CHICAGO (March 19, 2025) – Matchday 2 of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup First Round was a feast-or-famine slate of 13 games headlined by four more upsets by amateur sides – including fresh faces and old hands, alike.
Famed giant-killer Des Moines Menace out of USL League Two used its roster chock full of ex-USMNT and MLS legends to weather Sporting KC II – and miserable, wintry conditions in Kansas City. The lead recruiter of the “old man” side of the squad, Sacha Kljestan, led the way to a 2-1 win with a pair of penalty conversions. Further west in suburban Salt Lake City, El Farolito took its ruthless counter-attack style on the road to slay another MLS NEXT PRO side, dispatching Real Monarchs 3-1 thanks to a pair of goals in the extra 30-minute period that followed a 1-1 duel in regulation.
New Cinderella stories got their time in the spotlight, too. Virginia Dream FC put the evening on tilt early via the USASA club’s 3-1 win at Richmond Kickers, drawing notice to the Arlington, Va.-based squad. In Arkansas, USL League Two’s Little Rock Rangers got the better of USL Championship stalwarts Birmingham Legion FC, its 1-0 win fueled by a first half penalty save and Caoimhin McConnell’s tally shortly after halftime.
One more MLS NEXT Pro team staved off a shock result, as Chattanooga FC needed a 112th minute tally from Markus Nagelstad to push past Corpus Christi FC in Tennessee. Another close call closed out the evening in Seattle, where Ballard FC and Spokane Velocity FC upped the drama from last year’s epic First Round contest by taking this year’s into added extra time. Spokane’s Anuar Pelaez put the visitors on top at the stroke of the 120th minute, and while Ballard FC appeared to equalize five minutes into stoppage time the offside flag waved off the goal – and the prospect of a heart-broken Ballard FC exacting revenge in penalties.
The pro squads that didn’t sweat things out dominated their proceedings with wins by multiple goals on Wednesday, including MLS NEXT Pro sides Columbus Crew 2, LAFC 2, and Inter Miami CF II – although the latter did need a second half flurry to post a 4-2 win over Miami United FC. USL League One’s One Knoxville SC and Lexington SC both notched shutout wins to advance, as did the USL Championship’s El Paso Locomotive FC and Monterey Bay FC, which each advanced to the Second Round with four-goal triumphs.
Inclement weather will extend the First Round by a day, as Denver area-based Flatirons FC today rescheduled its match against Union Omaha from Thursday to Friday (9:00 p.m. ET), reducing Thursday’s slate to seven showdowns across the country. All eight remaining First Round rows can be viewed live via streaming broadcasts at the @USSoccer YouTube channel.
The victors from this week’s contests will be paired off into 16 Second Round matches prioritized with geographic considerations in mind. Second Round match-ups, dates, and venues will all be made official and announced by this Friday, March 21. The Second Round will take place from April 1-2, and, like the First Round, will be streamed live exclusively via U.S. Soccer’s YouTube home.
Columbus Crew 2 4-1 NY Renegades FC
Chattanooga Football Club 0-0, 1-0 (aet) Corpus Christi FC
Appalachian FC 0-3 One Knoxville SC
Richmond Kickers 1-3 Virginia Dream FC
Inter Miami CF II 4-2 Miami United FC
Sporting KC II 1-2 Des Moines Menace
Lexington Sporting Club 5-0 Southern Indiana FC
Little Rock Rangers 1-0 Birmingham Legion FC
El Paso Locomotive FC 5-1 Harpos FC
Real Monarchs 1-1, 1-3 (aet) El Farolito
Monterey Bay FC4-0 International San Francisco
Ballard FC0-0, 0-1 (aet) Spokane Velocity FC
LAFC 2 7-1 FC Arizona
Hartford Athletic 3-0 New York Shockers
Sarasota Paradise 1-2 FC Naples
Miami FC 4-1 Naples United FC
New Jersey Alliance 2-2, 2-2 (aet), 2-4 PKs Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
FC Motown 0-1 Westchester SC
Asheville City SC 0-0, 0-0 (aet), 3-4 PKs Greenville Triumph SC
West Chester United SC 2-3 Loudoun United FC
Texoma FC 1-1, 1-2 (aet) FORO SC
Tulsa Athletic 0-1 FC Tulsa
AV ALTA FC 3-1 Ventura County Fusion
Ventura County FC 7-0 Laguna United
Columbus Crew 2 (NP) 4-1 NY Renegades FC (UPSL)
Forward Brent Adu-Gyamfi recorded a brace, scoring on either side of halftime, to lead Crew 2 in its Cup debut at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio. The visitors held their own for most of the opening half until Columbus broke open the game with two goals within a four-minute span. Defender Keesean Ferdinand opened the scoring off a set piece, as he headed home defender Malcom Palacios' looping header from close range past goalkeeper Eric Edwards in the 44th minute. Three minutes into stoppage time, Adu-Gyamfi buried a nine-yard shot from the left side of the penalty area to give Columbus a two-goal halftime advantage. The second half was just about all Crew 2, as defender Tristan Brown (62nd minute) and Adu-Gyamfi (69th) found the net. New York midfielder Jonathan Silvera pulled one back with a brilliant run and shot from the top of the area in the 79th minute. Goalkeeper Stanislav Lapkes registered the shutout for Crew 2, while his counterpart Edwards made eight saves.
