Matchday Two of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup sees 80 amateur teams in action across the country with their sights set on taking another step toward next year’s Tournament Proper. Action kicks off on Saturday, October 26 with 20 games, followed on Sunday, October 27 with 20 more.
Twenty-six of Matchday Two’s 40 games will be Second Round contests, with the winners moving on to the penultimate (Semifinal) stage of these Qualifying Rounds. The other 14 games are Third Rounders, with the winners of those moving through to their Final (Fourth) Qualifying Stage.
Among the marquee matchups of the Third Round games is West Chester United SC vs the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals. It’s a clash of one of the top modern-day amateur sides, in Blaise Santengelo’s West Chester, who knocked out league mates United German Hungarians 6-0 in the previous Qualifying Round, and the Ukrainians – offspring of the dominant team of the same name who won four U.S. Open Cup titles in the 1960s.
The four remaining Third Rounders on Saturday will offer up no shortage of drama.
Georgia’s Dalton United host Mint Hill FC of Charlotte, N.C. – who pulled off an upset of South Carolina United Heat in the First Qualifying Round. Lancaster, PA-based Alloy Soccer Club travel to New Jersey Alliance – as do Arlington, VA’s Aegean Hawks who have an away date with MSI Pro, winners over Patuxent FA 1-0in the previous Qualifying Round. The last of Saturday’s Third Rounders pits Vereinigung Erzgebirge, led by former USL Championship star Antoine Hoppenot, on the road against Kensington SC in Philadelphia with a place in an all-or-nothing game in November on the line.
Sunday’s nine Third Qualifying Round games are headlined by a pair of Colorado derbies. First up, Azteca FC – with 37-year-old former Mexico and U.S. International Edgar Castillo in the squad – host Colorado Rovers in Golden while old familiar rivals Harpos FC and FC Denver meet in Aurora.
Other Sunday Third Rounders of note feature Cambridge-based CD Faialense, now dominating the Bay State Soccer League (BSSL) Division One, against Project Football in the Halloween wonderland of Salem, Massachusetts. “We want to be that amateur team that breaks through,” said CDF player-coach Paul Correia. “We’ve got a great blend of young players and experienced guys who’ve been around.”
NYC’s Zum Schneider FC 03 host Lansdowne Yonkers FC, the two-time National Amateur Champions and Open Cup regulars, while Long Islanders Leros SC take on NY Renegades FC in Islip.Elsewhere, Bowling Green FC will host Southern Indiana FC in a rare Open Cup contest in the state of Kentucky.
There are a number of notable participants in the weekend’s 26 Second Round games – the winners of which will need two more victories in order to reach the 2025 Tournament Proper.
Tulsa Athletic – who earned a bye through Qualifying Matchday One – host FC Bartlesville Buffaloes at their Hicks Park on Saturday. It’s the very same venue where the Oklahomans famously beat crosstown Division II pros FC Tulsa in the 2023 Open Cup. That win saw them move on to play MLS’ four-time Open Cup-Champion Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park.
Saturday also sees ten of the Round’s 16 Florida sides take the field – with Kissimmee Soccer Club hosting FC American CFL and Harbor City FC taking on Deportivo Lake Mary FC. Miami Soccer Academy – who beat Orlando’s City Soccer FC in the First Round – travel to meet Palm Beach Flames SC.
Chicago House AC – the Windy City side aiming for a third straight berth in the Tournament Proper – have a short trip ahead to take on the Chicago Strikers of the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL). It will be the second game in charge for former playing star and now coach Shannon Seymour. “You can’t switch off for a moment – not even a second – in an Open Cup game,” said Seymour, a playing member of the House teams that reached the 2023 and 2024 Open Cups. “You have to be ready for anything.”
Out west on Saturday, Sharktopus FC are back at it for the second straight year – and hosting Portland-based Deportivo Rose City at Roosevelt High School in Seattle. California boasts an All-San Diego derby between San Diego Internacional and City SC San Diego (both of the UPSL).
There will be 11 Second Round contests on Sunday, with Open Cup stalwarts Miami United FC welcoming crosstown rivals River Miami FC. Texas-based D’Feeters Kicks Soccer Club and FORO SC – who both reached recent installments of the Tournament Proper – do battle on the Dallas outskirts in Sunnyvale – while Virginia Dream FC and Alexandria Reds have at it in an All-Virginia affair.
Rounding out the competition in the western part of the country, we’ll have JASA RWC playing host to International San Francisco – the SFSFL side, led by former USL Championship top-scorer and Chicago Fire striker Matt Fondy, who are looking to reach a second straight Tournament Proper.
FC Folsom – who qualified for the 2024 Tournament Proper – host Real Galt, who bested Acoreano Sport 3-1 in the First Round, in Hilmar, Calif.. Up north, Washington Athletic Club travel to Seattle to take on Holac FC.
These Open Division Qualifying Rounds will send 14 teams to the 2025 Tournament Proper. The identity of seven of those teams will be known at the conclusion of Matchday Three (November 16 and 17) and the other seven at the conclusion of Matchday Four (December 7 and 8).
They will join up with USASA National Amateur Cup winner NY Pancyprian Freedoms, UPSL Spring Champion Soda City FC and 16 teams from the National League Qualifying Track, split between the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and USL League Two.
Angelo Maduro is a senior reporter at large for usopencup.com