12	8	2	2	22	13	9	26	2.167	0.750	1.833
16	y-Ocean City Nor’easters	14	8	1	5	28	15	13	29	2.071	0.929	2.000
17	y-Weston FC	12	7	3	2	14	11	3	23	1.917	0.250	1.167
18	South Carolina United FC	12	10	1	1	27	8	19	31	2.583	1.583	2.250
19	Des Moines Menace	12	10	2	0	42	11	31	30	2.500	2.583	3.500
20	Western Mass Pioneers	14	10	1	3	36	9	27	33	2.357	1.929	2.571
21	Vermont Green FC	14	10	3	1	38	12	26	31	2.214	1.857	2.714
22	Hudson Valley Hammers	14	10	3	1	37	18	19	31	2.214	1.357	2.643
23	Little Rock Rangers	12	8	2	2	42	7	35	26	2.167	2.917	3.500
24	Nona FC	12	8	2	2	30	7	23	26	2.167	1.917	2.500
25	Charlotte Eagles	14	9	2	3	38	21	17	30	2.143	1.214	2.714
26	Ventura County Fusion	12	8	3	1	33	14	19	25	2.083	1.583	2.750
27	FC Tucson	12	7	1	4	30	14	16	25	2.083	1.333	2.500
28	RKC Third Coast	12	8	3	1	35	20	15	25	2.083	1.250	2.917
29	San Francisco Glens SC	12	8	3	1	23	11	12	25	2.083	1.000	1.917
30	Twin City Toucans	12	7	2	3	37	12	25	24	2.000	2.083	3.083
31	West Chester United SC	14	8	2	4	37	21	16	28	2.000	1.143	2.643
32	Manhattan SC	14	8	3	3	29	25	4	27	1.929	0.286	2.071
33	Northern Virginia FC	12	7	3	2	23	19	4	23	1.917	0.333	1.917
34	New Jersey Copa FC	14	8	4	2	32	22	10	26	1.857	0.714	2.286
35	New Mexico United U23	10	6	4	0	17	14	3	18	1.800	0.300	1.700
36	Christos FC	12	6	3	3	33	20	13	21	1.750	1.083	2.750
37	Florida Elite Soccer Academy	12	6	3	3	19	10	9	21	1.750	0.750	1.583
38	Miami AC	12	6	3	3	17	9	8	21	1.750	0.667	1.417
39	East Atlanta Dutch Lions	12	6	4	2	19	15	4	20	1.667	0.333	1.583
40	Oly Town FC	12	6	4	2	23	24	-1	20	1.667	-0.083	1.917
41	Louisiana Krewe FC	12	6	5	1	26	15	11	19	1.583	0.917	2.167
42	Cleveland Force SC	12	5	3	4	27	18	9	19	1.583	0.750	2.250
43	AFC Ann Arbor	12	6	5	1	24	15	9	19	1.583	0.750	2.000
44	FC Miami City	12	5	3	4	16	13	3	19	1.583	0.250	1.333
45	Toledo Villa FC	12	5	3	4	21	19	2	19	1.583	0.167	1.750
46	Virginia Beach United	12	6	5	1	13	19	-6	19	1.583	-0.500	1.083
47	Cedar Stars	14	7	6	1	29	22	7	22	1.571	0.500	2.071
48	Reading United AC	14	5	2	7	26	19	7	22	1.571	0.500	1.857
49	Peoria City	12	6	6	0	27	17	10	18	1.500	0.833	2.250
50	Corpus Christi FC	12	5	4	3	30	21	9	18	1.500	0.750	2.500
51	Oakland County FC	12	5	4	3	23	22	1	18	1.500	0.083	1.917
52	Boulder County United	10	4	3	3	17	18	-1	15	1.500	-0.100	1.700
53	St. Charles FC	12	6	6	0	23	31	-8	18	1.500	-0.667	1.917
54	Sarasota Paradise	12	5	5	2	18	14	4	17	1.417	0.333	1.500
55	San Francisco City FC	12	5	5	2	18	17	1	17	1.417	0.083	1.500
56	Mississippi Brilla FC	12	5	5	2	20	27	-7	17	1.417	-0.583	1.667
57	FC Motown STA	14	5	5	4	41	33	8	19	1.357	0.571	2.929
58	FC Carolinas	14	5	5	4	25	22	3	19	1.357	0.214	1.786
59	West Virginia United	14	4	3	7	25	26	-1	19	1.357	-0.071	1.786
60	Pathfinder FC	14	5	5	4	20	23	-3	19	1.357	-0.214	1.429
61	United PDX	12	5	6	1	26	26	0	16	1.333	0.000	2.167
62	St. Croix Legends	12	5	6	1	16	22	-6	16	1.333	-0.500	1.333
63	Lansing City Football	12	4	4	4	15	21	-6	16	1.333	-0.500	1.250
64	Capital FC Atletico	12	5	6	1	21	28	-7	16	1.333	-0.583	1.750
65	Wake FC	14	5	6	3	27	25	2	18	1.286	0.143	1.929
66	Midwest United FC	12	4	5	3	22	18	4	15	1.250	0.333	1.833
67	St. Petersburg FC	12	4	5	3	22	21	1	15	1.250	0.083	1.833
68	Kalamazoo FC	12	4	5	3	26	29	-3	15	1.250	-0.250	2.167
69	Marin FC Legends	12	4	5	3	20	24	-4	15	1.250	-0.333	1.667
70	Project 51O	12	5	7	0	19	23	-4	15	1.250	-0.333	1.583
71	Real Central NJ	14	4	5	5	23	20	3	17	1.214	0.214	1.643
72	Tobacco Road FC	14	5	7	2	27	28	-1	17	1.214	-0.071	1.929
73	North Carolina FC U23	14	5	7	2	22	29	-7	17	1.214	-0.500	1.571
74	Salt City SC	10	3	4	3	18	15	3	12	1.200	0.300	1.800
75	Flatirons Rush	10	4	6	0	15	13	2	12	1.200	0.200	1.500
76	Rochester FC	12	4	6	2	15	25	-10	14	1.167	-0.833	1.250
77	Westchester Flames	14	4	6	4	25	29	-4	16	1.143	-0.286	1.786
78	Dalton Red Wolves SC	12	4	7	1	18	14	4	13	1.083	0.333	1.500
79	Lane United FC	12	3	5	4	21	19	2	13	1.083	0.167	1.750
80	Southern California Seahorses	12	4	7	1	19	21	-2	13	1.083	-0.167	1.583
81	Tennessee SC	12	3	5	4	14	16	-2	13	1.083	-0.167	1.167
82	AC Houston Sur	12	4	7	1	14	18	-4	13	1.083	-0.333	1.167
83	Academica SC	12	4	7	1	21	26	-5	13	1.083	-0.417	1.750
84	Boston Bolts	14	3	5	6	21	20	1	15	1.071	0.071	1.500
85	Albany Rush	14	4	7	3	22	29	-7	15	1.071	-0.500	1.571
86	AC Connecticut	14	4	7	3	19	29	-10	15	1.071	-0.714	1.357
87	Southern Soccer Academy	12	4	8	0	17	19	-2	12	1.000	-0.167	1.417
88	FC Wichita	12	4	8	0	22	28	-6	12	1.000	-0.500	1.833
89	Houston FC	12	3	6	3	13	21	-8	12	1.000	-0.667	1.083
90	Minneapolis City SC	12	3	6	3	17	26	-9	12	1.000	-0.750	1.417
91	Black Rock FC	14	3	7	4	12	18	-6	13	0.929	-0.429	0.857
92	Tampa Bay United	12	3	7	2	14	19	-5	11	0.917	-0.417	1.167
93	Brevard SC	12	3	7	2	17	32	-15	11	0.917	-1.250	1.417
94	Kings Hammer FC	11	2	5	4	12	17	-5	10	0.909	-0.455	1.091
95	Philadelphia Lone Star FC	14	3	9	2	21	33	-12	11	0.786	-0.857	1.500
96	Morris Elite SC	14	3	9	2	16	37	-21	11	0.786	-1.500	1.143
97	Dayton Dutch Lions FC	12	2	7	3	11	24	-13	9	0.750	-1.083	0.917
98	Chicago Dutch Lions FC	12	3	9	0	12	35	-23	9	0.750	-1.917	1.000
99	Arizona Arsenal SC	12	2	8	2	14	28	-14	8	0.667	-1.167	1.167
100	FA Euro New York	14	2	10	2	12	32	-20	8	0.571	-1.429	0.857
101	FC Buffalo	11	1	7	3	11	32	-21	6	0.545	-1.909	1.000
102	Patuxent Football Athletics	12	1	8	3	10	19	-9	6	0.500	-0.750	0.833
103	PDX FC	12	1	8	3	12	34	-22	6	0.500	-1.833	1.000
104	LA Parish AC	12	2	10	0	10	33	-23	6	0.500	-1.917	0.833
105	Springfield Athletic SC	12	2	10	0	9	40	-31	6	0.500	-2.583	0.750
106	Lehigh Valley United	14	1	10	3	10	37	-27	6	0.429	-1.929	0.714
107	Bavarian United SC	12	1	9	2	14	30	-16	5	0.417	-1.333	1.167
108	Altitude Rush	12	1	9	2	13	32	-19	5	0.417	-1.583	1.083
109	Davis Legacy SC	12	1	9	2	15	35	-20	5	0.417	-1.667	1.250
110	Virginia Marauders FC	12	1	9	2	10	33	-23	5	0.417	-1.917	0.833
111	Capo FC	12	1	9	2	12	40	-28	5	0.417	-2.333	1.000
112	Swan City SC	12	1	9	2	9	38	-29	5	0.417	-2.417	0.750
113	CISA	10	1	8	1	6	24	-18	4	0.400	-1.800	0.600
114	Round Rock SC	12	1	10	1	7	51	-44	4	0.333	-3.667	0.583
115	Blue Goose SC	12	1	10	1	4	87	-83	4	0.333	-6.917	0.333
116	Charlotte Independence 2	14	1	12	1	15	48	-33	4	0.286	-2.357	1.071
117	South Bend Lions	12	0	9	3	8	33	-25	3	0.250	-2.083	0.667
118	Ironbound SC	14	1	13	0	10	48	-38	3	0.214	-2.714	0.714
119	North Alabama SC	12	0	11	1	4	54	-50	1	0.083	-4.167	0.333
120	Boston City FC	14	0	13	1	8	52	-44	1	0.071	-3.143	0.571

