CHICAGO (March 16, 2022) – The First Round of the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – returning as U.S. Soccer’s annual national championship following a two-year hiatus caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic – kicks off with 16 Open Division First Round games played across the country on March 22 and 23.
All matches of the 2022 Open Cup will be streamed live. The First Round games, consisting of 32 Open Division amateur sides, will be broadcast on a combination of platforms with ESPN+ carrying seven games and U.S. Soccer’s YouTube channel showing the remaining nine matches. The contests in all subsequent rounds will broadcast exclusively on ESPN+.
Every game of the U.S. Open Cup is single elimination in format. The First Round contests (16 in all) will feature 11 local qualifiers (arrived at this stage via the various state qualifying paths), 10 teams from United Soccer League (USL)’s League Two and 10 more from the National Premier Soccer (NPSL).
|
ESPN+ |
7 p.m. ET |
FC Motown (NPSL) |
West Chester United SC (USLL2) |
MSU Soccer Park; Montclair, N.J. |
|
USSF YT |
7:15 p.m. ET |
Cleveland SC (NPSL) |
Chicago FC United (USLL2) |
George Finnie Stadium; Berea, Ohio |
|
ESPN+ |
7:30 p.m. ET |
Hartford City FC (NPSL) |
Oyster Bay United FC (N.Y.) |
Trinity Health Stadium; Hartford, Conn. |
|
USSF YT |
7:30 p.m. ET |
The Villages SC (USLL2) |
Orlando FC Wolves (Fla.) |
The Villages SC Complex; Summerfield, Fla. |
|
USSF YT |
7:30 p.m. CT |
Southern States SC Stars (NPSL) |
Georgia Revolution FC (NPSL) |
The Oakes; Hattiesburg, Miss. |
|
ESPN+ |
7:30 p.m. CT |
Denton Diablos FC (NPSL) |
D'Feeters Kicks Soccer Club (Texas) |
UNT Soccer and Track & Field Stadium; Denton, Texas |
|
ESPN+ |
7 p.m. ET |
Ocean City Nor'easters (USLL2) |
Lansdowne Yonkers FC (N.Y.) |
Carey Stadium; Ocean City, N.J. |
|
USSF YT |
7 p.m. ET |
Lynchburg FC (Va.) |
Nova FC (Va.) |
Lynchburg City Stadium; Lynchburg, Va. |
|
USSF YT |
7 p.m. ET |
South Carolina United FC (USLL2) |
NC Fusion U23 (USLL2) |
SEFL Soccer Complex; Columbia, S.C. |
| USSF YT | 7:30 p.m. ET | Western Mass Pioneers (USLL2) | Brockton FC United (Mass.) | Lusitano Stadium; Ludlow, Mass. |
|
ESPN+ |
7:30 p.m. ET |
Miami United FC (NPSL) |
City Soccer FC (Fla.) |
Ted Hendricks Stadium; Hialeah, Fla. |
|
ESPN+ |
7 p.m. CT |
Des Moines Menace (USLL2) |
Minneapolis City SC (NPSL) |
Valley Stadium; West Des Moines, Iowa |
|
USSF YT |
7 p.m. CT |
Tulsa Athletic (NPSL) |
Azteca FC (Colo.) |
Case Soccer Complex (ORU); Tulsa, Okla. |
|
USSF YT |
2:45 p.m. PT |
San Fernando Valley FC (Calif.) |
Escondido FC (Calif.) |
Sepulveda Basin Sports Complex; Encino, Calif. |
|
USSF YT |
7 p.m. PT |
Portland Timbers U23 (USLL2) |
Contra Costa FC (Calif.) |
John Chambers Field; Salem, Ore. |
|
ESPN+ |
7:30 p.m. PT |
Las Vegas Legends FC (NPSL) |
Park City Red Wolves SC (USLL2) |
Peter Johann Soccer Field (UNLV); Las Vegas, N.V. |
April 8 Third Round Draw
April 19-21 Third Round (17 lower-seeded Division I teams enter)
April 22 Round of 32 Draw
May 10-11 Round of 32 (Eight higher-seeded Division I teams enter)
May 12 Round of 16/Quarterfinal Draw
May 24-25 Round of 16
June 21-22 Quarterfinals
July 26-27 Semifinals
Sept. 6, 7, 13 or 14 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final
The 32 teams involved in the First Round include reigning USASA (U.S. Adult Soccer Association) National Amateur Champions Lansdowne Yonkers FC, back for their third tilt at American soccer’s oldest prize. They open against tournament regulars (10-time Open Cup participants) Ocean City Nor’easters of USL League Two. Led by head coach and former captain Sean Kelly, the side from Yonkers last appeared in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2018, when they were eliminated in the Third Round by then second-tier professional side North Carolina FC.
Elsewhere in the Northeast region, debutants Brockton FC United of Massachusetts of the Bay State Soccer League (BSSL) take on 11-time Open Cup participants Western Mass Pioneers at the historic and soccer-specific Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Massachusetts.
The Des Moines Menace (USL League Two) are back for their 14th Open Cup and will meet tournament first-timers Minneapolis City SC (NPSL) in their First Round tilt.
San Fernando Valley FC, Escondido FC (both of the United Premier Soccer League – UPSL) and Contra Costa FC (NPSL) comprise a trio of First Round representatives from the State of California – producer of eight Open Cup winners (with 15 titles overall) since the tournament’s first edition back in 1914.
The 16 First Round winners will move on to face professional clubs in the Second Round between April 5-7 (Second Round schedule and match scenarios).
Twenty-three USL Championship (Division II), 11 USL League One (Division III), two MLS NEXT Pro (Division III) and 10 National Independent Soccer Association (Division III) professional teams await the First Round winners in the only major American team sports competition in which amateurs can earn the chance at meaningful games against professional clubs and players.
Seventeen lower-seeded U.S.-based Division I Major League Soccer clubs will enter in the Third Round, which will be played April 19-21, while the remaining eight MLS sides will take the field for their first Open Cup action in the Round of 32, which takes place May 10-11.
Home teams for each round are determined by random selection among those who apply to host. Clubs whose venue meets minimum tournament standards are given priority.
Now in its 107th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer's National Championship – has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2022 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally-contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize.
Atlanta United FC is the defending Open Cup champion, having earned the club's first tournament title thanks to a 2-1 victory against Minnesota United FC on Aug. 27, 2019, in front of an Open Cup Final record 35,709 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fans can also follow the competition on Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.