2019 U.S. Open Cup qualification

2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates	September 22, 2018 – April 7, 2019
Teams	94
	← 2018 2020 →

The 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament proper will feature teams from all five tiers of the men's American soccer pyramid.

Qualification for the 2019 tournament includes local qualifying matches contested by 94 amateur teams scheduled to take place in 2018. One team also qualified by winning the 2018 National Amateur Cup, and other clubs playing in national leagues that are not fully professional qualify based on their results in 2018 league play.^[1] Clubs playing in fully professional leagues may enter the tournament proper and bypass the qualification process.

Qualification procedures[]

The United States Soccer Federation's (U.S. Soccer) Open Cup Committee manages both the tournament proper and the local qualification process.

Clubs based in the United States that play in a league that is an organization member of U.S. Soccer are generally eligible to compete for the U.S. Open Cup, if their league includes at least four teams and has a schedule of at least 10 matches for each club.^[2]

U.S.-based teams in Division I, II and III professional leagues qualify for the U.S. Open Cup automatically, provided they are eligible. To be eligible, these teams must be members in good standing of their leagues on December 31, 2018, and remain so through the 2019 U.S. Open Cup Final. The league must also remain in operation through the U.S. Open Cup Final. A new Division I, II or III professional league must have its match schedule announced to the public by January 31, 2019, and the first match must be scheduled for no later than seven days before the first scheduled round of the U.S. Open Cup tournament proper that involves the team's division. If a new club joins an existing Division I, II or III league, the league must meet the aforementioned criteria applicable to new leagues in order for the new club to be eligible for the U.S. Open Cup.^[2]

A professional team that is majority owned by a higher-level professional team or whose player roster is materially managed by a higher-level professional team is ineligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup.^[2]

Clubs that are below Division III are Open Division teams. To be eligible for the 2019 U.S. Open Cup, an Open Division team must have been a playing member in good standing of its league on August 13, 2018, and remain so through the 2019 U.S. Open Cup Final. The league must have been in operation since no later than July 14, 2018, and remain so until the 2019 U.S. Open Cup Final. A team that started its first season of competition in an existing league must have started its new league's schedule no later than July 14, 2018.^[2]

Starting in 2019, the winner of the previous year's National Amateur Cup automatically qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup.^[3] The cup winner enters the tournament proper in the first round with the other Open Division clubs.

National leagues may elect to use the results of their previous year's seasons to determine which of their teams qualify for the U.S. Open Cup in lieu of having their teams play local qualifying matches. If a national league so elects, its teams are not eligible to participate in local qualifying. To qualify as a national league, the league must

Have a minimum of 50 active U.S.-based teams in good standing,
Have a common championship each season that is only available to league teams and is compulsory,
Use a league format with a standings table as opposed to a single-elimination (knockout) format,
Have teams in at least three U.S. time zones among Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific, with the three time zones containing the most teams each having at least 15% of the member teams,
Have two time zones represented by at least three different U.S. states or the District of Columbia and a third time zone represented by at least two different U.S. states or the District of Columbia,
Have teams in at least 10 different U.S. states or the District of Columbia,
Have played for at least three years meeting the above criteria and
Timely pay the team-based Open Cup entry fee for all teams in the league.^[2]

Both leagues which currently qualify as national leagues, the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and USL League Two (formerly the Premier Development League, or PDL), elected to use the results of their 2018 seasons to determine their qualifying teams for the 2019 U.S. Open Cup.^[4] National leagues determine their own procedures for ranking teams based on 2018 results for the purposes of 2019 U.S. Open Cup qualification.^[2]

Eligible Open Division clubs that did not win the National Amateur Cup and are not members of national leagues must have submitted an application to enter local qualifying by August 13, 2018.^[2]