2024 US Open Cup: US Soccer opens registration for local qualifying with new rules

July 18, 2023 by Jake Sillick

A giant pumpkin balloon overlooks the field at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif. before the 2020 US Open Cup qualifier between Cal FC and Alta California Sol. Photo: Victor Friedman | Cal FC

On July 6, U.S. Soccer opened up registration for local qualifying for the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Registration is open to all U.S. Soccer affiliated “Open Division” (i.e. not professional) teams that are have played this year or will play this year at least 10 regular season matches in at least a 4 team league. Registration closes on July 31, 2023. All information can be found at this link.

The schedule for this fall’s qualifying has been condensed to be completed prior to Thanksgiving. The schedule is as follows:

First Qualifying Round: September 9-10
Second Qualifying Round: September 30 – October 1
Third Qualifying Round: October 21-22
Fourth Qualifying Round: November 18-19

Local Qualifying eligibility excludes National Track teams

All teams that meet this are eligible to enter except for the National Leagues that have designated that they would like to enter via the “National League Track” instead. The two leagues that have made this designation for this year are the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and USL League Two. Those leagues will receive allocated spots in the First Round of next year’s tournament in proportion to the total number of teams in those leagues. Each league will pay a $200 entry fee for every eligible team in their league that plays 10 regular season games or more this year. NPSL has 92 eligible teams for this year and USL League Two has 120 eligible teams, meaning NPSL will pay $18,400 in entry fees while USL League Two will pay $24,000 in entry fees.

UPSL’s new berth in the first round

The other league that could have made this designation, but chose not to, is the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) which has over 200+ teams in its Premier Division. Since they chose not to, the league will not need to pay $200 for every team in their league, but instead will leave it up to each individual team to decide if they would like to enter local qualifying this fall by the July 31 deadline and pay all applicable costs.

However, UPSL did get one new perk for the 2024 edition of this tournament. Brand new this year is that the 2023 Spring season national champion will get an automatic spot in First Round of the 2024 US Open Cup. This is analogous to the spot the USASA Amateur Cup champion receives each year in the First Round. Those two spots will be “removed” from the pool of spots that go to the rest of the entered teams (National League track and Local Qualifying track) for the mathematical calculation of spots each track gets.

New cup tied rule

An update to the cup-tied rule has been made effective immediately. A player that plays in the local qualifying tournament this fall, then signs to a PROFESSIONAL team would NOT be cup tied to the amateur team the player played for in the fall, and would be eligible for the pro team in the tournament proper. This is the only way a player could play for two different teams in a single U.S. Open Cup tournament. A player can still only play for one pro team in any given tournament year, and can still only play for one Open Division team in a given tournament year as well.

Total costs

A team that plays in qualifying will pay the following 3 separate costs.

$200 entry fee. All Open Division teams are assessed this, while professional teams pay a higher entry fee based on their division level. The two leagues in the National League track will pay this for ALL ELIGIBLE TEAMS in the league, whether they intend to play in the 2024 US Open Cup or not.
$300 referee fee. A recent change to the US Open Cup is the home team will no longer handle all referee costs. Instead, US Soccer will handle all referee costs for the tournament directly with the officials. To cover this cost for the qualifying, all teams participating this fall will be assessed this fee, but will no longer have to pay those costs to host a match.
$1500 refundable performance bond. All teams, amateur and professional, are assessed this bond. As long as a team plays in all of its scheduled matches, meets all other obligations to the tournament, and isn’t assessed any fines, they will be refunded this bond within 60 days after their elimination from the tournament.

