2022 U.S. Open Cup

2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Country	United States
Dates	March 22 – September 14
Teams	103
Defending champions	Atlanta United FC
Matches played	15
Goals scored	63 (4.2 per match)
← 2021 →

The 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is 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.^[1] The 2022 field will feature 103 clubs, 71 of them fully professional—both modern-era records.^[2]

On December 22, 2021, U.S. Soccer announced the final format for the 2022 tournament, with two major changes from prior editions. First, all eligible Division II and Division III professional teams will enter in the Second Round. Second, Major League Soccer will have its entry staggered: Seventeen MLS teams will enter in the Third Round, and the remaining eight teams (the four playing in the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, and the next highest two teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences) will enter in the Round of 32.^[3]

For the first time since 2017, multiple leagues from the same division will compete in the Open Cup. USL League One, of Division III, will compete alongside teams from MLS Next Pro and the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). NISA was set to make its Open Cup debut in 2020, before that tournament was canceled; MLS Next Pro was established in 2021, and while primarily a developmental league for MLS teams, its independent clubs will be eligible for the Open Cup.

Atlanta United FC is the defending champion, having won the 2019 tournament.

Schedule[]

Schedule for 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup^[3][4][5][6]

Round	Draw date	Match day	Entrants	Teams entered to date
First Round	February 2, 2022	March 22–23, 2022	11 teams from local qualification 2021 National Amateur Cup Champion 10 NPSL teams 10 USL2 teams	32
Second Round	February 11, 2022	April 5–7, 2022	16 winners from First Round 23 USL Championship teams 2 MLS Next Pro teams 10 NISA teams 11 USL League One teams	78
Third Round	April 8, 2022	April 19–21, 2022	31 winners from Second Round 17 MLS teams	95
Round of 32	April 22, 2022	May 10–11, 2022	24 winners from Third Round 8 MLS teams	103
Round of 16	May 12, 2022	May 24–25, 2022	16 winners from Round of 32
Quarterfinals		June 21–22, 2022	8 winners from Round of 16
Semifinals	June 23, 2022	July 26–27, 2022	4 winners from Quarterfinals
Final		September 6–7 or 13–14, 2022	2 winners from Semifinals

Teams[]

Pro teams that are majority-owned or controlled by higher division professional clubs are barred from entering the competition. For this edition of the tournament, there are 21 such teams: Atlanta United 2 (USLC), LA Galaxy II (USLC), Loudoun United FC (USLC), New York Red Bulls II (USLC), and 17 out of 19 MLS Next Pro teams. The two MLS Next Pro teams entering are Rochester New York FC (independent club) and St. Louis City SC 2 (the club’s senior team does not debut until the 2023 season).^[2]

Table[]

Enter in First Round		Enter in Second Round		Enter in Third Round	Enter in Round of 32
Open Division		Division III	Division II	Division I
USCS/USASA/USSSA/ANFEEU 12 teams	NPSL/USL2 20 teams	MLS Next Pro/NISA/USL1 23 teams	USL Championship 23 teams	MLS 25 teams
National Amateur Cup Lansdowne Yonkers FC (EPSL) Local Qualifiers Azteca FC (Colo SL) Brockton FC United (BSSL) City Soccer FC (NSL) Contra Costa FC (NPSL) D'Feeters Kicks Soccer Club (RL) Escondido FC (UPSL) Lynchburg FC (UPSL) Northern Virginia FC (EPSL) Orlando FC Wolves (NSL) Oyster Bay United FC (UPSL) San Fernando Valley FC (UPSL)	NPSL Cleveland SC Denton Diablos FC Georgia Revolution FC Hartford City FC Las Vegas Legends Miami United FC Minneapolis City SC FC Motown Southern States Soccer Club Tulsa Athletic USL2 Chicago FC United Des Moines Menace North Carolina Fusion U23 Ocean City Nor'easters Park City Red Wolves SC Portland Timbers U23 South Carolina United The Villages SC West Chester United SC Western Mass Pioneers	MLS Next Pro Rochester New York FC St. Louis City SC 2 NISA Albion San Diego Bay Cities FC California United Strikers FC Chattanooga FC Flower City Union Los Angeles Force Maryland Bobcats FC Michigan Stars FC AC Syracuse Pulse Valley United FC USL1 Central Valley Fuego FC Charlotte Independence Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Forward Madison FC Greenville Triumph SC North Carolina FC Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Richmond Kickers South Georgia Tormenta FC FC Tucson Union Omaha	Birmingham Legion FC Charleston Battery Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Detroit City FC El Paso Locomotive FC Hartford Athletic Indy Eleven Las Vegas Lights FC Louisville City FC Memphis 901 FC Miami FC Monterey Bay FC New Mexico United Oakland Roots SC Orange County SC Phoenix Rising FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Rio Grande Valley FC Sacramento Republic FC San Antonio FC San Diego Loyal SC Tampa Bay Rowdies FC Tulsa	Atlanta United FC Austin FC Charlotte FC Chicago Fire FC FC Cincinnati Columbus Crew D.C. United FC Dallas Houston Dynamo FC Inter Miami CF Los Angeles FC LA Galaxy Minnesota United FC New York Red Bulls Orlando City SC Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes	Colorado Rapids Nashville SC New England Revolution New York City FC Philadelphia Union Portland Timbers Seattle Sounders FC Sporting Kansas City