Once applications for local qualifying are approved, U.S. Soccer estimates the number of Open Division teams needed in the U.S. Open Cup, based on the anticipated participation of professional teams. One of these slots is allocated to the National Amateur Cup champions. The remainder are allocated among the pool of local qualification teams and the national leagues, based on the relative number of teams in each, resulting in a target number of local qualifiers. The number of rounds of local qualifying and the number of teams receiving byes in the first round of qualifying are then established to set the number of local qualifiers as close as possible to the target number. Byes are distributed randomly and are meant to avoid unnecessary travel but are kept to a minimum to preserve the integrity of the qualification tournament. Once the qualification tournament format has been finalized, the number of local qualifiers becomes fixed, unless a team that qualifies later becomes ineligible. After the December 31, 2018 professional clubs entry application deadline, the final number of Open Division teams needed in the 2019 U.S. Open Cup will become known. From this number, the fixed number of local qualifiers plus one for the National Amateur Cup champion are subtracted to determine the number of slots for clubs from the national leagues. These slots are allocated among the leagues based on their relative numbers of U.S.-based eligible teams.^[2]

National league track[]

National Premier Soccer League[]

The NPSL ranked the top 30 of its 98 U.S.-based clubs based on results of its 2018 season for the purposes of qualification for the 2019 U.S. Open Cup.^[4] The NPSL champion earned the top ranking, and the other finalist is second. The national semifinal loser from the region with the larger number of teams is ranked third, and the remaining national semifinalist is ranked fourth. The four regional final losers are ranked fifth through eighth based on the number of teams in their region, from largest to smallest. The remaining 22 slots in the rankings are allocated among the regions based on their sizes. The total number of slots allocated to each region are South 9, Northeast 8, Midwest 7 and West 6. Since U.S. Soccer has not yet determined how many berths NPSL clubs will be awarded in the U.S. Open Cup, each of the 22 slots available in the rankings for teams that did not reach the region finals are each allocated to a specific region. This ensures that, regardless of the number of berths awarded to NPSL clubs, the berths will have been allocated as fairly as possible, taking into account the relative sizes of the regions. The allocation of the ninth through 30th slots for 2019 qualifying is as follows:

Region	Position
South	9, 12, 15, 19, 22, 25, 28
Northeast	10, 14, 17, 21, 26, 29
Midwest	11, 16, 20, 24, 30
West	13, 18, 23, 27

Starting with the ninth slot, no conference that already has a team in the rankings may have an additional team claim a slot, until every conference in the region has at least one team in the rankings. Ties in the standings are broken using regular-season conference tiebreaker procedures.^[2]

Pos	Team	APPG	Explanation
1	Miami FC 2	N/A	NPSL champion
2	FC Motown	NPSL finalist
3	Duluth FC	Midwest Region champion (22 clubs)
4	FC Mulhouse Portland	West Region champion (20 clubs)
5	Little Rock Rangers	South Region finalist (30 clubs)
6	New York Cosmos B	Northeast Region finalist (26 clubs)
7	AFC Ann Arbor	Midwest Region finalist (22 clubs)
8	Orange County FC	West Region finalist (20 clubs)
9	Laredo Heat	3	Representing Lone Star Conference
10	FC Baltimore	N/A	Representing Mid-Atlantic Conference
11	Erie Commodores FC	Representing East Conference
12	Chattanooga FC	2	Representing Southeast Conference
13	El Farolito	N/A	Representing Golden Gate Conference
14	Junior Lone Star FC	2.4	Northeast Region #4 club
15	Midland-Odessa Sockers FC	2.2^[a]	South Region #5 club
16	Minneapolis City SC	2.4	Midwest Region #4 club
17	Brooklyn Italians	2.2	Northeast Region #5 club
18	ASC San Diego	2.3	West Region #4 club
19	FC Wichita	2.2^[a]	South Region #6 club
20	Cleveland SC	2	Midwest Region #5 club
21	West Chester United SC	2.1	Northeast Region #6 club
22	Houston Dutch Lions FC	2.1	South Region #7 club
23	FC Golden State	2.2^[b]	West Region #5 club
24	Grand Rapids FC	1.9	Midwest Region #6 club
25	Fort Worth Vaqueros FC	2^[c]	South Region #8 club
26	Hartford City FC	1.9^[d]	Northeast Region #7 club
27	Spokane SC Shadow	2.2^[b]	West Region #6 club
28	Jacksonville Armada FC	2^[c]	South Region #9 club
29	FC Monmouth	1.9^[d]	Northeast Region #8 club
29	Northern Virginia United FC	1.9^[d]	Northeast Region #8 club
30	Rochester Lancers	1.8	Midwest Region #7 club