2023 US Open Cup Round 1 Preview: Amateurs kick off 108th tournament eyeing date with pros in Round 2

March 21, 2023 by Jake Sillick

The 108th edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup kicks off this week with 14 first round matchups featuring amateur teams from the fourth tier of the US soccer pyramid.

One hundred seven teams entered the Open Division Local qualifying tournament that wrapped up in mid-December. After four arduous rounds the field was whittled down to 10 teams. As US Amateur Cup winners, Bavarian United SC earned a berth into Round 1. Also entering the competition in this round are eight NPSL and 10 USL League Two sides. NPSL and USL-2 sides, which are Open Division National leagues, qualify based on the previous season’s record.

Most, but not all, of the opening round games will be streamed online. All links are available below.

Round 1 winners will face second and third division professional teams April 4-6.

The team that advances furthest in the tournament from each division receives $25,000.

TUESDAY, MARCH 21

Ocean City Nor’easters (USL-2)
3:1
West Chester United (USLPA)
YSC Sports – Wayne, PA
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: Bleacher Report

By Josh Hakala

Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a "We Want The Cup" shirt in your team's colors. Visit THECUP.US SHOP — Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a “We Want The Cup” shirt in your team’s colors. Visit THECUP.US SHOP

In the first contest of the 2023 US Open Cup, the Ocean City Nor’easters travel to West Chester United. The host side sits in fourth place currently in the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania season (3-1-0, 10 pts.). Ocean City’s USL League Two season won’t begin until May 20.

West Chester qualified with four road wins in the tournament’s Open Division Local qualifying tournament. They edged four-time champion Philadelphia Ukrainians, 2-1, followed by a 4-0 win over the United German Hungarians. They picked up another win over a Philly-area team with a rich history, with a 4-0 win over Vereinigung Erzgebirge. They punched their ticket to the tournament with a 2-1 win over Northern Virginia FC.

Ocean City qualified by winning the Mid-Atlantic Division with an undefeated regular season record (11-0-3). Three of those league wins were against West Chester United (2-1, 2-1, 2-0).

Three players to watch for West Chester are Ridge Robinson (6 goals – second in the league) and Finn Reese and Levi Maruca (both with 5 – tied for third in the league). Reese is a former Ocean City player.

Like a lot of USL League Two and NPSL teams, the Nor’easters largely rely on active college players to fill out their roster. This means, like last year, the team will likely construct a roster made up of former and local players. NCAA players are not available to play for summer league teams until May 1.

West Chester is competing for the third straight US Open Cup after qualifying last year after edging the Nor’easters for the Mid-Atlantic Division title. (They would later eliminate Ocean City in the USL League Two playoffs) In 2016 and 2019, United’s USL of Pennsylvania team qualified through the Open Division Local qualifying tournament. They have advanced twice out of the First Round with penalty kick shootout wins over Fredericksburg FC (NPSL) in 2016 and FC Baltimore Christos (NPSL) in 2019. But they are still seeking their first official “win” in the tournament.

The Ocean City Nor'easters celebrate the club's Mid-Atlantic Division championship after a 2-0 home win over West Chester United on July 10, 2022 at Carey Stadium in Ocean City, N.J. Photo: Jack Verdeur — The Ocean City Nor’easters celebrate the club’s Mid-Atlantic Division championship after a 2-0 home win over West Chester United on July 10, 2022 at Carey Stadium in Ocean City, N.J. Photo: Jack Verdeur

Ocean City is making the club’s 11th appearance in the tournament, and is one of the most successful amateur sides of the Modern Era (1995-present). Only two amateur teams in the country (Flint City Bucks and the Des Moines Menace, both of USL-2) have more Open Cup wins (11) and professional team upsets (6) than Ocean City has as a USL-2 team. Of those six wins over professional opposition, five of them were shutouts in front of their home fans at Carey Stadium (“The Beach House”).

The Nor’easters have also reached the Third Round four times, including two games against Major League Soccer teams. In 2009, they narrowly lost to D.C. United 2-0 on the road, and in 2013, they put a scare into the Philadelphia Union but the MLS side scored a controversial 90th minute game-winner to avoid the upset.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Ocean City Nor’easters (USL-2)
11th US Open Cup appearance (1 as a pro team)
Overall: 12-8-2 (0-2 PKs)
Away: 8-4-1
vs. Amateurs: 6-1-1
Best finish: Third Round (2005, 2009, 2013, 2018)

West Chester United (USASA / USLPA)
4th US Open Cup appearance (3rd as local qualifier)
Overall: 0-3-2 (2-0 PKs)
Home: 0-1-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-1-2 (2-0 PKs)
Best finish: Second Round (2016, 2019)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22

Inter San Francisco (SFSFL) at El Farolito (NPSL)
Ohlone College Soccer Field – Fremont, CA
Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: Bleacher Report

By Rich Flemings

El Farolito, then known as CD Mexico, won the 1993 US Open Cup championship.

Fresno-area soccer fans will be treated to a gem of a matchup, as Ohlone College Soccer Field will be the site in which a tournament debutante, Inter San Francisco, takes the field against El Farolito, a club that won the US Open Cup in 1993 under the name CD Mexico.

For the past two years, Inter San Francisco has dominated the San Francisco Soccer Football League (SFSFL). En route to their US Open Cup qualification, Inter had to win four straight matches, culminating in a 5-1 win over BattleBorn FC on a snowy field in Minden, Nevada last December. This capped off a dominant Open Division Local qualifying tournament as San Francisco didn’t allow a goal until that “Win & You’re In” match against BattleBorn. They outscored their four opponents by a combined score of 19-1. This may be a dream come true for the young club, but they’ll work hard to extend their stay as they face off against a club with history in the tournament.

El Farolito, founded in 1985, has participated in the US Open Cup on three separate occasions during the Modern Era (1995-present). After being one-and-done in their first Modern Era appearance in 2017 with a penalty kick loss to Burlingame Dragons FC (USL League Two), the club picked up a win in their last appearance in 2019. They beat Academica SC (US Club Soccer) 2-1 before falling short to Fresno FC of the USL Championship. El Farolito has won the San Francisco Soccer Football League six times between 2007 and 2017, before joining the NPSL in 2018.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Inter San Francisco (USASA / SFSFL)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

El Farolito (NPSL)
3rd US Open Cup appearance (Modern Era)
Overall: 1-1-1 (0-1 PK)
Home: 0-1-0
vs. Amateurs: 1-0-1 (0-1 PKs)
Best finish: US Open Cup Champions (1993 as Club Deportivo (CD) Mexico)

NC Fusion U23 (USL-2) at Appalachian FC (NPSL)
Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex – Boone, NC
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: Bleacher Report

By Jim Coppock

Players from the Richmond Kickers (green) and North Carolina Fusion U-23s go up for a header in the Third Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Jessica Stone Hendricks Photography

North Carolina Fusion U-23s will travel about two hours west to Boone, N.C. for a contest with Open Cup debutante side, Appalachian FC, in an all-North Carolina affair.