Chattanooga Football Club (NP) 0-0, 1-0 (aet) Corpus Christi FC (USLL2)
Some games are classics and others are not. This one fell in the latter category. The fans on hand at Chattanooga FC’s historic Finley Stadium needed to be patient – and sit through a smorgasbord of tentative soccer – before finally having something to cheer about. When it came, though, it was indeed something to savor. Norway-born club legend Markus Naglestad broke free in the penalty area 12 minutes into the first period of extra-time. He rose highest and latched onto an inch perfect cross from the left side from Milo Garvanian to head home a sumptuous effort from close range. It would prove the only goal of the contest, despite the best efforts of the motivated amateurs from Corpus Christi, and sends the MLS NEXT Pro side through to the Second Round of the competition, where they will meet – and it should come as no surprise – crosstown USL League One rivals Chattanooga Red Wolves.
Appalachian FC (NPSL) 0-3 One Knoxville SC (USLL1)
One Knox made the short trek to Western North Carolina for the First Round for a second straight Cup and, similar to last year, the USL League One side launched its run with a shutout win. Beloved mascot Squatchy entered Boone’s Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex from the hills above to fire up the AFC faithful, but it was Knoxville that fired out of the gates, with Leo Santos’ 16th minute finish off a corner serving as a just reward for a strong open. Appalachian FC almost nicked an equalizer near the hour mark, but were left wondering what could have been after Harri Rowe’s chip from the right sideline beat One Knox ‘keeper Johan Garibay but not the left post. Soon after, Babacar Diene launched a dart of a free kick into the upper right 90 from 22 yards out to double the lead, and another free kick by the Senegalese striker in the 74th minute got stuck in the area for Scott McCloud to finish off.
Richmond Kickers (USLL1) 1-3 Virginia Dream FC (USASA)
Making their Open Cup debut, amateur side Virginia Dream FC provided arguably the biggest upset of the First Round with an impressive 3-1 road victory over 1995 Open Cup Champions Richmond Kickers at City Stadium in Richmond. Dream FC struck first in the 8th minute when forward Nicolas Likulia was taken down in the box, earning a penalty he converted to give the visitors an early 1-0 advantage. Richmond leveled in the 36th minute on an absolute banger from Englishmen James Vaughan, which marked his first goal with the Kickers. Virginia Dream reclaimed the lead in the 53rd minute on a header from Thomas Suchecki on a set piece. Eight minutes later (61'), Michael Akinkoye collected a deflected ball just outside the box to extend Virginia's lead to 3-1. While Richmond fought to get back into the game, the Dream were the better team on the night and earned their ticket to the Second Round.
Inter Miami CF II (NP) 4-2 Miami United FC (UPSL)
Inter Miami CF II stormed back from a one-goal halftime deficit behind Yuval Cohen's brace, ripping the nets for four second-half goals in its Open Cup debut against 10-man Miami United FC at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Santiago Frean, the son of head coach Claudio Frean, drew first blood for United in the 36th minute as he drilled a 30-yard free kick into the lower left corner past goalkeeper Matias Marin. Inter Miami II equalized in the 49th as Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida fired a 20-yard shot into the far-right corner past ‘keeper Sebastian D'Angelo. Matteo Saja gave the hosts the lead in the 65th minute with a tap-in of Samuel Basabe’s left-wing cross from four yards in the 65th, and Cohen lifted the hosts into a two-goal advantage five minutes later, scoring from seven yards. Inter enjoyed a man advantage following Frean’s ejection in the 74th, and Cohen tallied his second goal seven minutes later by putting home his own rebound. Inter’s 4-1 lead got chipped into when Miami United’s Jose Luis Aguinaga beat Marin from distance in the 84th.
