Four USL Championship Clubs & their Magical Cinderella Runs

Two of eight teams from the Division II USL Championship still alive in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup (Sacramento Republic and Charleston Battery) can draw on historic runs to the tournament’s Final. And another two (New Mexico United and Detroit City FC) have recent deep, if slightly humbler, runs to look back on as inspiration.

Join usopencup.com for a closer look in the rearview at these history-making Championship clubs.

A Republic of Dreams (2022)

Sacramento Republic host the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS (Div. I) in our 2024 Round of 16. It will be at the same venue (Heart Health Park, home to the Republic), against the same opponent and at the same stage of the tournament as a contest that helped kickstart the club’s stratospheric and historic run to the 2022 Open Cup Final.

Club veterans like goalkeeper Danny Vitielo, Luis Felipe and beloved captain and creator Rodrigo ‘RoRo’ Lopez will remember that night well. The 2-0 win (thanks to goals from Felipe and Lopez) started a chain reaction that led to a road win against MLS powers LA Galaxy (2-1) and another magical night back at Heart Health Park for the Semifinal against four-time Open Cup Champs Sporting Kansas City of MLS.

That night’s 0-0 tangle after 120 minutes was followed by a penalty shootout that sent the side from California’s unfashionable capital catapulting into the Open Cup Final – out on the road against MLS’ Orlando City.

Occupying the posture of ultimate underdogs, the Republic gave it their all in the Final on September 7th, 2022. But despite keeping the scoreline at zeros for 75 minutes of play, they weren’t able to resist a late surge from the Floridians and their far deeper bench. Orlando City rode three goals from Uruguayan international Facundo Torres (two) and substitute Benji Michel (all in the last 15 minutes) to lift the oldest prize in American soccer that night (3-0).

Charleston Battery Super-Charged (2008)

That historical appearance by the underdogs from Sacramento was only the fourth time since MLS joined the Open Cup party (in 1996) that a second-tier team reached the Final. It was also the first since 2008, when the Charleston Battery beat three MLS teams (Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas and the Seattle Sounders) to book a place in that year’s Final against D.C. United.

The second-division South Carolinians were led by long-time coach (and former player) Michael Anhaeuser and guided, out on the field, by Oswaldo ‘Ozzie’ Alonso, then a young hopeful who’d freshly defected from his native Cuba while on international duty in the States. He would later go on to lift four Open Cups for the Seattle Sounders and is remembered to this day as one of the best (and toughest) midfielders in the history of Major League Soccer.

• READ: Ozzie Alonso is the Magic of the Cup

“The Open Cup gave me my chance,” Ozzie said of that 2008 run with Charleston. “It was my chance to improve and move forward. The Cup showed me anything is possible,” said Alonso, who played all 90 minutes of the 2-1 Final loss at the old RFK Stadium.

New Mexico’s Maiden Voyage (2019)

While it ended well shy of the Final, New Mexico United’s 2019 run is worth considering too.

Having only played their first game as a club nine days before opening in that year’s Open Cup, the Albuquerque-based side, led by the now-D.C. United head coach Troy Lesesne, wasted no time etching their name into our tournament’s legend and lore. NMU’s run to the Quarterfinal saw them beat two MLS teams and was made all the more impressive considering every one of their wins en route to the Last Eight came on the road.

Goals from local hero and former MLS standout Devon Sandoval and Kevaughn Frater felled the Colorado Rapids in the Round of 32 (2-2 aet and 4-2 PKs). They then beat 2016 Open Cup Champs FC Dallas in the Round of 16 (2-1). The side hoped for more magic when they arrived – with a large supporting cast of fans up in the stands – at the brand-new Allianz Field in St Paul for the Quarterfinal.

Those traveling fans had even more reason to believe when Santi Moar opened the scoring in the seventh minute. But it was a false dawn as Minnesota United – that year’s eventual Open Cup Runners-up – hit the net six times without reply in a convincing win (6-1).

One more win for today’s New Mexico United would see the club equal that deepest-ever run in the tournament. Zico Bailey’s two goals in the last round helped knock off RSL in NMU’s first-ever Open Cup game at their home of Isotopes Park. It set up an away date in Queens against the lone remaining Div. III team NYCFC II of MLS NEXT Pro.

Gritty Detroit City (2022)

Should Detroit City FC win their upcoming Round of 16 game against fellow USL Championship side Indy Eleven, they would match New Mexico United with a place in a first Open Cup Quarterfinal. That said, the Hamtramck-based club – and their band of fiery fans – have already set off their own fireworks in our Open Cup since debuting as an amateur side in 2013.

One the highlights of the 2022 edition of the Open Cup was Detroit City hosting Columbus Crew of MLS at their humble home of Keyworth Stadium. April 19th, 2022 became a legendary date in the history of the now USL Championship-based club as an 86th-minute penalty sealed a 2-1 win – a first-ever for the Detroiters against opposition from the top tier.

Maxi Rodriguez was the hero on that night – much like he was earlier this month when he scored the tying goal against Open Cup holders Houston Dynamo on the road. That win (on PKs after a 3-3 draw) – the most famous result for the club in Open Cup play to date and one of the most impressive in tournament history – booked a place for DCFC in our current Round of 16.

The underdog quartet will hope for lightning to strike again with places in the 2024 Quarterfinals on the line. Here’s a rundown of who they’re up against (and when) in this Round of 16:

Charleston Battery v Atlanta United (May 21)
Sacramento Republic FC v San Jose Earthquakes (May 21)
NYCFC II v New Mexico United (May 21)
Indy Eleven v Detroit City FC (May 22)

Maduro is a senior reporter at large for usopencup.com.