Notes:

^ ^a ^b The teams have identical records. Midland-Odessa wins the tiebreaker on average goal difference per game, 2.2 to 1.3.
^ ^a ^b Golden State wins the tiebreaker on average wins per game, 0.7 to 0.6.
^ ^a ^b Fort Worth wins the tiebreaker on average wins per game, 0.60 to 0.58.
^ ^a ^b ^c All three teams have identical records. Hartford City wins the tiebreaker over Monmouth and Northern Virginia on average goal difference per game, 0.6 to 0.3. Since Monmouth and Northern Virginia have identical records and goal differences, a coin flip would break the tie, if necessary, i.e. if the NPSL is allocated at least 29 slots in the U.S. Open Cup.

USL League Two[]

USL League Two elected to use the results of the 2018 PDL regular season to rank its 69 U.S.-based teams for the purposes of qualification for the 2019 U.S. Open Cup.^[4] The highest placing teams from each division, provided that they are American, are ranked first in order of points. The remaining teams are then ranked based on points regardless of division. The 2018 PDL regular-season standings tiebreaker system is invoked when needed.^[2] The rankings of the USL League Two teams for 2019 U.S. Open Cup qualification are shown in the table below.

Pos	Team	Points	Explanation
1	Des Moines Menace	40	Heartland Division champion
2	Reading United AC	38	Mid Atlantic Division champion
3	FC Golden State Force	37	Southwest Division champion
4	South Georgia Tormenta FC	36	Deep South Division champion
5	SIMA Águilas	32	Southeast Division champion
6	Brazos Valley Cavalry F.C.	30^[a]	Mid South Division champion
7	Black Rock FC	30^[a]	Northeast Division champion
8	Myrtle Beach Mutiny	28^[b]	South Atlantic Division champion
9	Colorado Rapids U-23	28^[b]	Mountain Division champion
10	Dayton Dutch Lions	27	Great Lakes Division champion
11	New York Red Bulls U-23	31
12	The Villages SC	30^[c]
13	Lakeland Tropics	30^[c]
14	OKC Energy U23	28^[d]
15	Long Island Rough Riders	28^[d]
16	Mississippi Brilla	28^[d]
17	Ocean City Nor'easters	27
18	Lansing United	26
19	FC Tucson	25
20	SC United Bantams	24^[e]
21	GPS Portland Phoenix	24^[e]
22	Chicago FC United	23^[f]
23	North Carolina FC U23	23^[f]
24	Ventura County Fusion	22^[g]
25	Michigan Bucks	22^[g]
26	Cincinnati Dutch Lions	22^[g]
27	Western Mass Pioneers	22^[g]
28	AHFC Royals	21^[h]
29	Seattle Sounders FC U-23	21^[h]
30	Orange County SC U-23	21^[h]
31	St. Louis Lions	20^[i]
32	Corpus Christi FC	20^[i]
33	Santa Cruz Breakers FC	20^[i]
34	Fresno FC U-23	20^[i]
35	Kaw Valley FC	20^[i]
36	IMG Academy Bradenton	20^[i]
37	Lane United FC	20^[i]
38	Birmingham Hammers	19
39	Texas United	18^[j]
40	FC Boston	18^[j]
41	Tri-Cities Otters	17^[k]
42	AC Connecticut	17^[k]
43	Lionsbridge FC	17^[k]
44	San Francisco City FC	16^[l]
45	FC Miami City	16^[l]
46	San Francisco Glens	16^[l]
47	Peachtree City MOBA	16^[l]
48	Albuquerque Sol FC	16^[l]
49	Colorado Pride Switchbacks U23	15^[m]
50	West Virginia Chaos	15^[m]
51	San Diego Zest FC	14
52	Southern California Seahorses	13^[n]
53	Weston FC	13^[n]
54	FC Cleburne	13^[n]
55	Charlotte Eagles	13^[n]
56	Tobacco Road FC	13^[n]
57	Westchester Flames	13^[n]
58	Next Academy Palm Beach	12^[o]
59	Ogden City SC	12^[o]
60	Portland Timbers U23	11^[p]
61	Carolina Dynamo	11^[p]
62	Seacoast United Phantoms	10^[q]
63	Houston FC	10^[q]
64	F.A. Euro	9
65	North County United	8
66	Memphis City FC	6
67	Evergreen FC	5
68	Lehigh Valley United	4
69	Derby City Rovers	1