NC Fusion qualified for their 14th tournament (most of that history under the name Carolina Dynamo) through the USL League 2 qualification process, based on previous season’s finishing (1st place South Atlantic Division, 11-1-2). The team lost in the National Semifinal last year to the Long Island Rough Riders.

Three-year-old Appalachian FC qualified for their first Open Cup through the NPSL’s qualification process, based on previous season’s finishing (1st place Southeast Conference, 6-1-3). The team lost to eventual champions, FC Motown, in the Eastern Regional Final.

Last year’s Open Cup featured something uniquely Open Cup. NC Fusion U23s traveled to Columbia, S.C. to take on the SC United Bantams. What was discovered during the pre-game process was that SCU had only 10 Cup-eligible players on their roster. Instead of playing with 10 men, the teams agreed that SC United would forfeit and the teams would play an exhibition game. None of those almost 1,400 in attendance, or watching via YouTube, knew that it was an exhibition game. The Fusion won the exhibition, after extra time, 3-1. They then went on to defeat Charlotte Independence in Round 2 before falling to Richmond Kickers on a 118th minute game-winner in Round 3.

The Fusion open their USL League 2 season on May 10 at home against Charlotte Independence, while Appalachian’s first opponent in the NPSL is still to be determined.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

North Carolina Fusion U-23s (USL-2)
14th US Open Cup appearance (5 as pro team)
Overall: 11-12-1 (1-0 PKs) | 6-7-1 (1-0 PKs) as USL-2 team
Away: 2-9-0 | 0-4-0 as USL-2 team
vs. Amateurs: 7-2-1 (1-0 PKs) | 3-1-1 (1-0 PKs) as USL-2 team
Best finish: Quarterfinals (1996) (as pro team)

Appalachian FC (NPSL)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

Nona FC (USL-2) at Club de Lyon (NISAN)
Austin-Tindall Sports Complex – Kissimmee, FL
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: Eleven Sports

By Rich Flemings

Club de Lyon celebrates after defeating South Carolina United Heat 2-1 in extra time to qualify for the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Forrest Wimberly

Two clubs new to the US Open Cup will face off at Austin-Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. Nona FC, competing in USL League Two since 2022 will line up against Club de Lyon, who is playing their first season in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA).

Nona FC, based in Orlando, started competing in USL League Two last season and didn’t skip a beat. In their first season, Nona FC won the Southeast Division by seven points, qualified for the playoffs, and lost in the Conference Quarterfinals. Last month, USL League Two announced the new division alignments, which placed Nona FC in the Southeast Division of the Southern Conference. The club starts their pursuit of another division title on May 10th.

Also based in the Orlando area, Club de Lyon was founded last year and will compete for the first time in 2023. The NISA Nation side earned their bid to the US Open Cup via an equalizer in the 91st minute and ultimately winning 2-1 over SC United Bantams in their last match of qualification. However, the situation took an interesting turn when the club decided to join the professional side of NISA. This means that as a pro team, Club de Lyon were automatically entered into the US Open Cup. But since their NISA Nation side had already qualified, they were also part of the tournament. The problem is, many of the players from CDL’s NISA Nation team are part of the pro team’s roster, but since they competed in the Open Cup qualifying tournament, they were cup-tied to the amateur team.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Nona FC (USL-2)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

Club de Lyon (NISAN)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

FC Motown (NPSL) at Manhattan SC (USL-2)
Marillac Field (College of Mt. St. Vincent) – Bronx, NY
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: YouTube

By Rich Flemings

FC Motown 2022 US Open Cup AC Syracuse Pulse — Federico De Olivera of FC Motown celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against AC Syracuse Pulse in the Second Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Peter Bonilla

Marillac Stadium in the Bronx will see FC Motown, the top Open Division club from the 2022 US Open Cup, return to the tournament to face first-time competitor Manhattan SC in the First Round.

FC Motown is no stranger to the US Open Cup, competing in the tournament for the sixth time in club history. Founded in 2012, Motown won the 2022 NPSL Conference, Regional, and National championships. While competing in the Open Cup, Motown is 4-2-2 all time in the tournament. In 2022, the club won a pair of games, including a 1-0 extra time upset of AC Syracuse Pulse (NISA). They won $25,000 as a result of being the farthest-reaching Open Division team. They’ll face off against a newcomer to the Cup, Manhattan SC.

Based in the Bronx and founded in 1997, Manhattan SC has never played in the US Open Cup, but that hasn’t stopped the club from experiencing success in USL League Two. This will be Manhattan SC’s fourth year competing in USL League Two. In 2022, the club finished atop the Metropolitan Division of Eastern Conference and qualified for the playoffs, where the club lost in the Conference Quarterfinals. When the USL League Two divisions were announced last month, Manhattan SC found themselves placed in familiar territory, back in the Metropolitan Division. Their season starts on May 21.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

FC Motown (NPSL)
5th US Open Cup appearance (4th as NPSL team)
NOTE: Merged with Clarkstown SC Eagles after 2017 season, which had 2 appearances in 2016 and 2017)
Overall: 4-2-2 (0-2 PKs)
Away: 1-1-1 (0-1 PKs)
vs. Amateurs: 3-0-1 (0-1 PKs)
Best finish: Third Round (2022, farthest reaching Open Division team)

Manhattan SC (USL-2)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Home: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

Des Moines Menace (USL-2) at Beaman United FC (UPSL)
Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium (MTSU) – Murfreesboro, TN
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: YouTube

By Rich Flemings

Des Moines Menace 2022 US Open Cup — The Des Moines Menace celebrate scoring a goal vs. Minneapolis City SC in the First Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Jose Calderon @digitaljose

Murfreesboro, Tenn. is the place to be on Wednesday as one current league champion, Beaman United FC, faces off against another club with its own history of league championships, the Des Moines Menace.

Despite having never played in the US Open Cup, Beaman United FC enters the match as the 2022 United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) runner-up. The club found their way into the tournament after a pair of road wins over fellow UPSL opposition. They beat Bowling Green FC (KY) 3-1, followed by a penalty kick shootout win over Kalonji Pro-Profile (after a 4-4 draw) and then a come-from-behind victory, involving two blocked penalties and two goals in extra time. That “Win & You’re In” 4-3 victory over D’Feeters Kicks (Dallas) took place in December and ensured their participation in the First Round of action for the first time. The team is headlined by a former pro Kwadwo Poku, who made a career for himself in the United States based on performances in the US Open Cup. He was discovered by Eric Wynalda and the Atlanta Silverbacks after a standout performance against them for NPSL side Georgia Revolution. Then signed with New York City FC of MLS.

