2021 U.S. Open Cup

Last updated

2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Tournament details
CountryUnited States
Teams102
Final positions
ChampionsCanceled
  2020
2022  

The 2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was planned to be the 107th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. After the 2020 competition was suspended and ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Soccer Federation announced that qualification for the 2021 Open Cup would be canceled and all 100 teams that had qualified for that competition would be invited back. [1] On February 8, 2021, the U.S. Soccer Federation backtracked and stated that only 24 teams would be allowed to participate in a new abbreviated tournament, with the exact qualification details still being determined. [2]

Contents

On March 29, U.S. Soccer announced the tournament would be downsized to 16 teams who would play four rounds. The opening round was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the Open Cup Committee convened to decide whether the competition could proceed. This version of the tournament was to feature eight Major League Soccer teams, four USL Championship teams, one National Independent Soccer Association team, one USL League One team, and two teams from the Open Division determined by a random draw. [3]

On April 16, U.S. Soccer announced that the tournament would not be held in the spring due to a combination of financial and logistical issues, and that they were evaluating holding the tournament later in the year. [4]

On July 20, U.S. Soccer finally announced that the tournament would be canceled for 2021 and would resume in 2022. [5]

Atlanta United FC won the previous tournament after defeating Minnesota United FC in the 2019 final.

Qualification

The list of eligible teams for the 2021 tournament features 102 teams including 64 professional sides. Two professional teams became eligible since the 2019 tournament (Rio Grande Valley FC Toros and FC Tucson) and two have folded (Reno 1868 FC and 2019 quarterfinalists Saint Louis FC). Entrants include the American clubs from across the soccer leagues system, with timing determined by league division. These include the 24 American clubs of Major League Soccer, as well as the teams in the USL Championship and USL League One that are not owned or operated by an MLS and USL Championship (in case of USL League One). ; MLS-affiliated clubs from these leagues are eligible. In addition, clubs from the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), a sanctioned Division III league, are set to take part. This would be the first time two professional leagues from the same tier have both competed in the tournament since 2017.

Both Crossfire Redmond and GPS Portland Phoenix qualified for the 2020 tournament through league results in the National Premier Soccer League and USL League Two respectively. However, neither were listed as eligible in U.S. Soccer's announcement.

The four participating USL Championship teams will be the USL Championship 2020 semifinal playoff teams: El Paso Locomotive FC, Louisville City FC, Phoenix Rising FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies. [3]

Eligible teams
Open DivisionDivision IIIDivision IIDivision I
ANFEEU/USASA/USCS/USSSA
13 teams
NPSL/USL League Two
24 teams
NISA/USL League One
17 teams
USL Championship
24 teams
MLS
24 teams
ANFEEU
USASA
USCS
USSSA
NPSL
USL League Two
NISA
USL League One

Number of teams by state

The eligible 2021 field represents a total of 34 states and the District of Columbia.

States NumberTeams
1Flag of California.svg California17 ASC San Diego, Cal FC, California United Strikers FC, Chula Vista FC, FC Davis, FC Golden State Force, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Los Angeles Force, Oakland Roots SC, Olympic Club, Orange County SC, Sacramento Republic FC, San Diego Loyal SC, San Diego 1904 FC, San Jose Earthquakes, Ventura County Fusion
2Flag of Texas.svg Texas11 Austin Bold FC, Austin FC, Corpus Christi FC, Denton Diablos FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, FC Dallas, Fort Worth Vaqueros FC, Houston Dynamo FC, NTX Rayados, Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, San Antonio FC
3Flag of Florida.svg Florida7 Inter Miami CF, Miami FC, Miami United FC U23, Naples United FC, Orlando City SC, Tampa Bay Rowdies, The Villages SC
4Flag of Tennessee.svg Tennessee5 Chattanooga FC, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Memphis 901 FC, Nashville SC, Nashville United
5Flag of North Carolina.svg North Carolina4 Charlotte Independence, North Carolina FC, North Carolina Fusion U23, Stumptown AC
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania Philadelphia Union, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Vereinigung Erzgebirge, West Chester United SC
7Flag of Arizona.svg Arizona3 FC Arizona, Phoenix Rising FC, FC Tucson
Flag of Colorado.svg Colorado Colorado Rapids, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, FC Boulder Harpos
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg Georgia Atlanta United FC, South Georgia Tormenta FC, South Georgia Tormenta FC 2
Flag of Minnesota.svg Minnesota Med City FC, Minneapolis City SC, Minnesota United FC
Flag of New Jersey.svg New Jersey Atlantic City FC, FC Motown, New York Red Bulls
Flag of New York.svg New York New Amsterdam FC, New York City FC, New York Pancyprian-Freedoms
Flag of Ohio.svg Ohio Cleveland SC, Columbus Crew SC, FC Cincinnati
Flag of Oklahoma.svg Oklahoma FC Tulsa, OKC Energy FC, Tulsa Athletic
Flag of South Carolina.svg South Carolina Charleston Battery, Greenville Triumph SC, SC United Bantams
16Flag of Connecticut.svg Connecticut2 Hartford Athletic, Newtown Pride FC
Flag of Illinois.svg Illinois Chicago FC United, Chicago Fire FC
Flag of Maryland.svg Maryland Christos FC, Maryland Bobcats FC
Flag of Massachusetts.svg Massachusetts New England Revolution, Western Mass Pioneers
Flag of Michigan.svg Michigan Detroit City FC, Michigan Stars FC
Flag of Virginia.svg Virginia Richmond Kickers, Virginia United
22Flag of Alabama.svg Alabama1 Birmingham Legion
Flag of Washington, D.C.svg District of Columbia D.C. United
Flag of Indiana.svg Indiana Indy Eleven
Flag of Iowa.svg Iowa Des Moines Menace
Flag of Kansas.svg Kansas Sporting Kansas City
Flag of Kentucky.svg Kentucky Louisville City FC
Flag of Louisiana.svg Louisiana Louisiana Krewe FC
Flag of Nebraska.svg Nebraska Union Omaha
Flag of Nevada.svg Nevada Las Vegas Lights FC
Flag of New Mexico.svg New Mexico New Mexico United
Flag of Oregon.svg Oregon Portland Timbers
Flag of Utah.svg Utah Real Salt Lake
Flag of Washington.svg Washington Seattle Sounders FC
Flag of Wisconsin.svg Wisconsin Forward Madison FC