Map[]

Number of teams by state[]

A total of 35 states and the District of Columbia are represented by clubs in the U.S. Open Cup this year.

	States	Number	Teams
1	California	16	Albion San Diego, Bay Cities FC, California United Strikers FC, Central Valley Fuego FC, Contra Costa FC, Escondido FC, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Los Angeles Force, Monterey Bay FC, Oakland Roots SC, Orange County SC, Sacramento Republic FC, San Diego Loyal SC, San Fernando Valley FC, San Jose Earthquakes
2	Florida	8	City Soccer FC, Inter Miami CF, Miami FC, Miami United FC, Orlando City SC, Orlando FC Wolves, Tampa Bay Rowdies, The Villages SC
	Texas		Austin FC, FC Dallas, Denton Diablos FC, D'Feeters Kicks SC, El Paso Locomotive FC, Houston Dynamo, Rio Grande Valley FC, San Antonio FC
4	New York	6	AC Syracuse Pulse, Flower City Union, Lansdowne Yonkers FC, New York City FC, Oyster Bay FC United, Rochester New York FC
5	Colorado	4	Azteca FC, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
	North Carolina		Charlotte FC, Charlotte Independence, North Carolina FC, North Carolina Fusion U23
	Tennessee		Chattanooga FC, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Memphis 901 FC, Nashville SC
8	Arizona	3	Phoenix Rising FC, FC Tucson, Valley United FC
	Georgia		Atlanta United FC, Georgia Revolution FC, South Georgia Tormenta FC
	Massachusetts		Brockton FC United, New England Revolution, Western Mass Pioneers
	New Jersey		FC Motown, New York Red Bulls, Ocean City Nor'easters
	Ohio		FC Cincinnati, Cleveland SC, Columbus Crew
	Pennsylvania		Philadelphia Union, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, West Chester United SC
	South Carolina		Charleston Battery, Greenville Triumph SC, SC United Bantams
	Virginia		Lynchburg FC, Northern Virginia FC, Richmond Kickers
16	Connecticut	2	Hartford Athletic, Hartford City FC
	Illinois		Chicago FC United, Chicago Fire FC
	Michigan		Detroit City FC, Michigan Stars FC
	Minnesota		Minnesota United FC, Minneapolis City SC
	Oklahoma		FC Tulsa, Tulsa Athletic
	Oregon		Portland Timbers, Portland Timbers U23s
	Nevada		Las Vegas Lights FC, Las Vegas Legends
	Utah		Park City Red Wolves SC, Real Salt Lake
24	Alabama	1	Birmingham Legion FC
	District of Columbia		D.C. United
	Indiana		Indy Eleven
	Iowa		Des Moines Menace
	Kansas		Sporting Kansas City
	Kentucky		Louisville City FC
	Maryland		Maryland Bobcats FC
	Mississippi		Southern States Soccer Club
	Missouri		St. Louis City SC 2
	Nebraska		Union Omaha
	New Mexico		New Mexico United
	Washington		Seattle Sounders FC
	Wisconsin		Forward Madison FC

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

Open Cup debuts[]

31 teams will be playing in their first Open Cup tournament in 2022.