Des Moines Menace is a club all too familiar with the US Open Cup, making their 15th appearance this year, which is tied with the Flint City Bucks for most by any amateur team in the Modern Era. Founded in 1994, the Menace have won their division in nine different seasons and took home the USL League Two championship twice (2005, 2021). Their best finish in the tournament came in 2005, when they made it to the Fourth Round. Among all the amateur teams in the Modern Era, only the Flint City Bucks have more tournament wins than the Menace (13) and professional team upsets (7).

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Des Moines Menace (USL-2)
15th US Open Cup appearance (13 as USL-2 team)
Overall: 13-12-3 (2-1 PKs)
Away: 5-7-0
vs. Amateurs: 7-2-1 (1-0 PKs)
Best finish: Fourth Round (2005)

Beaman United FC (UPSL)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Home: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

Bavarian United (MWPL) at Chicago House AC (MWPL)
Langhorst Field (Elmhurst University) – Elmhurst, IL
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: Bleacher Report

By Adam Uthe

Bavarian United celebrate the club's 2022 USASA Amatuer Cup title after a 1-0 win over Northern Virginia FC on Aug. 7, 2022. Photo: Bavarian United — Bavarian United celebrate the club’s 2022 USASA Amatuer Cup title after a 1-0 win over Northern Virginia FC on Aug. 7, 2022. Photo: Bavarian United

It’s a Midwestern version of the Old Guard vs. the New Kids on the Block. Bavarian United returns for the ninth time in the Modern Era and will travel to Chicago to face off with first time qualifiers Chicago House AC.

Bavarian United is actually the result of a merger between Bavarian SC and Inter Northshore FC. Bavarian SC, a team that dates back to the 1920s, reached the peak of their powers in the early 90s when they were semifinalists in 1993 and then runners up in 1994. The 2023 version of Bavarian United qualified by winning the the 2022 USASA Amateur Cup back in August. Patrick Coleman’s goal was enough to see them life the trophy over Northern Virginia FC.

Chicago House AC, meanwhile, are making their Open Cup debut. They took a different, but no less difficult path to the 2023 tournament. Two of their three qualifying victories had to come via penalty shootouts. Their Round 4 qualifying win came after nine rounds of penalties in conditions so dark, the officials had to have discussion before deciding to proceed with the shootout. Not only that, but they were visiting Brockton FC United over 1,000 miles from home in Massachusetts. It was the fifth-longest distance traveled by a team since the new qualifying format began in 2015.

Chicago House AC began playing in NISA in the 2021 fall season, but left the league after that first season due to a dispute between team owners and league officials. As a result, House were voted out of the league and left unable to participate in the 2022 US Open Cup. The team spent 2022 playing in the Midwest Premier League. The club’s CEO is Peter Wilt, a man who won multiple US Open Cup titles as general manager of the Chicago Fire (MLS).

The winner of this one will travel to Madison, Wisconsin to take on USL-1 side Forward Madison FC.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Bavarian United (MWPL)
9th US Open Cup appearance (Modern Era)
Overall: 3-8-0
Away: 1-6-0
vs. Amateurs: 1-3-0
Best finish: 1994 Runner-Up

Chicago House AC (MWPL)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Home: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

Brazos Valley Cavalry (USL-2) at Tulsa Athletic (NPSL)
Hicks Park – Tulsa, OK
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: YouTube

By Jordan Beech

Tulsa Athletic vs Azteca FC 2022 US Open Cup — Tulsa Athletic celebrates Joe Garcia’s penalty kick goal in the 72nd minute against Azteca FC in the First Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Lori Scholl

Hicks Park in Tulsa, Okla., will play host to the US Open Cup First Round matchup between Brazos Valley Calvary of USL-2 and Tulsa Athletic of NPSL. While both teams have a limited history in the knockout tournament, both teams will be looking to make their mark in 2023.

Brazos Valley is returning to Open Cup action for the first time since 2019 when they fell to NPSL side Laredo Heat, 1-0. The Calvary qualified after dominating the Lone Star Division of USL-2 with an 11-2-1 record, securing a division title and a ticket to the USL-2 playoffs. A win on Wednesday would be the first in club history for Brazos Valley.

Under a new manager in Jason Rogers, Tulsa Athletic have a chance to make the Second Round for the second time in as many years and third all-time. The A’s were a dominant force in the NPSL last season, posting a 9-2-1 record, a Heartland Conference title, and a spot in the NPSL national semifinals. Tulsa will look to build off their first ever win in Open Cup action – a 3-0 win over the UPSL’s Azteca FC – and make it two straight for the NPSL over Brazos Valley.

The winner of Wednesday night’s affair will move on to face USL Championship side FC Tulsa on Wednesday, April 5.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Brazos Valley Cavalry FC (USL-2)
2nd US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-1-0
Away: 0-1-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-1-0
Best finish: First Round (2019)

Tulsa Athletic (NPSL)
5th US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 1-3-1 (0-1 PKs)
Home: 1-1-1 (0-1 PKs)
vs. Amateurs: 1-1-1 (0-1 PKs)
Best finish: Second Round (2014, 2022)

Park City Red Wolves (USL-2) at UDA Soccer (UPSL)
New Mexico State Soccer Field – Las Cruces, NM
Kickoff: 9 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: YouTube

By Andrew Mosier

It has been eight years since a college or university affiliated team qualified for the US Open Cup. Brigham Young University was the last—and only in the Modern Era of the Open Cup—in 2015. In three tries, BYU never made it out of the First Round.

UDA Soccer celebrates after defeating Azteca FC 4-1 (after a 4-4 draw) in a PK shootout to qualify for the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Andrew Mosier

When the UDA soccer academy at New Mexico State University—UDA at NMSU, or just UDA for short—hosts the Park City Red Wolves, they hope to build upon the foundation BYU laid for college affiliated teams in the Open Cup.

UDA operates as New Mexico State University’s men’s soccer program, wearing both the UDA and NMSU crests when they play. To be part of the academy players must be enrolled in school—either MNSU, its affiliated community college working towards transferring to MNSU, or a local high school. But it is more than just a university club team. Based on the three UDA academies in England, UDA at NMSU is a European-style academy, training and playing year-round. It is the only one of its kind in the United States. The club currently fields three teams competing in the United Premier Soccer League, college club leagues, elite youth leagues, the Open Cup, and other competitions. Because UDA is a de facto college team, the team’s average age hovers around 20-years-old. The program began playing in 2021 and entered Open Cup qualifying for the first time in 2022.

In the spring of 2021 UDA at NMSU entered its first team into competition, finishing a respectable 5-1-2, good for second in the seven-team West Texas-New Mexico division of the UPSL. For the fall 2021 season, the club moved to the intensely competitive UPSL Arizona division. UDA won the ten-team division, winning eight and drawing two. In the spring of 2022 UDA moved back to the West Texas-New Mexico division, going 6-2-2 to win the division and earn a berth in the UPSL post season tournament and in the inaugural UPSL Champions Cup, featuring four of the top UPLS teams from the United States versus four top teams from the UPLS Mexican divisions.