States without a team in the Open Cup: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Broadcasting

All matches from the first round to the final were expected to be streamed on ESPN+. U.S. Soccer and ESPN signed a 4-year deal to air the tournament in 2019.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Open Cup</span> Soccer knockout tournament in the US

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held during the 1913–1914 season as the National Challenge Cup, with Brooklyn Field Club winning a trophy donated by Thomas Dewar for the promotion of American soccer. It was renamed and dedicated to North American Soccer League (NASL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) executive Lamar Hunt by the United States Soccer Federation in 1999.

The 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament proper will feature teams from all five tiers of men's soccer of the American Soccer Pyramid.

The 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 103rd edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer.

The 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 105th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. It is the oldest ongoing competition in the United States and was contested by 97 teams from leagues in the U.S. system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Mexico United</span> American soccer team in USL Championship

New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded June 6, 2018, the team currently plays in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team is owned by Peter Trevisani, with head coach Eric Quill, and play their home games at Isotopes Park which has a capacity of around 13,500 people.

The 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 106th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. It is the oldest ongoing competition in the United States, and was contested by 84 teams from leagues in the U.S. system.

The 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was planned to be the 107th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. Atlanta United FC was the defending champion after defeating Minnesota United FC in the 2019 final. The competition was suspended on March 13, 2020, before the first round fixtures, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and later canceled on August 17. Despite the tournament's cancelation, the spot for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League was awarded to the defending champion, Atlanta United FC.

The 2020 season was the 108th season of competitive soccer in the United States. Many of the competitions were significantly altered, postponed, or cancelled in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana Krewe FC</span> American soccer team

Louisiana Krewe FC is an American soccer team based in Lafayette, Louisiana and competes within USL League Two. As members of the Gulf Coast Premier League, the team earned national attention when it qualified for the 2020 U.S. Open Cup in its first season of eligibility prior to the tournament's cancelation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Greenville Triumph SC season</span> Greenville Triumph SC 2020 football season

The 2020 Greenville Triumph SC season was the second season in the soccer team's history, where they competed in the third division of American soccer, USL League One, the second season of that competition. Greenville Triumph SC also participated in the 2020 U.S. Open Cup. Greenville Triumph SC play their home games at Legacy Early College Field, located in Greenville, South Carolina, United States.

The 2020 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC season was the club's sixth year of existence, and their sixth season in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the United States soccer league system.

The 2020 North Carolina FC season was the 14th season for North Carolina FC and its second in the USL Championship, the second-tier professional soccer league in the United States.

Denton Diablos FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Denton, Texas, which began play in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) in 2019. The club made it to their conference's playoffs in their 1st season of competition. Due to Covid in 2020 the entire season was cancelled. In their 2nd season they also made it out of the Conference Playoffs for the 1st time in 2021 and made it all the way to the NPSL National Championship.

The 2020 Reno 1868 FC season was the club's fourth season of existence and their fourth in the United Soccer League Championship (USLC), the second tier of American soccer. This article covers the period from November 18, 2019, the day after the 2019 USLC Playoff Final, to the conclusion of the 2020 USLC Playoff Final, scheduled for November 12–16, 2020.

The 2019–20 Michigan Stars FC season was the club's first season playing in the National Independent Soccer Association, a newly established third division soccer league in the United States, and first professional season.

The 2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament proper was to feature teams from all five tiers of the men's American soccer pyramid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Louisville City FC season</span> Louisville City 2021 soccer season

The 2021 Louisville City FC season was the club's seventh season of competition. City competed in the USL Championship, the second tier of soccer in the United States.

The 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 107th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. After the 2020 and 2021 competitions were suspended and ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Soccer Federation announced that the 2022 edition would run from March to mid-September of that year. The 2022 field features 103 clubs, 71 of them fully professional—both modern-era records.

References

  1. "2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Cancelled Due to COVID-19" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  2. "U.S. Soccer's Plans for an Abbreviated 2021 U.S. Open Cup". Sports Illustrated . February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Open Cup Committee Decides Not to Play Opening Round of U.S. Open Cup Due to Challenges Surrounding Covid Pandemic; Teams Will Enter Tournament at Round of 16" (Press release). United States Soccer Association. March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  4. "Open Cup Committee Determines 2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Will Not Be Held This Spring". ussoccer.com. April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  5. "SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR NEXT EDITION OF LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP IN 2022". ussoccer.com. July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.