Notes:

^ ^a ^b The teams have identical records and did not play one another. Brazos Valley wins the tiebreaker on goal difference in league matches, +23 to +14.
^ ^a ^b The teams have identical records and did not play one another. Myrtle Beach wins the tiebreaker on goal difference in league matches, +21 to +19.
^ ^a ^b The Villages had a home win and a road draw in its two matches with Lakeland to win the tiebreaker.
^ ^a ^b ^c OKC and Long Island win the tiebreaker over Mississippi on in league matches, 9 to 8. OKC wins the tiebreaker over Long Island on goal difference in league matches, +15 to +10.
^ ^a ^b The teams have identical records and did not play one another. SC United wins the tiebreaker on goal difference in league matches, +13 to +7.
^ ^a ^b Chicago wins the tiebreaker on wins in league matches, 7 to 6.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Since only Cincinnati and Michigan played one another, the head-to-head tiebreaker does not apply. Ventura County wins the standings tiebreaker on wins in league matches with 7, compared with Cincinnati, Michigan and Western Mass, which had 6 each. Michigan, which lost a tiebreaker to Cincinnati in the Great Lakes Division standings, wins the tiebreaker over Cincinnati and Western Mass on goal difference in league matches: Michigan +24, Cincinnati +7, Western Mass +4.
^ ^a ^b ^c AHFC wins the tiebreaker over Seattle and Orange County on wins in league matches, 7 to 6. Seattle then wins the tiebreaker over Orange County on goal difference in league matches, +5 to +2.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Although Fresno and Santa Cruz played one another, and Kaw Valley and St. Louis played one another, the head-to-head tiebreaker does not apply, since not all tied teams played each other an equal number of times. St. Louis, Corpus Christi, Santa Cruz, Fresno, Kaw Valley and Bradenton win the tiebreaker over Lane on wins in league matches, 6 to 5. St. Louis, which lost a tiebreaker to Kaw Valley in the Heartland Division standings, wins the tiebreaker over Corpus Christi, Santa Cruz, Fresno, Kaw Valley and Bradenton on goal difference in league matches: St. Louis +2, Corpus Christi 0, Santa Cruz 0, Fresno -1, Kaw Valley -2, Bradenton -6. Corpus Christi wins the tiebreaker over Santa Cruz on goals scored in league matches, 32 to 19.
^ ^a ^b The teams have identical records and did not play one another. Texas wins the tiebreaker on goal difference in league matches, 0 to -2.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tri-Cities and Connecticut win the tiebreaker over Lionsbridge on wins in league matches, 5 to 4. Tri-Cities wins the tiebreaker over Connecticut on goal difference in league matches, +2 to -13.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Although San Francisco City and the San Francisco Glens played one another, the head-to-head tiebreaker does not apply, since not all tied teams played each other an equal number of times. San Francisco City and Miami City win the tiebreaker over the San Francisco Glens, Peachtree City and Albuquerque on wins in league matches, 5 to 4. San Francisco City wins the tiebreaker over Miami City on goal difference in league matches, -8 to -11. The San Francisco Glens win the tiebreaker over Peachtree City and Albuquerque on goal difference in league matches: San Francisco Glens -1, Peachtree City -8, Albuquerque -13.
^ ^a ^b Colorado wins the tiebreaker over West Virginia on total wins in league matches, 4 to 3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Southern California, Weston and Cleburne win the tiebreaker over Charlotte, Tobacco Road and Westchester on total wins in league matches: Southern California 4, Weston 4, Cleburne 4, Charlotte 3, Tobacco Road 3, Westchester 2. Southern California wins the tiebreaker over Weston and Cleburne on goal difference in league matches: Southern California -8, Weston -12, Cleburne -22. Charlotte had one road win and two home draws in its three matches with Tobacco Road.
^ ^a ^b Palm Beach wins the tiebreaker on total wins in league matches, 4 to 3.
^ ^a ^b Portland wins the tiebreaker on total wins in league matches, 3 to 2.
^ ^a ^b The teams have identical records and did not play one another. Seacoast wins the tiebreaker on goal difference in league matches, -4 to -15.