This is the second consecutive Open Cup appearance for the Park City Red Wolves, which are loosely affiliated with the USL League One Chattanooga Red Wolves. The Red Wolves qualified for the 2022 Open Cup as USL-2 Mountain Division champions, losing 3-2 at Las Vegas Legends (NPSL) in Round 1.

Founded in 2018, the Red Wolves began play in the 2019 USL-2 season, finishing third in the Mountain Division. After the 2020 season was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic, the club moved operations to nearby Salt Lake City but kept the Park City moniker. They won the 2021 Mountain Division going 5-2-3 in the regular season, losing to the Portland Timbers U23s in penalty kicks after playing to a 3-3 draw in the Western Conference finals, automatically qualifying them for the 2022 Open Cup.

In 2022 the Red Wolves repeated as Mountain Division champions, going 8-2-2 in the regular season, losing 3-1 to the Southern California Seahorses in the Western Conference semifinals. That division title was enough to give them a berth in the 2023 US Open Cup.

UDA started their qualifying journey in Round 2 with a 4-0 win over Coronado Athletic Club (UPSL), followed by a 3-1 extra time win over Olympians FC (UPSL). They punched their ticket to the tournament with a dramatic 4-4 draw vs. Azteca FC, which resulted in a 3-1 penalty kick shootout win.

MORE >> Meet the Underdogs: UDA Soccer, a rare college team qualifies for US Open Cup

Crossfire Premier (NPSL) at Project 51O (USL-2)
Ohlone College Soccer Field – Fremont, CA
Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: NO

By Adam Uthe

Two west coast Open Cup debutants will square off in Fremont, Calif. when NPSL side Crossfire Premier visit USL-2’s Project 510.

Crossfire Premier did qualify once previously for the 2020 Open Cup, but that tournament was never played due to the COVID-19 outbreak so 2023 will mark their official debut. Project 510 is the developmental side for USL Championship side Oakland Roots SC. They qualified by finishing first in the 2022 Southwest Division of USL-2 in their inaugural season.

The winner of this one will have a tall task ahead of them as they travel to the California capital to take on 2022 Open Cup runners up and USL Championship side Sacramento Republic.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Crossfire Premier (NPSL)
1st US Open Cup appearance (Qualified for canceled 2020 tournament)
Overall: 0-0-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

Project 51O (USL-2)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

Capistrano FC (NISAN) at Ventura County Fusion (USL-2)
Ventura College Sportsplex – Ventura, CA
Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: Bleacher Report

By Adam Uthe

Travis Bowen of the Ventura County Fusion scrambles past a Chivas USA defender during a Third Round match in the 2012 US Open Cup. Photo: Aaron Schmidt

Two southern California sides will go head-to-head when Open Cup first timers Capistrano FC (aka Capo FC) travel to the Ventura to face Ventura County Fusion of USL-2.

Capo FC are not only making their Open Cup debut, but 2023 will be the inaugural season playing in the National Independent Soccer Association Nation (NISAN). Their road to the 2023 tournament crossed all four rounds of qualifying, but they did catch a break as two of their four wins came via forfeit. Their Round 4 victory over the UPSL’s Orange County FC was hard fought though – they managed to win the penalty shootout by narrow 3-2 margin after the first 120 minutes of the march finished scoreless.

Ventura County Fusion are no strangers to the Open Cup as they make their 9th appearance in club history. Their best finish came in 2012 when they advanced to Round 3 and they’ll be looking to carry over the positive momentum of their 2022 USL-2 Southwest Division second place finish.

The winner of this one will travel to Irvine, Calif. to take on USL Championship side Orange County SC. If Ventura County advances, it will be the fourth time the two teams will have met in Open Cup play.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Capistrano FC (NISAN)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

Ventura County Fusion (USL-2)
9th US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 6-7-2 (1-1 PKs)
Home: 3-5-2 (1-1 PKs)
vs. Amateurs: 4-3-2 (1-1 PKs)
Best finish: Third Round (2012)

THURSDAY, MARCH 23

Lionsbridge FC (USL-2) at Cleveland SC (NPSL)
North Olmsted High School – North Olmsted, OH
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: Eleven Sports

By Jake Sillick

Cleveland SC vs Chicago FC United 2022 US Open Cup — Cleveland SC’s Mikey Derezic celebrates his equalizer against Chicago FC United in their First Round match in the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Luigi Musto

In one of the longer road trips of the round, Lionsbridge FC of Newport News, Va. travels all the way to the Cleveland suburb of North Olmstead to face Cleveland SC. Lionsbridge finished with the top regular season record of all USL League Two teams last season, going undefeated and winning 12 of 14 matches with a 12-0-2 record. That easily won the Chesapeake Division in the league. They would be stopped in the playoffs in the first round by Vermont Green FC though. This is their first US Open Cup appearance.

Cleveland SC continues their streak of qualifying for the Open Cup this season after another stellar NPSL season performance last season. Cleveland SC just pipped the Rust Belt championship over Pittsburgh Hotspurs by one point. Their qualification though would come down to Midwest Region playoff performance though, where they defeated Pittsburgh Hotspurs and Med City FC to secure their spot in the Midwest Region Final, where they would lose to Muskegon Risers. The regional final performance was enough secure their place. In the Open Cup last season in their first appearance, the club defeated Chicago FC United 2-1 in extra time before falling to Forward Madison of USL League One in the second round 3-0.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Lionsbridge FC (USL-2)
1st US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-0-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-0-0
Best finish: N/A

Cleveland SC (NPSL)
2nd US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 1-1-0
Home: 1-0-0
vs. Amateurs: 1-0-0
Best finish: Second Round (2022)

Miami United FC (NSL) at Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 (NPSL)
Hodges Stadium – Jacksonville, FL
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: YouTube and Twitch

By Jake Sillick

Miami United FC players celebrate during their 2023 US Open Cup Second Qualifying Round match against International Soccer Association at Broward College-South Campus in Pembroke Pines, FL (Credit: Miami United FC)

A pair of Florida clubs will face off for the right to go up against Miami FC in the Second Round. Jacksonville Armada have competed in this tournament from many divisions, pro and amateur, but have been a NPSL side for the last few years. Last season the Armada went all the way to the South Region Final which earned their spot in the competition after a stellar run through the Gulf Coast Conference, winning the regular season and playoff titles. The Armada have been tight to the chest on what their roster will look like, but there will be some players available from their NPSL team, and they have a relationship with the local academy Jacksonville FC, who play in UPSL, making a Round of 16 run in the most recent national playoffs over the fall and winter.

They’ll face familiar opposition in Miami United FC. This iteration of United qualified from the National Soccer League and going through local qualifying last fall. Miami United defeated Florida Brothers, International Soccer Association, City Soccer, and Naples City, scoring at least two goals in each match en route to qualifying. Miami United have also qualified from NPSL and have even been in the same division as Jacksonville in some seasons. Miami United also defeated a Jacksonville Armada team in the Third Round of the 2018 tournament 2-0.

