The nine Open Division Qualifiers for the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup were finalized on December 17-18 — with the nine winners from the nine Fourth Qualifying Round Games booking a place in next year’s Open Cup Proper scheduled to begin in late March.
Three of the qualified teams (Lansdowne Yonkers FC, West Chester United SC and Miami United FC) return for a second straight Tournament Proper while six will make their debut in U.S. Soccer’s annual National Championship (Chicago House AC, Club de Lyon, UDA Soccer, Inter San Francisco, Beaman United FC and Capo FC).
Lansdowne Yonkers FC, the 2021 National Amateur Cup champions from New York, reached their fourth Open Cup Proper with a 2-0 win on the road in New Jersey over SC Vistula Garfield. The Yonkers side, founded in 1997, scored 14 goals in their four Qualifiers and conceded just once.
They’ll join West Chester United SC, who beat NoVa FC 2-1, and Miami United FC, who edged Naples City FC by that same scoreline, in a second straight Open Cup Proper.
The crop of nine teams that reached the 2023 Open Cup Proper via the Open Division Qualifying route is packed with tournament debutants.
Inter San Francisco, a club for only a year and a half, beat Battleborn FC 5-1 (the third time in four Qualifying games in which they scored five goals). Fellow Californians, Capo FC – founded in 2006 – join them in their first-ever Open Cup Proper thanks to a penalty shootout win over reigning UPSL national champions and 2019 Open Cup giant-killers Orange County FC (a game that ended 0-0 after extra-time).
Chicago House AC, the club founded in 2020 by Peter Wilt – the multiple Open-Cup winning former GM and President of MLS’ Chicago Fire – booked a place in their first-ever Open Cup Proper via a marathon, nine-round shootout over 2022 Open Cup Proper participants Brockton FC United in Randolph, Massachusetts that ended 1-1 after extra-time. It was the second straight road game for the Chicago side that required air travel.
Joining Tournament Proper regulars Miami United FC from Florida, host of the 2022 Open Cup Final won by Sunshine Staters Orlando City, are Club de Lyon. The side needed extra-time to see off South Carolina Heat 2-1 on the road in Columbia.
Rounding out the 2022 Tournament Proper’s debut-makers are Beaman United FC and UDA Soccer of New Mexico.
Beaman United, the lone 2023 Open Division Qualifier founded this year, kept up their reputation for free-scoring possession play. The Nashville-based hosts came from a goal down against 2022 Open Cup Proper participants D’Feeters Kicks SC of Dallas, Texas to win a 4-3 thriller late in extra-time.
The game between UDA Soccer and regular Open Cup Proper participants Azteca FC of Colorado ended its extra-time session tangled at 4-4 before the Las Cruces-based New Mexicans took care of business in the shootout.
These nine Fourth Round winners now join 1983 Open Cup runners-up and 2019 participants Bavarian United, out of Glendale, Wisconsin, who earned a direct place in the 2023 Open Cup Proper by winning the U.S. Adult Soccer Association (USASA) National Amateur Cup this summer.
2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Results
First Qualifying Round (September 17-18, 2022)
Second Qualifying Round (October 15-16, 2022)
Third Qualifying Round (November 19-20, 2022)
Fourth Qualifying Round (December, 17-18, 2022)
2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Proper Schedule
First Round (March 21-23, 2023)
Second Round (April 4-6, 2023)
Third Round April 25-26)
Round of 32 (May 9-10, 2023)
Round of 16 (May 23-24, 2023)
Quarterfinals (June 6, 2023)
Semifinals (August 23, 2023)
Final (September 27, 2023)
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Entering its 108th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer’s National Championship – has crowned a champion annually since 1914 (excepting 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The 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.
usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fans and members of the media can enjoy comprehensive video and written coverage of the tournament there. You can also 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-running open soccer tournament.