Sporting KC II (NP) 1-2 Des Moines Menace (USLL2)
Behind a brace from former MLS star and current MLS analyst, Sacha Kljestan, Des Moines Menace held off Sporting Kansas City II 2-1 Wednesday night and provided another memorable upset for the burgeoning 2025 tournament. Both teams had to deal with significant wind, freezing wind chills, and nasty precipitation all evening and struggled to find their way. Despite that, the game opened up in the second half, when in the 57th minute, Kljestan slotted home the first goal on a penalty after a foul was drawn by his TV cohort – and career NY Red Bulls leading scorer – Bradley-Wright Phillips, in the box. Eight minutes later (65'), Sporting KC II forward Beckham Uderitz leveled the match with a low finish near the spot on a well-worked counter-attack. In the 75th minute, a second foul in the box was called against SKC II, and it was Kljestan who stepped up again to convert the penalty that pulled the Menace ahead for good. With the win, Des Moines now has 15 all-time wins in the Open Cup, including tonight’s ninth upset of a professional opponent that tied the record amongst amateur teams in the Modern Era.
Lexington Sporting Club (USLL1) 5-0 Southern Indiana FC (UPSL)
The result in Bluegrass Country was never in doubt, as Lexington SC notched twice in the opening half and thrice after halftime to coast to a win over Open Cup debutante Southern Indiana FC at Lexington SC Stadium in Lexington, Ky. The deluge began in the 13th minute with Jamaican Cory Burke crashing the six to redirect a corner kick. Lexington held nearly 80% possession, but it took until just before halftime to double the lead through Eliot Goldthorp’s slalom through four defenders and a tidy finish that followed. Alfredo Midence scored less than a minute into the second half to keep the pedal down, while Lucas Stauffer (53’) and Braudilio Rodrigues (80’) also got on the scoresheet of the club’s first tournament win, coming on their third try.
Little Rock Rangers (USLL2) 1-0 Birmingham Legion FC (USLC)
Caoimhin McConnell scored the lone goal and goalkeeper Tomasz Wroblewski saved a penalty kick to boost the Rangers to a legendary upset on a windy night at Episcopal Collegiate School Wildcat Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. Birmingham had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 24th minute, but Wroblewski dove to his left to knock away forward Lucca Dourado's penalty kick before pouncing on the loose ball. McConnell's big moment came three minutes into the second half. After a long throw-in from the left side, the midfielder drilled a shot from the top of the box into the left corner past goalkeeper Fernando Delgado. Worblewski preserved the win and clean sheet as he denied forward Ronaldo Damus during a scramble in the box in the 82nd minute. With their only previous Open Cup entrance in 2019 ending in PKs in their opening contest, tonight’s historic win for Little Rock kept them technically undefeated in the National Championship tournament with a record now of 1-0-1.
El Paso Locomotive FC (USLC) 5-1 Harpos FC (USSSA-S)
USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive scored early and often on Wednesday night en route to a convincing 5-1 victory over Harpos FC at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas. The scoring started in the 12th minute on a goal from forward Roberto Avila, which was assisted by Memo Diaz. Locomotive goals from Bryan Romero in the 37th minute and 45th+ minute gave him a first half brace to make it 3-0. An own goal by Harpos FC in the 54th minute extended El Paso's lead to 4-0, and just five minutes later Gabby Torres (59’) made it 5-0. Harpos got a consolation goal on the board in the 65th minute via a header from Baptiste Debuire on a beautiful floating ball from the right side from Quinn Matulis. With the 5-1 win, El Paso earned their first Open Cup win ever across five matches dating back to their debut in 2019.
