NEWS: 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Format and Schedule Finalized

CHICAGO (January 31, 2019)–U.S. Soccer has finalized the format and schedule for the 106^thedition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, U.S. Soccer's National Championship. The 2019 tournament kicks off May 7-8 with 19 First Round games and features a total of 84 teams from all levels, culminating in August with America’s soccer champion lifting the Open Cup trophy after eight rounds of single-elimination play.

A total of 32 Open Division squads (clubs from the National Premier Soccer League, USL League Two, those advancing from four rounds of local qualifying played between September 2018 and April 2019, and the 2018 U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Amateur Cup champion Bavarian SC from Milwaukee, Wis.) will enter First Round action in early May. They will be joined by the six eligible members of the newly-sanctioned Division III professional circuit, USL League One. 

Twenty-five teams from the newly-renamed professional Division II USL Championship (formerly the United Soccer League) will take the field starting in the Second Round on May 14-15.

The Third Round takes place on May 29, and its winners will be joined by the 21 U.S.-based Division I Major League Soccer clubs in the Fourth Round on June 12.

In another indication of the unprecedented growth of professional soccer in the United States, 52 pro teams – a modern-era record (1995 to present) – will play in this year’s competition. The previous record was 47, set in 2015.

The 2019 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2020 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 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.

• HIGHLIGHTS: Houston Dynamo Claim 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Crown

The Houston Dynamo is the defending Open Cup champion, having earned the club's first tournament title thanks to a 3-0 victory against the Philadelphia Union on Sept. 26, 2018, at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

Other Matters:

• Each round will be conducted in a single-game-knockout format, with matches that are tied after 90 minutes of regulation time proceeding to a full 30 minutes of extra time. If still tied after 120 minutes, the team to advance will be determined by kicks from the penalty mark.
• Home teams will be determined by random selection among those who apply to host. Clubs whose venue meets minimum tournament standards will be given priority.
• The Open Cup Committee has determined the teams that are not permitted to be matched to each other throughout the tournament (e.g. an Open Division team and a parent club; a team who receives material technical support from another club) except in the unlikely event that both sides reach the Final. These pairings are: New York Red Bulls (MLS) and New York Red Bulls U23 (USL League Two); South Georgia Tormenta FC (USL League One) and South Georgia Tormenta FC 2 (USL League Two); and San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) and Reno 1868 FC (USL Championship).
• Professional teams who are majority-owned or otherwise controlled by higher division professional clubs are expressly excluded from Open Cup competition. For 2019, there are 13 such teams. From USL Championship (10): ATL UTD 2, Bethlehem Steel FC, LA Galaxy II, Loudoun United FC; New York Red Bulls II, Portland Timbers 2, Real Monarchs SLC, Rio Grande Valley FC, Seattle Sounders FC 2 and Swope Park Rangers; from USL League One (3): FC Tucson, North Texas SC and Orlando City B.

2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule, Format and Other Key Dates:
Fourth Qualifying Round – April 6 & 7
First Round Pairings Announced – April 10
Second Round Pairings & Possible Pairings Announced – April 17
First Round – May 7 & 8

Second Round – May 14 & 15

• Number of Games: 22
• Participants: 19 First Round winners and 25 Division II (USL Championship) clubs
• Competition: After the First Round pairings are made, each pairing will be matched geographically to a specific Division II team, with the First Round winner playing the assigned Division II side. The six remaining Division II squads will be paired to play each other, with these pairings also made geographically.

Third Round – May 29

Fourth Round – June 12

• Number of Games: 16
• Participants: 11 Third Round winners and 21 Division I (MLS) clubs.
• Competition: Eleven games will be between Third Round winners and MLS teams, while the remaining five matchups will be MLS vs. MLS affairs.

Round of 16 Draw – June 13

• The Fourth Round winners will be divided geographically (regardless of league affiliation) into groups of four, with teams who are precluded from playing each other until the Final per tournament regulations (i.e. pro teams and their affiliated Open Division sides) placed in different groups. A random draw will determine the pairings within each group, resulting in a fixed bracket for the remainder of the tournament. Should a precluded pair of teams reach the Semifinal Round and be scheduled to face each other, the matches will be re-drawn after the Quarterfinal Round to avoid this outcome.