National Amateur Cup[]

Milwaukee Bavarian SC defeated West Chester United, 2–0, to win the 2018 National Amateur Cup and qualify for the 2019 U.S. Open Cup.^[3] The seven winners of the fourth round of local qualifying will join them as the eight Open Division teams in the tournament proper.

Local qualifying[]

U.S. Soccer originally announced that 95 teams would participate in local qualifying.^[4] However, Naples United FC 2 was disqualified, because the club was not affiliated with the U.S. Specialty Sports Association by the deadline for local amateur sides to participate in sanctioned league competition.^[5]

Four rounds of local qualifying matches will result in 7 clubs advancing to the tournament proper.

First qualifying round[]

The first qualifying round matches were scheduled to be played on September 22 and 23.^[1]^[6] Some matches were played on later dates due to weather delays.

Northeast Region[]

September 22	Southie FC	1–2 (a.e.t.)	GPS Omens	Boston, Massachusetts
12:00 ET	Grisell 24' Kakambouras 106'	Report	Kelly 10' Goldman 106'	Stadium: Madison Park Technical Vocational High School - Upper Field Referee: Juliano Soares

September 22	Kendall Wanderers	2–2 (a.e.t.) (9–8 p)	Boston Siege FC	Cambridge, Massachusetts
14:00 ET	Robertson 47' Sweeney 96' Reid 97' Bueno 103'	USSF Report TheCup.US Report	Barrientos 48' Davis 108' Erazo 112'	Stadium: Danehy Park - Field 3 Referee: Jeremy Scheer
	Penalties
	Bridges Bueno Miller Mulkern Reid Robertson Whelan Samati Sweeney Hunter		Aguilar Alarcon Davis Erazo Firme Godeiro K. Martinez M. Martinez

September 22	Safira FC	3–1	Mass United FC	Somerville, Massachusetts
19:00 ET	Guimaraes 17', 64' Pierrot 28' Bomfim 53' De Almeida-Correia 67'	Report	Mo. Saeed 40' Tepe 64' Conde 67' Irons 69' Ma. Saeed 88'	Stadium: Dilboy Stadium Referee: Miguel Lara

September 22	Jackson Lions FC	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Newtown Pride FC	Jackson Township, New Jersey
19:30 ET	Jeffery 32' Fryc 39' Bond 77' Bailey 105+3'	USSF Report TheCup.US Report	Dutra 72' 120' Sylvester 76' 120' Morgan 105' Keita 110' Turizo 120'	Stadium: Jackson Justice Complex - Soccer Turf Field

September 22	Lansdowne Yonkers FC	0–4	New York Pancyprian-Freedoms	Yonkers, New York
20:00 ET	Bah 73' Kavanagh 89' Kelly 90'	Report	Himeno 24', 83' Palacio 69' Magoulas 75'	Stadium: Tibbett's Brook Park - Field 3 Referee: Jared Simons

September 23	Ukrainian Nationals	2–0	United German Hungarians	North Wales, Pennsylvania
14:30 ET	Griffith 23', 84'	Report	Akom 78' Raykovitz 86'	Stadium: Ukrainian American Sports Center - Field 1 Referee: Patrick Casey

September 23	Vereinigung Erzgebirge	0–1	West Chester Predators	Warminster, Pennsylvania
14:30 ET		USSF Report TheCup.US Report	Greer 57'	Stadium: Vereinigung Erzgebirge Clubhouse Referee: Jaroslaw Werel

September 23	Boston City FC II	1–0	Juve-Pro Soccer	Malden, Massachusetts
18:00 ET	A. Silva 15' Callahan 40' 43' Nascimento-Batista 53' Rincon-Gonzalez 77' Leite-Soares 80'	Report	Franco de Souza 13' Mo. Lopes 40' Barros 45' Monteiro 68' De Oliveira 83'	Stadium: Brother Gilbert Stadium Referee: Randall Kelley