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Miami United FC (NSL)
5th US Open Cup appearance (1st as local qualifier)
Overall: 6-4-0
Away: 3-3-0
vs. Amateurs: 6-0-0
Best finish: Fourth Round (2018)

Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 (NPSL)
4th US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 2-3-0
Home: 1-1-0
vs. Amateurs: 2-1-0
Best finish: Second Round (2012, 2014, 2017)

Lansdowne Yonkers FC (EPSL) at Hartford City FC (NPSL)
Trinity Health Stadium – Hartford, CT
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
BROADCAST: Bleacher Report

By Andrew Mosier

If there is one thing we know going into this 2023 US Open Cup First Round match between Lansdowne Yonkers FC and Hartford City FC is that Lansdowne Yonkers FC can score goals.

Lansdowne Yonkers FC celebrate after the club's 2-0 win over Vistula Garfield in the 2023 US Open Cup qualifying tournament. Photo: Michael Battista — Lansdowne Yonkers FC celebrate after the club’s 2-0 win over Vistula Garfield in the 2023 US Open Cup qualifying tournament. Photo: Michael Battista

In four rounds of local qualifying wins, Lansdowne banged in 14 goals, winning 5-0, 3-0, 4-1, and 2-0 to qualify them for the Open Cup a second year running. Shawn Genus led scoring for Lansdowne in qualifying with five goals over three games including a Round 1 hat trick and a Round 3 brace. Seven different players scored goals for Lansdowne in qualifying. And they are just as impressive in early Eastern Premier Soccer League play, putting 14 past opposing goalkeepers in three games for 4-0, 6-1, and 4-0 wins. Shaquille Sanchez tallied twice in the club’s 4-0 league win on Saturday.

Considerably less is known about Lansdowne’s First Round host, Hartford City FC. As NPSL North Atlantic Conference regular season winners, Hartford earned one of eight automatic berths awarded to the NPSL, which sits on the fourth tier of the US Soccer Pyramid, the same as Lansdowne. Hartford City have not played a competitive game since losing 2-0 to the New York Shockers in the North Atlantic Conference playoff in July. Returning from last year’s Open Cup squad are captain Mark Grant and defender Andrew Geres, along with a spate of returning college players from the squad that went undefeated in NPSL regular season play including defenders Larson Richards (Eastern Connecticut State), Taj Salawu (Holy Cross); forwards Tremaine Bryan (University of Hartford), Khalid Rose (Central Connecticut State); midfielders Alex Clarke (Bucknell University, and Hikaru Jujiwara (New England Revolution II).

This is both team’s second consecutive trip to US Soccer’s big dance. In 2022, Hartford City received one of NPSL’s automatic berths in its debut Open Cup appearance, losing 3-0 at home to Oyster Bay United (UPSL) in the first round. Lansdowne qualified for the 2022 tournament as U.S. Amateur Cup winners. They played the Ocean City Nor’easters (USL-2) to a 1-1 draw in the opening round, advancing on penalty kicks (4-3), then falling to Rochester New York FC (MLSNP) 1-0 in round two.

Coincidently, Lansdowne beat Hartford City’s 2022 Open Cup opponent, Oyster Bay United FC, 4-1 in the final round of qualifying this year.

Lansdown Yonkers was founded in 1997 as Lansdowne Bhoys FC, based in Yonkers, just north of New York City. They played in the historic and highly competitive Cosmopolitan Soccer League, the premier league for teams from in and around New York City since 1923, winning four consecutive league championships (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17).

The club changed to its current name in 2019, when the Cosmopolitan Soccer League and Maryland Major Soccer League partnered to form the elite Eastern Premier Soccer League. The EPSL now features teams from Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Teams are promoted and relegated up and down the EPSL tier system based on league performance. Lansdowne Yonkers FC won the league inaugural championship in 2020-21.

The club has two U.S. Amateur Cup titles: the first as Lansdowne Boys FC in 2017, beating the Milwaukee Bavarian SC. The second came in 2021, as Lansdown Yonkers FC, beating Cal FC for the title.

Lansdowne has appeared in four Open Cups: 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023. As local qualifiers in 2016 the club beat the Long Island Rough Riders (USL-2) 2-1, then upset second-division Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL-C) before falling to the Rochester Rhinos (USLC) 2-0 in the Third Round. It was the club’s best performance. In 2018, again as local qualifiers, the club beat the Brooklyn Italians (NPSL) 2-0 in the opening round before losing to North Carolina FC (USLC) 3-0. As U.S. Amateur Cup champions in 2021, the club qualified automatically for the 2022 Open Cup where they slipped past the Ocean City Nor’easters on penalty kicks in round one before losing 1-0 to Rochester New York FC (MLSNP).

Hartford City FC was founded in 2015 but did not begin competing until 2017, when it joined the fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League. In 2021 it won its conference title, advancing to the regional semifinal, and earning the club an automatic bid to the 2022 Open Cup. The club was eliminated in the first round of its Open Cup debut, 3-0, by Oyster Bay United FC (UPSL).

US OPEN CUP HISTORY

Lansdowne Yonkers FC (EPSL)
4th US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 3-3-1 (1-0 PKs)
Away: 3-2-1 (1-0 PKs)
vs. Amateurs: 2-0-1 (1-0 PKs)
Best finish: Third Round (2016)

Hartford City FC (NPSL)
2nd US Open Cup appearance
Overall: 0-1-0
Home: 0-1-0
vs. Amateurs: 0-1-0
Best finish: First Round (2022)

2023 US Open Cup: Rochester NY FC becomes first pro team to forfeit match after ceasing operations

March 15, 2023 by Jake Sillick

Kevin O’Toole of NYCFC dribbles the ball against Rochester New York FC in the Fourth Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. This is Rochester NY FC’s final Open Cup match. Photo: NYCFC

US Soccer has announced that Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC of USL Championship will receive a 1-0 forfeit win over Rochester NY FC of MLS NEXT Pro. This is after the club formerly named the Raging Rhinos has suspended all operations and will not be playing a 2023 season in the league.

This is a first for a professional team in the Modern Era (1995 to present), with a possible exception for when Colorado Rapids of MLS replaced the Colorado Foxes of the A-League in the 1996 tournament after the Foxes did not have enough players to compete due to World Cup qualifying at the same time as the match. At the time of this article’s publication, we have not confirmed if the Foxes withdrawal officially went down as a forfeit.

All forfeits are referred to the Open Cup Adjudication and Discipline Panel. Section 307 of the US Open Cup policy states: If a team forfeits or fails to appear timely for a match, the team forfeits the match and must pay a fine that is at least equal to 3 times the entry fee of that team. The Adjudication and Discipline Panel shall determine the amount of the fine.

