The Round of 32 of the 111th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup kicked off with seven competitive matchups between MLS and lower-division professional sides. Notably, USL Championship sides Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and Louisville City FC defeated their MLS opponents. Elsewhere, the New England Revolution and Minnesota United FC escaped on penalties, while Chicago Fire FC, New York City FC and the Colorado Rapids took care of business in regular time.
The Round of 32 will conclude tomorrow with a nine-match slate starting at 7 p.m. ET with FC Naples hosting Orlando City SC (Paramount+/CBS Sports Network). The following seven matchups between MLS and lower-division professional sides will be broadcast on Paramount+, before the night concludes with a first-time encounter between the San Jose Earthquakes and Phoenix Rising FC at 10 p.m. ET (Paramount+/CBS Sports Golazo Network). CBS Sports will also host The Golazo Show, a whip-around program highlighting every goal from eight matchups, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Back-to-back USL Championship Players’ Shield winners Louisville City FC have defeated an MLS opponent for the second time in club history and the first since 2018, downing 2025 Open Cup runners-up Austin FC. ATXFC rolled out a strong lineup, led by Facundo Torres and Myrto Uzuni, and anchored by former Louisville goalkeeper Damian Las in his first appearance with Austin. Louisville pestered the Austin backline early and often, jumping out to a 2-0 first-half lead through Sean Totsch’s goal in his 314th appearance with the club and Tola Showunmi’s fourth goal in Open Cup play. Austin responded through C.J. Fodrey’s 70th-minute goal, but it wasn’t enough for the MLS side to complete the comeback. Louisville’s victory—its first against a top-division club since defeating New England Revolution in 2018—secures its third trip to the Round of 16.
Four-time Open Cup champion Chicago Fire FC survived a late scare from USL Championship side Detroit City FC at raucous Keyworth Stadium in a rematch of last year’s Round of 32 tilt, relying on a two-minute, first-half brace from Jason Shokalook. Shokalook—the reigning MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot winner with Chicago Fire FC II—scored his first first-team goal in the 34th minute before completing his brace just two minutes later. Detroit nearly found a way back into the match after Darren Smith scored his sixth goal of the season across all competitions in the 79th minute and Chicago was reduced to 10 men in the 80th minute, but the Fire were able to hang on. The result sees Gregg Berhalter’s side through to the Round of 16 for the 23rd time in club history.
New York City FC picked up its second-largest Open Cup victory in club history, dismantling local USL League One side Westchester SC by a three-goal margin in Mount Vernon, N.Y. Daniel Burko and Kyle Evans got on the scoresheet for WSC in its first matchup against a top-division club, but the story of the night was the partnership between NYCFC’s young South American duo of Agustín Ojeda and Talles Magno. The pair combined for six goal contributions on the night as Magno bagged the first hat trick of the tournament proper and Ojeda dished out a pair of assists and added a goal. The win sees Pascal Jansen’s side through to the Round of 16 for the third time in club history.
In a rematch of last year’s Round of 32, the New England Revolution again broke hearts at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., overcoming Rhode Island FC’s late push to advance on penalties. An even contest from start to finish, the match was highlighted by Diego Fagúndez’s first Revs goal since 2020 and J.J. Williams’ equalizer in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time to force extra time. The contest concluded with a memorable penalty kick shootout which featured a three-save performance from 21-year-old goalkeeper Donovan Parisian in his first appearance for the first team. The result confirms that the 2007 champion Revolution are back in the Round of 16 for the 17th time in club history.
USL Championship side Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC dominated four-time Open Cup champion Sporting Kansas City at Weidner Field to secure its first victory against an MLS side in club history. Juan Tejada scored his first goal of the season in match-winning fashion just 12 minutes into the contest, before 21-year-old Uganda youth international Sadam Masereka—an unsigned 2026 MLS SuperDraft selection by Sporting Kansas City—scored the second goal of his nascent professional career in the 31st minute. In the final 15 minutes of the match, a red card issued to Kansas City’s Shapi Suleymanov and a subsequent goal from Colorado Springs’ Khori Bennett confirmed the impressive Switchbacks victory. For Sporting, it’s the third consecutive time the MLS originals have been bounced from the Open Cup in the Round of 32.
The Colorado Rapids picked up a key victory against a challenging Union Omaha side at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids relied on a 21st-minute winner from Dante Sealy—his first with the club—as the former USL League One champion led his side to victory over two-time League One champion Omaha. Colorado controlled large portions of the match, maintaining 66% possession and limiting Omaha to just two shots on target. Colorado is now back in the Round of 16 for the first time since 2023, its last participation in the Open Cup.
Minnesota United FC returns to the Round of 16 after surviving USL Championship powerhouse Sacramento Republic FC on penalties in California. The first meeting between the pair began with Colombia international James Rodríguez earning his first start for the Loons. The match remained even throughout both regular and extra time; Minnesota established an offensive rhythm to maintain sizeable advantages in possession, shots and total passes, while Sacramento answered with a solid defensive game plan, outperforming MNUFC in interceptions, clearances and saves. After 120 minutes, the contest shifted to a dramatic penalty kick shootout in which Republic FC let a couple of opportunities slip away before MNUFC capitalized on the hosts’ mistakes, coming out on top after 12 rounds.