Mid-Atlantic Region[]

September 22	Tigres FC	1–3	Cville Alliance FC - Reserves	Charlottesville, Virginia
18:00 ET	Mohammed 88' Da Silva 90'	USSF Report TheCup.US Report	Thomas 20' Nesterak 60' Oostdyk 86'	Stadium: St. Anne's-Belfield School Referee: John Lesniak

September 22	Izee Auto FC	2–4	World Class Premier Elite FC	Columbia, Maryland
19:00 ET	Deen 11' Caulker 80' Kareem 86'	USSF Report TheCup.US Report	Houapeu 27', 78' Sesay 32' Ankrah 72'	Stadium: Blandair Regional Park Referee: Andrew Lea-Wilson

September 23	Christos FC	4–1	Rockville Soccer Club	Elkridge, Maryland
15:00 ET	Caringi III 6', 38', 50', 68'	Report	Lozano-Arguilar 71' Musa 86'	Stadium: Troy Park - Field 2 Referee: Ariel Raban

September 23	Steel Pulse FC	1–2	Aegean Hawks	Elkridge, Maryland
15:00 ET	Addo 30' Mensah 71' Agyeman-Prempeh 90' Serrano 90'	Report	Stewart 7' Fallet 66'	Stadium: Troy Park - Field 2 Referee: Stephen Foster

September 23	DC Cheddar	1–4	Super Delegates Football Club	Washington, D.C.
18:30 ET	Blickle 2' Sarda 31'	Report	Johnson 19', 88' Tatchou 26', 52' Bell 52'	Stadium: Jelleff Recreation Center Referee: JT Alukonis

September 23	Centro America FC	1–2	Virginia United	Manassas, Virginia
19:00 ET	Morales 42' Benavidez 72' Varela 73' Mejia 78'	Report	Aguilar 39' 22' Burke 67' E. Martinez-Campos 68' Zepeda 69' Rodriguez-Fugon 90+1'	Stadium: Howison Homestead Soccer Complex - Field 1 Referee: Patrick McFall

Received bye to second round of qualification:

Rochester River Dogz
Tartan Devils Oak Avalon

Southeast Region[]

September 22	Miami Sun FC	1–2	Florida Soccer Soldiers	Miami, Florida
20:15 ET	Barroso 14' Zuleta 38' Gonzalez 55' Mas 63'	Report	Sabella 12' Dar. Rios 29' 60' Meneses-Freire 81' Moreno-Ramos 90+4'	Stadium: Kendall Soccer Park - Field 2 Referee: Javier Santos

September 22	America Soccer Club	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Orlando FC Wolves	Winter Garden, Florida
20:30 ET	Avila-De Melo 33' Teixeira 105' 47'	Report	May 43' Wallace 56' Wixted 58'	Stadium: West Orange High School Referee: Matthew Miscannon

September 23	Deportivo Lake Mary	1–2	Sporting Orlando Soccer Club	Kissimmee, Florida
13:00 ET	Prada 38' Hurtado 47' Mosquera 69' 84' Caicedo 85'	Report	Lantin 45' Rojas 57' V. Oliveira 71' 89'	Stadium: Johnson University Florida Referee: Esteban Rosano

September 23	Soda City FC Sorinex	5–1	FC Cardinals	Columbia, South Carolina
15:00 ET	Haynes 9' Jacobo 30' Smith 45', 50' Restrepo 82' Roberts 83'	Report	J. Salinas-Medina 23' Parral-Cruz 89'	Stadium: Columbia International University Referee: Wilmer Soriano

September 23	Red Force FC	2–1	FC Kendall	Miami, Florida
20:30 ET	Salinas 64' Fernandes 83' Palucci 90' Mendoza 90+2'	Report	Raudales 21' Navas 70' S. Schmid 71' 71' Andrade 73'	Stadium: Tropical Park Referee: Juan Pablo Casas

Received bye to second round of qualification:

Central Florida FC Spartans
Hurricane FC
Shahin Atlanta FC

Central Region[]

