Cinderella Swagger: Meet the Quartet of Division III Survivors Alive in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32
AV ALTA, Chattanooga Red Wolves, Union Omaha and Tacoma Defiance are Division III teams eager for an upset
Never forget about the underdog, friends.
That’s Rule-One in our historic Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. And as we welcome the 16 Major League Soccer sides that comprise the country’s Division I pro ranks, and tip a cap to our friends in the USL Championship (Division II), let’s remember the surviving representatives from the Division III (USL League One and MLS NEXT Pro)
There are four remaining sides from the third pro tier of American club soccer in our Round of 32 (ALL 16 GAMES LIVE on Paramount+ on May 6 and 7) with AV ALTA, Chattanooga Red Wolves and Union Omaha out of USL League One and Tacoma Defiance the lone remaining MLS NEXT Pro side.
AV ALTA FC – New Heroes of the Antelope Valley
We start out west with these high-flying, first-year debutants from Southern California. They may be new faces in USL League One play, and in our U.S. Open Cup too, but they're making sure no one forgets their first go-around in this country’s most historic soccer competition.
AV ALTA won their first two games in the 2025 U.S. Open Cup in front of a full (and noisy) house at their Lancaster Municipal Stadium. They first knocked off amateur locals Ventura County Fusion 3-1 before doing the same to LAFC’s MLS NEXT Pro side a week later in the Second Round. Their Third-Round contest, against Division II pros Orange County SC, was one for the ages. It included a late goalkeeper change seconds before the shootout and a winning penalty kick taker, Miguel Pajaro, sealing a 4-2 spot-kick win (after a 2-2 drama-filled regular and extra time) with a swimming cap on his head to keep a blood-leaking wound from oozing uncontrollably.
WATCH FC Dallas v AV ALTA FC on May 7 LIVE on Paramount+
The AV ALTA squad is made up of an array of players from many different backgrounds, including overseas national team players from Benin, El Salvador, the Philippines, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago. They also boast homegrown veteran stars like three-time USMNT-capped Miguel Ibarra, now 35, and formerly of Minnesota United and the Seattle Sounders.
AV ALTA’s first season – and first Open Cup – has been a magical ride so far
“Every game, being down, we reacted to find ways to get the win,” said coach Brian Kleiban, whose team had to fight back from one-goal deficits in all three of their games of the 2025 Open Cup. “We’re very excited to be playing an MLS team [in the Round of 32].”
Up next for these Cinderellas is a first-ever date with an opponent from Major League Soccer, when they head out on the road for the first time in this Open Cup to take on two-time Champions FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas. While the Texans have former MLS MVP Lucho Acosta in their squad, AV ALTA have the hot hand – Open Cup Magic and momentum – and will be an underdog not to take lightly.
Chattanooga Red Wolves – Tennessee’s Red Pack on the Penalty Prowl
Chattanooga’s Red Wolves of USL League One marked their impressive 2025 Open Cup run with a historic win over crosstown rivals Chattanooga FC (of MLS NEXT PRO). It was the first time the two teams ever played against each other, and the showdown drew a near-record 12,131 fans for a 1-1 draw that went to penalties and was eventually sealed by the Red Wolves.
Red Wolves players celebrate their Second Round win over Chattanooga FC
That win, in the Second Round, came after the Red Wolves needed penalties in the First Round against amateur outfit NJ Alliance. And a shootout was again the order of the day in the Third Round on April 16, when the Chattanooga men were given little chance of winning on the road against Las Vegas Lights of the Division II USL Championship. But win, they did. This time they put two goals on the board in a 2-2 draw through regular and extra time – and then sealed the penalty shootout 4-3.
WATCH Chat. Red Wolves v Nashville SC on May 6 LIVE on Paramount+
“Congrats to Chattanooga – they had a good plan, a game plan, they executed it and they converted on mistakes,” was the assessment of Lights’ striker Valentin Noel after the game.
Ricardo Jerez, the Red Wolves goalkeeper and the oldest player in the squad (at 39) has been superhuman in his shootout efforts in the Cup so far. “You want to win every single one [game and shootout],” said the net-minder who will be hoping for more heroics when his Red Wolves meet MLS side and Tennessee neighbors Nashville SC on the road in the Round of 32.
“I am enjoying this Open Cup run like I am a 20-year-old guy making his debut,’ added Jerez. “I’m so excited about it. I was telling my family: I feel something right now I’ve never felt in my career.”
Union Omaha – The Worst-Kept Secret in Cupsets
The fact that the USL League One (Division III) pros from Nebraska are alive and kicking in our Round of 32 should come as a surprise to literally no one. The club, who beat two MLS teams (Chicago Fire and Minnesota United FC) to reach the Quarterfinals of our 2022 edition, and who were seconds away from taking Sporting KC to a shootout last year, are in the habit of taking their so-called betters to the wire and beyond.
“Ever since we got a taste of it [a Cupset] back in 2022, it’s just become a habit,” said Dion Acoff, the 33-year-old who scored the only goal of Union Omaha’s Third Round win over San Antonio FC of the Division II USL Championship. “We just think we can play with anyone – whether that’s a USL Championship team or even the teams from MLS.”
WATCH St. Louis CITY v Union Omaha on May 7 LIVE on Paramount+
Aside from the win over San Antonio this year, the Owls also knocked out amateurs Flatirons FC (2-1) and a Des Moines Menace side led by Sacha Kljestan, Ozzie Alonso and a slew of other former MLS stars (now retired – 2-1 again).
Dion Acoff of Union Omaha celebrates his winner against San Antonio FC
With an overall record of 9-3-2 in the Open Cup since debuting in 2022, Union Omaha have never lost to a USL Championship team. They’ve twice beaten Division I MLS sides – and they’re among the most compelling underdog stories in the recent history of America’s oldest soccer tournament. Up next, they’ll meet St. Louis CITY SC of Major League Soccer at Energizer Park, where they lost 5-1 in the 2023 Open Cup in front of a huge crowd of 22,423 fans.
Tacoma Defiance – Lone Standard Bearers of MLS NEXT Pro
From an original roster of 10 teams, only Tacoma Defiance remain to fly the flag for MLS NEXT Pro – and they’re the only Division III side who drew a home game in the Round of 32. The academy feeder for four-time Open Cup-Champion Seattle Sounders (MLS), the Defiance have a familiar face in their 2025 squad. Goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, hero of the Seattle Sounders first team that stormed through to our Open Cup Semifinal last year, has been dazzling between the pipes.
“Open Cup games are always exciting,” said the man who made crucial saves in last year’s Open Cup run with the Sounders – and also managed to score the winning penalty in a shootout over Louisville City in that Round of 32. “This is a tournament that we take very seriously here and we’ll give it everything we have.”
WATCH Tacoma Defiance v Portland Timbers on May 6 LIVE on Paramount+
In addition to their high-profile custodian in goal, the Defiance have been all-around impressive in their run so far, with a First Round win over amateur outfit Washington Athletic Club followed by a 2-1 result over fellow Division III side Spokane Velocity of USL League One. In the Third Round, against a higher-ranked Division II pro side, Oakland Roots, they pulled some late-game heroics to eventually win out 2-1.
The Round of 32 brings a Cascadia derby – of sorts – and one bound to be a heated contest with a little extra thunder and fire. The Portland Timbers, the Sounders’ eternal and hated rivals, travel to Tukwila, Washington to meet this young Tacoma side, who, for this year’s Open Cup, with the senior Sounders not directly involved, will stand-in as proxy in this decades-old derby.
Angelo Maduro is a senior reporter at large for usopencup.com.