CHICAGO (February 3, 2023) – The First Round of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer’s annual national championship – kicks off with 14 First Round games across the country between March 21 and 23.
The 14 contests of the First Round feature nine teams that advanced from the fall’s Qualifying Rounds, 10 teams from United Soccer League (USL)’s League Two, eight more from the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and, finally, reigning national amateur champions Bavarian United of Wisconsin.
El Farolito (NPSL) vs. International San Francisco (Calif.)
West Chester United SC (Pa.) vs. Ocean City Nor'easters (USLL2)
Club de Lyon/Open (Fla.) vs. Nona FC (USLL2)
Appalachian FC (NPSL) vs. NC Fusion U23 (USLL2)
Manhattan SC (USLL2) vs. FC Motown (NPSL)
Chicago House AC (Ill.) vs. Bavarian United (Wis.)
Beaman United FC (Tenn.) vs. Des Moines Menace (USLL2)
Tulsa Athletic (NPSL) vs. Brazos Valley Cavalry FC (USLL2)
UDA Soccer (N.M.) vs. Park City Red Wolves (USLL2)
Project 51O (USLL2) vs. Crossfire Premier (NPSL)
Cleveland SC (NPSL) vs. Lionsbridge FC (USLL2)
Jacksonville Armada FC (NPSL) vs. Miami United FC (Fla.)
Hartford City FC (NPSL) vs. Lansdowne Yonkers (N.Y.)
Ventura County Fusion (USLL2) vs. Capo FC (Calif.)
National Amateur Cup champions (USASA) Bavarian United of Wisconsin, the 94-year-old amateur club who finished runners-up at the 1994 edition of the Open Cup, return to the tournament for the first time since 2019. They begin their account on the road against Chicago House AC, tournament debutants and the newest club founded by former Chicago Fire GM and Open Cup-winning executive Peter Wilt.
Lansdowne Yonkers, the two-time national amateur champions from New York, are back for a second-straight Open Cup Proper with a First-Round date against Hartford City FC of NPSL. Elsewhere in the Northeast, tournament regulars FC Motown – the reigning NPSL national champions – start out against Manhattan SC of USL’s League Two.
Often an underdog to be feared in our Open Cup, the Ocean City Nor’easters begin their charge with a tough one on the road against Blaise Santangelo’s West Chester United SC – a team who managed to triumph in a long Qualifying campaign despite playing all four of those games away from their Pennsylvania home base.
Traditional giant-killers Des Moines Menace (USL League Two) of Iowa are back for their 15th Open Cup Proper. They’ll head out on the road for a stiff test against Gift Ndam’s talented first-timers Beaman United FC of Nashville, who boast several ex-pros including former NYCFC (MLS) midfielder Kwadwo Poku.
The West Coast has a whopper of a First Rounder to look forward to. International San Francisco – who scored five goals in all but one of their four Open Division Qualifiers – take on El Farolito SC of NPSL, the team formerly known as CD Mexico who won the Open Cup in 1993.
The full field of non-MLS professional teams enter the competition in the Second Round. There are 24 teams from the USL Championship (Division II), 12 from USL League One (Division III), one from MLS NEXT Pro (Division III) and nine more from the National Independent Soccer Association (Division III). All 14 winners from the First Round are guaranteed a professional opponent in the Second Round of the Open Cup.
Eighteen lower-seeded U.S.-based Division I Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs enter in the Third Round, which will be played on April 25-26. The remaining eight MLS sides will join the party in the Round of 32 (May 9-10).
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.
Professional Division Teams
Division I – 26 teams – Major League Soccer (8 entering in the Round of 32 and 18 entering in the Third Round):
Atlanta United FC, Austin FC, Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire FC, FC Cincinnati, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, FC Dallas, D.C. United, Houston Dynamo FC, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles Football Club, Minnesota United FC, Inter Miami CF, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City, St. Louis CITY SC
Division II – 24 teams – USL Championship (entering in the Second Round)
Birmingham Legion FC, Charleston Battery, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, Detroit City FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, Hartford Athletic, Indy Eleven, Las Vegas Lights FC, Loudoun United FC, Louisville City FC, Memphis 901 FC, The Miami FC, Monterey Bay FC, New Mexico United, Oakland Roots, Orange County SC, Phoenix Rising FC, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Rio Grande Valley FC, Sacramento Republic FC, San Antonio FC, San Diego Loyal SC, Tampa Bay Rowdies, FC Tulsa
Division III – 1 team – MLS Next Pro (entering in the Second Round)
Rochester New York FC
Division III – 9 teams – NISA (entering in the Second Round)
Albion San Diego, Chattanooga FC, Club de Lyon (D3), Flower City Union, Gold Star FC, Los Angeles Force, Maryland Bobcats FC, Michigan Stars FC, Savannah Clovers
Division III – 12 teams – USL League One (entering in the Second Round)
Central Valley Fuego FC, Charlotte Independence, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Forward Madison FC
Greenville Triumph SC, Lexington SC, North Carolina FC, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, One Knoxville SC Richmond Kickers, South Georgia Tormenta FC, Union Omaha
Open Division Teams
U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Amateur Cup (USASA) champion
Bavarian United (Wisc.)
Open Division Local Qualifiers (9 advanced from original field of 107 entrants)
Beaman United FC, Capo FC, Chicago House AC, Club de Lyon FC (open), International San Francisco, Lansdowne Yonkers FC, Miami United FC, UDA Soccer, West Chester United SC
National Premier Soccer (8 teams based on 2022 league competition)
Appalachian FC, Hartford City SC, Cleveland SC, Crossfire Redmond, El Farolito, FC Motown, Jacksonville Armada FC U23, Tulsa Athletic
USL League Two (10 teams based on 2022 league competition)
Brazos Valley Cavalry FC, Des Moines Menace, Lionsbridge FC, Manhattan SC, Nona FC, North Carolina FusionU23, Ocean City Nor'easters, Park City Red Wolves SC, Project 510, Ventura County Fusion
Now in its 108th 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 2023 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2024 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.
Orlando City SC are defending Open Cup champions, having earned the club's first tournament title thanks to a 3-0 victory against second-division (USL Championship) side Sacramento Republic FC on September 7, 2022 in a Final played before a capacity crowd at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium.
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.