September 22	Motagua New Orleans	5–2 (a.e.t.)	Port City FC	New Orleans, Louisiana
19:00 CT	Barros 9', 119' Arzú 97' 18' Peters 23' Chagnard 80' Peralta 92' 90'	Report	Cosgrave 16' Allizo 23' Ogbonna 40' 50' (o.g.) Arde 116'	Stadium: Pan American Stadium Referee: Tyler Mitcham

September 22	Dallas Elite FC	4–4 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	NTX Rayados	Plano, Texas
19:30 CT	Okumu 29' Martinez-Gutierrez 75' Molano 90+1' (pen.) 76' Romero 98' 98' DeLeon 109' Umanzor 119'	USSF Report TheCup.US Report	Pfluger 56' 90' Wilson 65', 120+1' Pinal 86' Nickerson 115'	Stadium: Lions Stadium Referee: Lorenzo Hernandez
	Penalties
	Lee Balyeat Umanzor Toldeo Martinez-Gutierrez		Garza Nickerson Okeke Wilson Rodriguez Ellis

September 23	Ann Arbor FC	3–4 (a.e.t.)	Livonia City FC	Saline, Michigan
16:00 ET	Bantle 36' Ducker 38', 43' Caceres 64' Hamodi 72' Akpore-Idise 90' 105'	Report	Bechard 20' Werthman 24' Smith 54' Beebe 116'	Stadium: Saline High School - Stadium Field Referee: Carter Brochu

September 29^[a]	Celtic Cowboys Premier	3–1	San Antonio Runners	Austin, Texas
15:00 CT	Peoples 65' Wright 68' (pen.) Ali 69' Jackson 90'	USSF Report TheCup.US Report	Pratt 60' Rivera 68'	Stadium: Onion Creek Soccer Complex - Field 4 Referee: Josh Allen

October 7^[b]	Bay Area Oiler FC	0–2	Leon FC	Katy, Texas
13:00 CT		USSF Report TheCup.US Report	C. Bryce 44' Morales 78' Diebold 88'	Stadium: British International School of Houston Referee: Gerald Flores

Notes:

^ Match was postponed from originally scheduled date due to heavy rain.
^ Match was postponed twice from originally scheduled date due to heavy rain and flooding.

Received bye to second round of qualification:

Aurora Borealis Soccer Club
FC Maritsa
FC Minnesota

Mountain Region[]

September 23	Colorado Rovers	1–0	Club El Azul	Broomfield, Colorado
15:00 MT	Platz 38' Berkes 69' 78' Anaya 72' Berkes 88' Emge 88'	Report	Ruiz 46' Vasquez 53' Guillen 68'	Stadium: Broomfield Commons - Championship Turf Referee: Chris Greer

September 23	Gam United Football Club	2–1	Northern Colorado FC	Aurora, Colorado
16:00 MT	Hissein 12' Swope 18' Fouad 20' 35' Latona 28' Sarpong 48' Abiar 65' Soumah 73'	USSF Report TheCup.US Report	Keene 53' Martinez 58' (pen.) Larson 69'	Stadium: Aurora Public Schools Stadium Referee: Brean Roman

September 23	Colorado Rush	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Harpo's FC	Highlands Ranch, Colorado
17:00 MT	Grover 77' Parry 101' Clark 120'	USSF Report TheCup.US Report	Whittle 57' McKinney 69' (pen.) Akinsanya 87' Jennings 104' Amman 115' 115'	Stadium: Shea Stadium Referee: Jason Hampton

September 23	Indios Denver FC	0–1	FC Denver	Englewood, Colorado
18:00 MT	Otto 72' Ramos 84'	Report	A. Bernhardt 81'	Stadium: Englewood High School Referee: Miguel Urbina-Barrios

Received bye to second round of qualification:

Boise Cutthroats FC
San Juan FC
Southwest FC
Sporting AZ FC

Southern California Region[]

September 22	L.A. Wolves FC	0–4	Santa Ana Winds FC	Lake Forest, California
19:00 PT	Ajeakwa 37' Becerra 64'	Report	Gorman 18', 35', 81' 62' Ocampo 41' Ca. Torres 52' Cruz-Salinas 55'	Stadium: Lake Forest Sports Park - Field B Referee: Anthony Almeida