Division III teams like Rochester NY FC pay a $400 entry fee, making it a minimum fine of $1200. The separate $1500 performance bond all teams must post will not be returned to Rochester as well. The Panel also has the power to enforce penalties that are not monetary.

In the past, professional teams will decide before US Soccer finalizes the competition team list and format whether they are operating for the upcoming year. This announcement of Rochester’s withdrawal from MLS NEXT Pro comes after US Soccer had already decided the final format and announced the first and second round schedule on Feb. 3 and Feb. 16, respectively. These announcements were delayed from their planned January 2023 releases. Round 1 is scheduled to be played March 21-23 and Round 2 is scheduled to be played April 4-6.

Had this been decided in a more timely manner before US Soccer had to finalize the competition, the current format would have resulted in 30 Open Division slots instead of 28 for Round 1. This is because Rochester NY FC was a second round entrant, which means their place in the second round needs to be filled by a winner of a first round match, thus requiring two more teams. By rule, these two extra slots would be allocated to the two Open Division National Leagues, NPSL and USL League Two, with each league receiving one additional slot.

According to TheCup.us records regarding the NPSL here, the next team that would have qualified for the 2023 US Open Cup is Med City FC of Rochester, Minnesota. We have confirmed with the club that they were fully intending on participating in the competition had they been invited.

According to TheCup.us records regarding USL League Two here, the next team that would have qualified for the 2023 US Open Cup is Kalamazoo FC of Michigan. At the time of this article’s publication, we have not confirmed with them or any other club who would have accepted an invitation had they been invited. If Kalamazoo FC did not want to participate, the invitation may have gone to Long Island Rough Riders or Western Mass Pioneers as the next two best teams.

Adding specifically Med City FC to the tournament would have changed how the Round 1 draw and schedule panned out. Instead of Des Moines Menace traveling to Murfreesboro, TN to play Beaman United, the Menace would have had a much shorter trip up to Rochester, MN. Round 1 and Round 2 matches are paired up with geography in mind as best as possible.

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds become the beneficiaries of this forfeit, making it one fewer game they have to play on the schedule and one game closer to the $25,000 prize as the furthest advancing Division II team. While their fellow league members in Division II USL Championship will be playing a second round match as scheduled. As Sacramento Republic did last season, they are also one game closer to the champion prize of $300,000 or the finalist prize of $100,000.

2023 US Open Cup: Bleacher Report app, YouTube to broadcast featured Round 1 matches

March 8, 2023 by Jake Sillick

Chicago House supporters who made the trip to Randolph, Mass. to cheer their team on in a 2023 US Open Cup qualifying match against Brockton FC United. Photo: Brad Granofsky — Chicago House supporters who made the trip to Randolph, Mass. to cheer their team on in a 2023 US Open Cup qualifying match against Brockton FC United. Chicago House’s match vs. Bavarian United will be streamed as a featured match. Photo: Brad Granofsky

US Soccer announced today the broadcast partner for the first three rounds of the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Select matches from all three rounds will be broadcasted for free on the Bleacher Report (B/R) app and the B/R Football YouTube channel. Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) Sports is the exclusive home of all US Soccer owned properties and matches, including the US Open Cup. Bleacher Report is a brand under WBD Sports.

There used to be a B/R Live app when the company owned the rights for the UEFA Champions League for a paid subscription. The B/R Live app has been completely discontinued. The US Open Cup featured matches will be completely free to watch without any provider login or subscription from the main B/R app or on YouTube.

Six matches from the first round, and eight matches each from the second and third rounds will be broadcast on the B/R platform. The first round is 14 matches in total, second round is 30 matches in total, and the third round will be 24 matches in total. The first round will be played by all of the Open Division teams. The second round is when Division II and Division III teams will enter. The third round is when the 18 unseeded MLS teams will enter the competition.

The eight featured matches for the third round will be announced after the Third Round draw on Thursday, April 6.

There are no other broadcast plans for these rounds. While unconfirmed from US Soccer, it is likely any match not featured in these plans will be up to the clubs playing to stream. The broadcast plans for the Round of 32 and later rounds will be announced at a later date.

Featured First Round Games: LIVE on B/R (All times ET)
Tuesday, March 21 – 7:30 p.m.
West Chester United SC (USASA / USLP / Pa.)
vs. Ocean City Nor’easters (USL / USL2 / N.J.)

Wednesday, March 22 – 6 p.m.
El Farolito (USASA / NPSL / Calif.)
vs. International San Francisco (USASA / SFSFL / Calif.)

Wednesday, March 22 – 7 p.m.
Appalachian FC (USASA / NPSL / N.C.)
vs. NC Fusion U23 (USL / USL2 / N.C.)

Wednesday, March 22 – 8 p.m.
Chicago House A.C. (USASA / MWPL / Ill.)
vs. Bavarian United (USASA / WSL / Wisc.)

Wednesday, March 22 – 10 p.m.
Ventura County Fusion (USL / USL2 / Calif.)
vs. Capo FC (USASA / NISAN / Calif.)

Thursday, March 23 – 7:30 p.m.
Hartford City FC (USASA / NPSL / Conn.)
vs. Lansdowne Yonkers FC (USASA / EPSL / N.Y.)

Featured Second Round Games: LIVE on B/R (All times ET)
Tuesday, April 4 – 7:30 p.m.
Detroit City FC (USLC)
vs. Gold Star Detroit (NISA)

Tuesday, April 4 – 10 p.m.
Oakland Roots (USLC)
vs. El Farolito (USASA / NPSL / Calif.) OR International San Francisco (USASA / SFSFL / Calif.)

Wednesday, April 5 – 7 p.m.
Louisville City FC (USLC)
vs. Lexington Sporting Club (USLL1)

Wednesday, April 5 – 8 p.m.
Des Moines Menace (USL / USL2 / Iowa) OR Beaman United FC (UPSL / UPSLP / Tenn.)
vs. Chattanooga FC (NISA)

Wednesday, April 5 – 9 p.m.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (USLC)
vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (USLL1)

Wednesday, April 5 – 10 p.m.
Orange County SC (USLC)
vs. Ventura County Fusion (USL / USL2 / Calif.) OR Capo FC (USASA / NISAN / Calif.)

Wednesday, April 5 – 10:30 p.m.
Phoenix Rising FC (USLC)
vs. Greenville Triumph SC (USLL1)

Thursday, April 6 – 7 p.m.
Richmond Kickers (USLL1)
vs. Cleveland SC (USASA / NPSL / Ohio) OR Lionsbridge FC (USL / USL2 / Va.)

2023 US Open Cup: 46 lower division pro teams join the tournament in Round 2 in 30 matches

February 17, 2023 by Jake Sillick

Greenville Triumph Oakland Roots 2022 US Open Cup — Greenville Triumph players celebrate after scoring a goal against Oakland Roots in the Second Round of the 2022 US Open Cup. This year, they were dawn as the road team in a match at Phoenix Rising. Photo: Chandler Jarrell @chandlerjarrell

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.