ROUND OF 16 DRAW DISHES MOUTH-WATERING MATCHUPS FOR NEXT PHASE OF 2022 U.S. OPEN CUP Round of 16 Scheduled for Wednesday, May 25 with All Matches Broadcast on ESPN+ CHICAGO (May 13, 2022) – U.S. Soccer has announced the schedule for the Round of 16 for the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, with all eight matches being played on Wednesday, May 25, and broadcast live on ESPN+. Last night the pairings for the Round of 16 and potential hosts for the Quarterfinal Round were determined during a live draw from the Los Angeles studio of “Futbol Americas” on ESPN+. Along with the draw, the bracket for the final 16 was revealed with the path to the final now known for all remaining teams. Headlining the Round of 16 are two games featuring lower division teams hosting Div. I (MLS) opponents. One of the early kickoffs features USL Championship (Div. II) club Louisville City FC hosting Nashville SC, while the late kickoffs include Sacramento Republic FC hosting the San Jose Earthquakes. The only other lower division side remaining in the competition, USL League One’s Union Omaha (Div. III) will hit the road in hopes of keeping their dream run alive against 2019 Open Cup finalists Minnesota United FC. The remainder of the schedule includes an exciting array of intra-league clashes between MLS teams, including a pair of rivalries as Orlando City SC welcome fellow Sunshine Staters Inter Miami CF and MLS originals Los Angeles Galaxy host Los Angeles Football Club. Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo will rekindle a once fierce rivalry, while the regional rivalry between New York and Boston will add an Open Cup chapter when 2019 MLS Supporters Shield holders New England Revolution travel to Queens for a crack at reigning MLS Cup champions New York City FC. Finally, new kids on the MLS block Charlotte Football Club will head up the Eastern Seaboard to tackle New York Red Bulls. ROUND OF 16 SCHEDULE  QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS & HOSTS  HOW ROUND OF 16 & QUARTERFINAL MATCHUPS WERE DETERMINED Teams were pooled geographically into groups of four. A random draw determined the pairings within each group. Instances where a logical geographic fit didn’t exist in determining the groups were resolved by random selection. The winners of the two matches in each group were paired for the Semifinal, with the two teams at the ‘top’ of the bracket draw into the first Home and Away spots for the Round of 16 set to also host the Quarterfinal SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS U.S. Soccer announced that the Northeast and Southeast teams and the Central and West teams will be paired in the Semifinal. Hosts for the Semifinals and hosting scenarios for the final will be determined after the Quarterfinals are complete. THE PATH AHEAD The business end of the 2022 U.S. Open Cup will round into view as the 16 remaining sides square off in late May. The teams are now set in a final bracket that will determine their matchups on the path to the 2022 U.S. Open Cup Final. A draw to determine hosting priority for the Final will be held following the conclusion of Quarterfinal play in late June. May 25 Round of 16 June 21-22 Quarterfinals June 23 Draw to Determine Semifinal & Final Hosts July 26-27 Semifinals Sept. 7* Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final *Subject to change THE OPEN CUP QUEST TO DATE The Round of 32 saw a massive step forward for the Open Cup when the 10 games of the second matchnight were covered via a new whip-around show, the ‘Open Cup Goalcast’ on the ESPN+ soccer show ‘Futbol Americas.’ Hosted by Sebastian Salazar and Herculez Gomez, the live broadcast lasted more than six hours and delivered all the action, drama and highlights of the evening, which included a last-gasp comeback by Nashville SC, who went on to knock out reigning Open Cup holders Atlanta United in extra-time. Overall, 13 clubs from Div. I (MLS), two from Div. II (USL Championship), and one from Div. III – USL League One’s Union Omaha, which claimed the $25k prize for being the third-tier side to advance farthest in the competition – earned a spot in the tournament’s final bracket. In the Third Round, FC Motown earned the $25,000 award for being the amateur team to go farthest in the tournament. The Morristown, N.J. club finished with two wins and a Third Round draw to claim the prize ahead of NC Fusion U23, who finished with two wins and a loss. Clubs from professional Div. III leagues: USL League One and NISA, as well as Division II (USL Championship) did very well against the 16 Open Division (amateur) sides in the Second Round, winning 29 of 31 matches, but they were not immune from cupsets of their own as North Carolina Fusion U23 (USLL2) and FC Motown (NPSL) beat Div. III pro sides to advance the amateur clubs’ tournament credibility. The 2022 U.S. Open Cup kicked off with the First Round back on March 22-23, with an even distribution of teams from various amateur leagues punching their ticket to the next stage. Teams from the Local Qualifying track advanced in five instances, while the same number of USL League Two clubs also earned the right to move on. The NPSL did one better when six of its teams qualified for the Second Round, which saw the introduction of pro teams. About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup In its 107th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup - U.S. Soccer's National Championship - has crowned a champion annually since 1914 (with the exception of 2020 & 21 due to COVID-19). 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. 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 run national cup tournament. The 2022 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2023 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 farthest from each lower division takes home a $25,000 cash prize. For complete coverage of the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, visit usopencup.com and follow the tournament's official social accounts on Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup. |
Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Update
By Anonymous (not verified), May 13, 2022
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