Real Monarchs (NP) 1-1, 1-3 (aet) El Farolito (NPSL)
Last year’s darlings of the Open Division proved they still have more magic in them tonight at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. El Farolito never trailed against Real Monarchs and used a pair of goals in added extra time to post another dramatic win – their third over a professional side in four tries since the start of the 2024 tourney. It was Open Cup folk hero Dembor Benson getting to work again for the opener in the 17th minute, his far post finish of Judas Higuera’s tantalizing ball through the area putting the San Franciscan side on top. Monarchs were never far from a breakthrough, which finally came in the 58th minute via substitute forward Antonio Riquelme’s 1-v-1 finish past Johan Lizarralde, the equalizer setting up a frantic last half hour of regulation that saw both teams ruing gilt-edged chances. Kobi Henry’s second yellow in the 104th minute put Real down a man, and Herlburt Soto exploited the space to earn the visitors a penalty kick ten minutes later. After a pep talk from Benson, Soto curled his spot kick into the right side netting, and Erik Arias’ counter finish just before the final whistle cemented yet another classic Cup moment for the 1993 Champions.
Monterey Bay FC (USLC) 4-0 International San Francisco (USASA)
Monterey Bay FC celebrated its fourth appearance in the Open Cup with four goals. Xavi Gnaulati scored twice and Alex Dixon had two assists as Monterey Bay FC beat International San Francisco at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside, Calif. Dixon dribbled to the goal line before crossing to Mobi Fehr for the opening goal that set the tone inside the first 90 seconds of the match. Gnaulati scored a tap-in for Monterey Bay in the 25th minute, and Dixon assisted Gnaulati in first half stoppage time for a commanding 3-0 lead. Inter SF goalkeeper Jesus Medina came up with a double save in the first minute of the second half and made multiple key stops late in the game to keep their puncher’s chance alive, but Elijah Paul headed in Monterey Bay’s fourth on a whipped ball from Anton Sojberg in the 84th minute. The USL Championship side advanced to the Second Round in its inaugural season in 2022, the Third Round in ’23, and the Round of 32 last year – and hopes to use tonight’s win as a springboard to an even deeper run in 2025.
Ballard FC (USLL2) 0-0, 0-1 (aet) Spokane Velocity FC (USLL1)
An Apple State rematch was settled in the last minute, again, but this time it was in extra time. Anaur Pelaez scored the only goal in the 120th minute as Spokane Velocity FC defeated Ballard FC at Interbay Stadium in Seattle, Wash. In its expansion season last year, Spokane Velocity FC defeated Ballard FC 1-0 on a last-minute goal in the First Round – and they equaled the feat in the closing moments of regulation again, only to see Neco Brett’s chipped shot cleared off the goal line by a Ballard FC defender’s leaping header. After Pelaez finally tallied in the second overtime period, Ballard FC’s Austin Brummett slammed a blistered shot from just inside the penalty area, but Velocity FC goalkeeper Ryan Bilichuk touched it over the bar to keep the clean sheet that was further aided in the dying moments by a Ballard finish negated by the offside flag.
LAFC 2 (NP) 7-1 FC Arizona (NPSL)
Playing on its home patch, LAFC2 put together a dominant display as the young Angelenos cruised to a 7-1 victory against amateur side FC Arizona at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. LAFC2 received a brace of braces from U.S. U-17 international Jude Terry (21', 48') and speedy attacker Matt Evans (2', 65'). Tommy Mihalic assisted on his team's first two strikes before also scoring for the Black & Gold in the 42nd minute. FC Arizona, plucky throughout, pulled a goal back through Gabriel Waters in the 59th minute to make the score 4-1, but the renaissance was short lived as Evans grabbed his second six minutes later to make it 5-1 for the home side before Sebastian Nava (82') and Kayro Walters (90+3) cemented the final 7-1 scoreline for the MLS NEXT Pro side.
Now in its 110th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has crowned U.S. Soccer’s national champion since 1914. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and is open to professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the U.S. was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2025 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn a berth in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup 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 2025 tournament features a total purse worth $1 million that includes a $600,000 award for the champion.
Los Angeles Football Club of MLS is the defending Champion. The 109th edition of the tournament concluded on September 25, 2024, with LAFC beating four-time Champions Sporting Kansas City 3-1 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles to become Open Cup Champions for the first time.
The official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is ussoccer.com/us-open-cup. Fans can also follow the competition on X/Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.