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OPEN DIVISION FIELD SET FOR 2026 U.S. OPEN CUP FOLLOWING RIVETING FINAL ROUND OF QUALIFYING
Group of 32 Amateur Clubs Taking Part in 2026 Tournament’s First Round Includes 16 Squads that Emerged from Qualifying Track Over the Weekend
ATLANTA (November 24, 2025) – Sixteen amateur squads secured Open Division spots for the Tournament Proper of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup next spring after emerging from the Fourth Qualifying Round over the weekend.
For the third consecutive edition, the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will provide 32 First Round slots to teams from the Open Division. Of this 32 spots, half were claimed via the Qualifying Rounds that concluded with action coast to coast the previous two days. A record 145 squads took part in the Qualifying Rounds for the 2026 tournament.
The additional 16 Open Division teams were awarded a bye directly into the Tournament Proper courtesy of results in league play or select competitions.
The 32 Open Division clubs that will begin their journey in the 2026 Tournament Proper in First Round play next spring represent 19 states, with California’s contingent of five leading the pack.
Twelve of next year’s Open Division sides also participated in the 2025 tournament, five of which – Asheville City SC, Des Moines Menace, defending John Motta Trophy winner El Farolito, FC Motown, and West Chester SC – are making at least their third straight appearance in U.S. Soccer’s Club Championship. An additional five squads also participated in the 2024 competition, giving 17 of the 32 Open Division participants experience in the Tournament Proper over the last two years.
The full list of 2026 U.S. Open Cup Open Division sides is included below.
2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – Open Division participants
Qualifying Track participants (16)
ASC New Stars (Houston, Texas; Houston Football Association)
^ Azteca FC (Denver, Colo.; Colorado Premier League)
Badgers FC (Boynton Beach, Fla.; UPSL)
BOHFS St. Louis (Saint Louis, Mo.; Midwest Premier League)
* CD Faialense (Winthrop, Mass.; Bay State Soccer League)
^ FC America CFL Spurs (Orlando, Fla.; UPSL)
Kalonji Pro-Profile (Dacula, Ga.; UPSL)
* Laguna United FC (Laguna Niguel, Calif.; UPSL)
* NY Renegades FC (Jericho, N.Y.; UPSL)
Red Force (Miami, Fla.; Soccer Premier League)
San Ramon FC (San Ramon, Calif.; The League for Clubs)
SC Vistula Garfield (Garfield, N.J.; APSL)
* Southern Indiana FC (Corydon, Ind.; UPSL)
^ Steel City FC (Pittsburgh, Pa.; USL League Two)
Valley 559 FC (Fresno, Calif.; UPSL)
* Virginia Dream FC (Arlington, Va.; UPSL)
Earned Byes to Tournament Proper via League/Competition Play (16)
*^ Asheville City SC (Asheville, N.C.) – USL League Two Qualifier
*^ Des Moines Menace (Des Moines, Iowa) – USL League Two Qualifier
*^ El Farolito (NPSL) (San Francisco, Calif.) – 2025 John Motta Trophy Winner (NPSL)
*^ FC Motown (Morristown, N.J.) – USL League Two Qualifier
Flint City Bucks (Flint, Mich.) – USL League Two Qualifier
Flower City Union (Rochester, N.Y.) – NPSL Qualifier
Hickory FC (Hickory, N.C.) – NPSL Qualifier
Laredo Heat SC (Laredo, Texas) – USL League Two Qualifier
* Little Rock Rangers (Little Rock, Ark.) – USL League Two Qualifier
Michigan Rangers (Hudsonville, Mich.) – NPSL Qualifier
^ Northern Virginia FC (Leesburg, Va.) – USL League Two Qualifier
Ristozi FC (Baltimore, Md.) – NPSL Qualifier
Tennessee Tempo FC (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) – UPSL Spring Champion
* Ventura County Fusion (Ventura, Calif.) – USL League Two Qualifier
^ Vermont Green FC (Burlington, Vt.) – USL League Two Qualifier
*^ West Chester United SC (NPSL) (West Chester, Pa.) – 2025 USASA National Amateur Cup Champion
* participated in 2025 U.S. Open Cup
^ participated in 2024 U.S. Open Cup
2026 U.S. Open Cup Fourth Qualifying Round Results
Saturday, Nov. 22
Croatia Cleveland 2-3 Steel City FC
FC Lonestar Gpse 2-5 CD Faialense
Southern Indiana FC 2-0 Briar United FC
MSI Pro 0-2 Virginia Dream FC
Ballard FC 0-1 Valley 559 FC
Next Level Soccer 2-2, 3-3 (AET), 3-4 (PKs) Azteca FC
Laguna United FC 4-2 San Diego Internacional
Sunday. Nov. 23
BOHFS St. Louis 3-2 Chicago House AC
FC America CFL Spurs 1-1, 1-1 (AET), 5-4 (PKs) Harbor City FC
Oaklyn United FC 1-2 SC Vistula Garfield
Miami United FC 2-2, 3-5 (AET) Badgers FC
Zum Schneider FC 2-4 NY Renegades FC
Denton Diablos 0-0, 0-0 (AET), 3-4 (PKs) ASC New Stars
Kalonji Pro-Profile 1-0 Potros FC
Red Force 4-1 City Soccer FC
San Ramon FC 2-1 The Olympic Club
Editor's Note: NY Renegades are of course sponsored by Dino Luzzi Energy Drink in a union brokered by us.
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