Round of 16 – June 19* (also June 18-23 if home team chooses and visiting team has at least three non-game days on each side of chosen date, with any overlap of U.S. MNT Gold Cup games on June 18 and June 22 disallowed)

• Number of Games: 8
• Competition: Fourth Round winners face each other as determined by the Round of 16 Draw.

Quarterfinals – July 10
Draw to Determine Hosts for Semifinals and Final – July 11
Semifinals – August 7
Final – August 27 or 28 

* Any game from the Fourth Round through to the Semifinal Round where one of the participants has a league game the following Friday will be moved up a day (exception to this occurs when the team's opponent is scheduled for a league game the preceding Sunday; in this case, the provisions in the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Handbook to determine the match date will prevail). In addition, any game chosen by U.S. Soccer to be broadcast nationally in any round is subject to being moved up a day. The Commissioner has the authority to set outside of the confirmed schedule the date for any match if such a change is in the best interests of the tournament. 

2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Participating Teams
Professional Division Teams Eligible to Participate (52 total):

Division I – Major League Soccer (21 teams, entering in the Fourth Round): Atlanta United FC, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, D.C. United, FC Cincinnati, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo (defending Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champions), Los Angeles FC, LA Galaxy, Minnesota United FC, 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

Division II – USL Championship (25 teams, entering in the Second Round):Austin Bold FC, Birmingham Legion FC, Charleston Battery, Charlotte Independence, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, Fresno FC, Hartford Athletic, Indy Eleven, Las Vegas Lights FC, Louisville City FC, Memphis 901 FC, Nashville SC, New Mexico United, North Carolina FC, OKC Energy FC, Orange County SC, Phoenix Rising FC, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Reno 1868 FC, Sacramento Republic FC, Saint Louis FC, San Antonio FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Tulsa Roughnecks FC

Division III – USL League One (6 teams, entering in the First Round):Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Forward Madison FC, Greenville Triumph SC, Lansing Ignite FC, Richmond Kickers, South Georgia Tormenta FC

Open Division Teams in Tournament Proper (32 total, all entering in the First Round): 
Local Qualifiers (winners of seven Fourth Qualifying Round games):
Northeast Region

Mid-Atlantic Region

Southeast Region

Central Region

Mountain Region

Southern California Region

West Region

2018 U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Amateur Cup champion: Bavarian SC (Wis.) 

National Premier Soccer League (14 teams, listed alphabetically): AFC Ann Arbor (Mich.), Duluth FC (Minn.), El Farolito (Calif.), Erie Commodores FC (Pa.), FC Baltimore (Md.), FC Motown (N.J.), FCM Portland (Ore.), Laredo Heat (Texas), Little Rock Rangers (Ark.), Miami FC 2 (Fla.), Midland-Odessa Sockers FC (Texas), New York Cosmos B (N.Y.), Orange County FC (Calif.), Philadelphia Lone Star FC^ (Pa.). The NPSL is a nationwide league affiliated with the U.S. Adult Soccer Association and opted to use 2018 league results to determine its qualifiers for the 2019 Open Cup.

USL League Two (10 teams, listed alphabetically): Black Rock FC (Conn.), Brazos Valley Cavalry FC (Texas), Dayton Dutch Lions (Ohio), Des Moines Menace (Iowa), FC Golden State Force (Calif.), Lakeland Tropics (Fla.), New York Red Bulls U23, Reading United AC (Pa.), South Georgia Tormenta FC 2!, The Villages SC (Fla.). USL League Two (formerly called the Premier Development League) is a nationwide league affiliated with U.S. Soccer and opted to use 2018 league results to determine its qualifiers for the 2019 Open Cup.

* Participated in 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

^ Known in 2018 as Junior Lone Star FC
! Known in 2018 as South Georgia Tormenta FC

About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
In its 106^thyear, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer's National Championship – has crowned a champion annually since 1914. 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 competition was renamed to honor United States soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt. 

ussoccer.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Follow the Open Cup on Twitter and Instagram@OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup. 

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world's third-longest continuously-running open soccer tournament. 

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