September 22	CaliGators FC	2–6	California United FC II	Lake Forest, California
18:30 PT	Echeverria 21' 34' Ede. Oliva 76' 40' Cannas 84'	Report	Villalobos-Carbajal 8', 35', 44' Coronado 24' Garcia-Lopez 78' 37' Cardozo 39' Villon 45'	Stadium: Lake Forest Sports Park - Grass Field Referee: Reyna Fonseca

September 22^[a]	Cal FC	3–1	San Nicolás FC	Calabasas, California
19:30 PT	Alfaro 9', 27' Hernandez 50' 44' Alewine 56'	Report	Miranda 31' 56' Canale 34' 46' Rivera 47'	Stadium: Calabasas High School Referee: Osvaldo Delgado-Landeros

September 23	Buena Park FC	4–0	Valley United SC	La Palma, California
15:00 PT	Da Rosa 11' (pen.), 62' Young 64' Somico 66' Funes 84'	Report	Martinez 12' Rodarte 24' P. Garcia 88'	Stadium: Kennedy High School - Varsity Field Referee: Julio Carranza

September 23	Real Sociedad Royals	4–0	Quickening	Bellflower, California
16:00 PT	Aguirre 19' Rake 40' Poggio 48' Busatto 66' Arceo 90'	Report	Roque 38'	Stadium: St. John Bosco High School - Stadium Field Referee: Israel Fernandez

September 23	Lionside FC	2–0	SC Trojans FC	Lake Forest, California
19:00 PT	Geddes 36', 86'	Report		Stadium: Lake Forest Sports Park Referee: Denis Vargas

September 23	Outbreak FC	2–1	LA South Bay Monsters FC	Irvine, California
19:15 PT	Aguero 38' Bagheri 41' 70' Edwards 60' Irei 75'	Report	Villegas 22' Ramos 64'	Stadium: Orange County Great Park - Field 18 Referee: Alfredo Sandoval-Victorio

Notes:

^ Afer losing its first-round qualifying match to Cal FC, San Nicolás FC filed a protest with U.S. Soccer, claiming Cal FC was ineligible for the tournament. Cal FC went on hiatus in 2016, and returned to league play in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) for the fall 2018 season, with its first match on September 16. This fact taken by itself would mean that Cal FC was not a playing member of its league in good standing on August 13, 2018, as required by the tournament rules. However, while on hiatus, Cal FC merged with LA Roma, which participated in the UPSL during the fall 2017 season, which made the merged club, branded under the Cal FC name, a playing member of the UPSL in good standing on August 13, 2018. Based on the merged club's eligibility acquired through LA Roma's league participation, U.S. Soccer denied the protest.^[7]

Received bye to second round of qualification:

Chula Vista FC

West Region[]

September 22	Academica SC	4–1	Davis Legacy Soccer Club	Turlock, California
19:00 PT	Plascencia 4' Sousa 60' Gutierrez 62' Esparza 64' Ceja 77', 78' 70'	Report	Skvarna 50' Lopez 67' Nagle 70'	Stadium: Academica Fields - East Field Referee: Lee Hulsey

September 22	Oakland FC Leopards	0–1	Oakland Stompers	San Leandro, California
19:00 PT	Littleton 16' Castro 23' 87' Bent 26' Middlemiss 42' Irwin 60'	Report	Arramdani 55' Garcia 78' Hernandez-Butron 84' Hakim 89'	Stadium: Burrell Field Referee: Riley Young

September 22	San Ramon Dynamos FC	0–7	JASA RWC	San Ramon, California
19:00 PT		Report	Vazquez-Flores 17', 47' Masch 34' Mitchell 35' Herrera 67' Angell 71' Uche 83', 89' Huffer 85'	Stadium: Dougherty Valley High School Referee: Jonathan Miras

Received bye to second round of qualification:

Contra Costa FC
IPS/Marathon Taverna
Napa Sporting SC
Nevada Coyotes FC
Real San Jose

Second qualifying round[]

The second qualifying round matches were played on October 20 and 21, with the exception of one that was postponed until November 11, due to flooding.^[1]^[8]