• MLS: Austin FC, Charlotte FC, Inter Miami CF
• USLC: Monterey Bay FC, Oakland Roots SC, Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, San Diego Loyal SC
• MLS Next Pro: St. Louis City SC 2
• NISA: Albion San Diego, AC Syracuse Pulse, Bay Cities FC, California United Strikers FC, Flower City Union, Los Angeles Force, Maryland Bobcats FC, Michigan Stars FC, Valley United FC
• USL1: Central Valley Fuego FC, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, Union Omaha
• NPSL: Cleveland SC, Denton Diablos FC, Southern States Soccer Club
• USL2: Minneapolis City SC, Park City Red Wolves SC
• UPSL: Escondido FC, Lynchburg FC, Oyster Bay United FC, San Fernando Valley FC
• Other Open Division: Brockton FC United, D'Feeters Kicks SC

Format[]

Draws[]

• No team who is playing their first Open Cup match will be paired with another team also playing their first Open Cup match. An exception will be made if there are no other teams that are geographically close in order to prevent excess travel.^[2]
• Random pairings will be done in cases where three or more teams are from the same general area.^[2]
• In cases where a geographical fit doesn't exist, a random selection will occur.^[2]
• Pairings between clubs and their parent clubs, clubs with shared ownership, or other clubs using the same technical resources will be avoided in geographic selections and random pairings until the final. For 2022, these pairings include: Los Angeles FC (MLS) and Las Vegas Lights (USLC), Portland Timbers (MLS) and Portland Timbers U23 (USL2), Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USL1) and Park City Red Wolves SC (USL2).^[2]

Matches[]

• Single-game-knockout format with two 45 minute halves and stoppage time.^[2]
• Tied matches are sent to two 15 minutes extra time halves with stoppage time.^[2]
• Matches tied after extra time will be settled with a penalty shootout.^[2]
• Home teams are determined by a random selection among teams who apply to host. Teams who meet minimum tournament standards will be given priority over others in their pairing.^[2]
• Five substitutions during regulation time over three substitution windows and halftime.^[2]
• One extra substitution added during extra time. This substitution can be made at the end of regulation, over an additional substitution window, or at extra time halftime.^[2]
• Up to two extra substitutions over two extra substitution windows will be available in the case of a concussion. If a team uses this concussion substitution the opposing team gains an additional substitution and substitution window.^[2]

First and Second rounds[]

In the First Round teams (Local, National Amateur Cup, NPSL, & USL2) will be paired in a geographical manner, pitting teams closer together against each other. Once the First Round pairings have been made those pairings will be matched with a Division II (USLC) or a Division III (MLS Next Pro, NISA, or USL1) team in a geographical manner for the Second Round. Division II & III teams that remain unmatched will be matched together, again geographically, avoiding any same-division-matching (eg. no II vs II or III vs III).^[2]

The complete draw for the First Round, including match dates and times, was announced on February 2, 2022.^[7] Draws for the Second Round were announced on February 11; match dates and times were announced on February 28.^[8][9]

Bracket[]

	First Round March 22–23					Second Round April 5–7
	NPSL	FC Motown	2			NISA	AC Syracuse Pulse
	USL2	West Chester United SC	3*			USL2	West Chester United SC
						NISA	Albion San Diego
						USLC	San Diego Loyal SC
	NPSL	Hartford City FC	0			USLC	Hartford Athletic
	LQ	Oyster Bay United FC	3			LQ	Oyster Bay United FC
						NISA	Bay Cities FC
						USLC	Monterey Bay FC
	USL2	South Carolina United	1			USL1	Charlotte Independence
	USL2	North Carolina Fusion U23	3*			USL2	North Carolina Fusion U23
						USLC	Charleston Battery
						USL1	South Georgia Tormenta FC
	USL2	The Villages SC	6			USLC	Tampa Bay Rowdies
	LQ	Orlando FC Wolves	0			USL2	The Villages SC
						NISA	Chattanooga FC
						USLC	Memphis 901 FC
	NPSL	Denton Diablos FC	2			USLC	San Antonio FC
	LQ	D'Feeters Kicks Soccer Club	3			LQ	D'Feeters Kicks Soccer Club
						USLC	Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
						USL1	Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
	NPSL	Southern States Soccer Club	3			USLC	Birmingham Legion FC
	NPSL	Georgia Revolution FC	1			NPSL	Southern States Soccer Club
						USLC	Detroit City FC
						NISA	Michigan Stars FC
	LQ	San Fernando Valley FC	6			NISA	California United Strikers FC
	LQ	Escondido FC	2			LQ	San Fernando Valley FC
						USLC	El Paso Locomotive FC
						USL1	Central Valley Fuego FC
	LQ	Lynchburg FC				USL1	Richmond Kickers
	LQ	Northern Virginia FC				LQ
						USL1	FC Tucson
						USLC	Las Vegas Lights FC
	USL2	Ocean City Nor'easters	1 (3)			MLSNP	Rochester New York FC
	NAC	Lansdowne Yonkers FC	1 (4)			NAC	Lansdowne Yonkers FC
						USL1	Greenville Triumph SC
						USLC	Oakland Roots SC
	NPSL	Cleveland SC	2*			USL1	Forward Madison FC
	USL2	Chicago FC United	1			NPSL	Cleveland SC
						USLC	Louisville City FC
						USL1	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
	NPSL	Miami United FC	3			USLC	Miami FC
	LQ	City Soccer FC	1			NPSL	Miami United FC
						USL1	North Carolina FC
						USLC	Rio Grande Valley FC
	USL2	Western Mass Pioneers	2			NISA	Flower City Union
	LQ	Brockton FC United	0			USL2	Western Mass Pioneers
						USLC	Orange County SC
						NISA	Los Angeles Force
	USL2	Des Moines Menace	4			USL1	Union Omaha
	NPSL	Minneapolis City SC	2			USL2	Des Moines Menace
						USLC	Phoenix Rising FC
						NISA	Valley United FC
	NPSL	Tulsa Athletic	3			USLC	FC Tulsa
	LQ	Azteca FC	0			NPSL	Tulsa Athletic
						USLC	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
						NISA	Maryland Bobcats FC
	USL2	Portland Timbers U23	2			USLC	Sacramento Republic FC
	LQ	Contra Costa FC	1			USL2	Portland Timbers U23
						MLSNP	St. Louis City SC 2
						USLC	Indy Eleven
	NPSL	Las Vegas Legends	3			USLC	New Mexico United
	USL2	Park City Red Wolves SC	2			NPSL	Las Vegas Legends

