The competition format and final schedule was finalized Wednesday for the 105th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, U.S. Soccer's National Championship. Reigning champions and four-time tournament winner Sporting Kansas City will enter the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in the Fourth Round, which will take place Wednesday, June 6.
The 2018 tournament field will include 94 teams from all levels of American soccer, featuring a single-tiered bracket and eight rounds of single-elimination play until a champion is crowned in September 2018.
A total of 52 Open Division clubs will enter the First Round on May 9, representing the Premier Development League, National Premier Soccer League, and teams advancing from three rounds of local qualifying played between September and November of 2017.
Twenty-two clubs from the Division II United Soccer League (USL) will enter in the Second Round on May 16, while the Third Round on May 23 will send 12 teams to join 20 MLS sides in the Fourth Round.
The winner of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will receive $300,000 in prize money, up from $250,000 last year. The tournament runner-up will receive $100,000 (up from $60,000) and the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will earn $25,000 (up from $15,000). The 2018 champion will also receive a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, a tournament for which Sporting KC has already qualified as last year's champion.
In a format adjustment new for the 2018 tournament, pairings for the Fourth Round will now be made by random draw after dividing teams geographically into groups of four and drawing matchups within each group. Each Fourth Round group will have at least one and no more than two Third Round winners, with pairs drawn so that each Third Round winner faces an MLS team. The Fourth Round draw will take place on May 24.
The Fourth Round winners will then be divided geographically (regardless of league affiliation) into groups of four. A random draw on June 7 will determine the pairings within each group, resulting in a fixed bracket for the remainder of the tournament.
Teams who are majority-owned or controlled by higher division professional clubs are expressly excluded from Open Cup competition. Consequently, the Swope Park Rangers — Sporting KC's USL affiliate — will not play in the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule
<strong>Round</strong> |
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Details</strong> |
First |
May 9 |
52 Open Division clubs (26 matches) |
Second |
May 16 |
26 winners from previous round and 22 USL clubs (24 matches) |
Third |
May 23 |
24 winners from previous round (12 matches |
Fourth |
June 6 |
12 winners from previous round and 20 MLS clubs (16 matches) |
Fifth |
June 20 |
16 winners from previous round |
Quarterfinals |
July 18 |
<em>Date tentative</em> |
Semifinals |
Aug. 8 |
<em>Date tentative</em> |
Final |
Sept. 26 |
<em>Date tentative</em> |
2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Participating Teams
Professional Teams Eligible to Participate (42 total):
Division I - Major League Soccer (20 teams, entering in the Fourth Round): Atlanta United FC, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, 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 (defending Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champions).
Division II - United Soccer League (22 teams, entering in the Second Round):Charleston Battery, Charlotte Independence, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, FC Cincinnati, Fresno FC, Indy Eleven, Las Vegas Lights FC, Louisville City FC, Nashville SC, North Carolina FC, OKC Energy FC, Orange County SC, Penn FC (formerly Harrisburg City Islanders), Phoenix Rising FC, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Reno 1868 FC, Richmond Kickers, Sacramento Republic FC, Saint Louis FC, San Antonio FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Tulsa Roughnecks FC
Open Division Teams (52 total, all entering in the First Round):
Local Qualifiers (13 teams, listed alphabetically by state): Arizona (1): Sporting AZ FC; California (3): La Máquina, LA Wolves FC, Santa Ana Winds; Colorado (2): Azteca FC, FC Denver; Florida (2): FC Kendall, Red Force FC; Maryland (1): Christos FC; Massachusetts (1): Kendall Wanderers; New York (2): Lansdowne Bhoys FC, Rochester River Dogz; Texas (1): NTX Rayados
Premier Development League (20 teams, listed alphabetically): Charlotte Eagles (N.C.), FC Golden State Force (Calif.), FC Miami City (Fla.), FC Tucson (Ariz.), Lakeland Tropics (Fla.), Long Island Rough Riders (N.Y.), Michigan Bucks, Mississippi Brilla FC, Myrtle Beach Mutiny (S.C.), New York Red Bulls U23, Ocean City Nor'easters (N.J.), OKC Energy U23 (Okla.), Portland Timbers U23 (Ore.), Reading United AC (Pa.), San Francisco City FC (Calif.), Seacoast United Phantoms (N.H.), SIMA Aguilas (Fla.), South Georgia Tormenta FC, The Villages SC (Fla.), Western Mass Pioneers
(The PDL is a nationwide league affiliated with the U.S. Adult Soccer Association and opted to use 2017 league results to determine its qualifiers for the 2018 Open Cup.)
National Premier Soccer League (19 teams, listed alphabetically): AFC Ann Arbor (Mich.), Brooklyn Italians (N.Y.), CD Aguiluchos USA (Calif.), Dakota Fusion FC (N.D.), Detroit City FC (Mich.), Duluth FC (Minn.), Elm City Express (Conn.), Erie Commodores (Pa.), FC Arizona, FC Motown (N.J.) (formerly Clarkstown SC Eagles), FC Wichita (Kan.), Fort Worth Vaqueros (Texas), Inter Nashville FC (Tenn.), Kingston Stockade FC (N.Y.), Kitsap Soccer Club (Wash.), Miami United FC (Fla.), Midland-Odessa FC (Texas), New Orleans Jesters (La.), Orange County FC (Calif.)
(The NPSL is a nationwide league affiliated with the U.S. Adult Soccer Association and opted to use 2017 league results to determine its qualifiers for the 2018 Open Cup.)
Participated in 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