Host team listed first
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, ( ) = penalty shootout score

First Round matches[]

All times local to game site.

Second Round matches[]

All times local to game site.

Third Round[]

The winners of the Second Round and the new entrants to the tournament will be grouped geographically into groups of four (12 groups) or six (8 groups) depending on the distribution of teams after the Second Round. Division I (MLS) teams entering the tournament will be spread out among the groups as evenly as possible (groups of four: five groups with two and seven groups with one MLS teams; groups of six: one group with three and seven groups with two MLS teams). All MLS teams will face a lower division team. Random selection for each group will determine the pairs. Instances where geographical fit doesn't exist when creating groups will be resolved by random selection.^[2]

Teams for Third Round draw

Previous round winners	New entrants
Second Round winners	Atlanta United FC Austin FC Charlotte FC Chicago Fire FC FC Cincinnati Columbus Crew D.C. United FC Dallas Houston Dynamo FC Inter Miami CF Los Angeles FC LA Galaxy Minnesota United FC New York Red Bulls Orlando City SC Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes

Round of 32[]

The winners of the Third Round and the new entrants to the tournament will be grouped geographically into groups of four (8 groups). Random selection for each group will determine the pairs. Instances where geographical fit doesn't exist when creating groups will be resolved by random selection.^[2]

Teams for Round of 32 draw

Previous round winners	New entrants
Third Round winners	Colorado Rapids Nashville SC New England Revolution New York City FC Philadelphia Union Portland Timbers Seattle Sounders FC Sporting Kansas City

Round of 16 and Quarterfinals[]

The winners of the Round of 32 will be grouped geographically into groups of four (4 groups). Random selection for each group will determine the pairs.^[2]

Round of 16 May 24–25

Quarterfinals June 21–22

Semifinals and Final[]

The Quarterfinal winners will be matched geographically to determine the pairings for the Semifinal round.^[2]

	Semifinals July 26–27					Final September 6–7 or 13-14

Top goalscorers[]

Rank	Player	Team	Goals	By round
				1R	2R	3R	4R	R16	QF	SF	F
1	Tomas Bosuel	San Fernando Valley FC	3	3
2	David Achaerandio Martín	Escondido FC	2	2
	Lucas Espíndola	Miami United FC		2
	Steven Hernandez-Mortimer	North Carolina Fusion U23		2
	Alessandro Salvadego	Des Moines Menace		2
	Tom Shepherd	Southern States SC		2
	Rafael Vacas Barba	The Villages SC		2

Updated through matches finished as March 23

Broadcasting[]

First Round matches are split between ESPN+ and U.S. Soccer's YouTube channel; all matches from the Second Round to the final will be broadcast on ESPN+. This is the final year of a 4-year agreement between ESPN and U.S. Soccer to broadcast the tournament.^[2]

References[]