The US Soccer Federation announced the 109 clubs that will take part in Open Division Local qualifying for the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. In addition, the federation has announced the match-ups and schedule for both the First Qualifying Round (Sept. 9-10) and Second Qualifying Round (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). There are clubs from 23 states plus the District of Columbia, with the lion’s share coming from United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) with 47 teams from that league. The four rounds of single elimination matches will take place over the rest of 2023 with 11 qualifiers being determined. Match-ups will be geographical to minimize travel for all teams. The schedule is as follows:
- September 9-10, 2023 – First Qualifying Round
- September 30 – October 1, 2023 – Second Qualifying Round
- October 21-22, 2023 – Third Qualifying Round
- November, 18-19, 2023 – Fourth Qualifying Round
The pairings for the first two rounds can be found HERE. 67 teams in total will receive a bye to the second qualifying round, while the remaining 42 will contest the first round in 21 games total. 44 games will be played in the second round. By the end of the fourth round, only 11 teams will remain.
Two teams have already qualified for next year’s tournament and bypassed the qualifying phase. SC MesoAmerica from Los Angeles won the 2023 USASA National Amateur Cup earlier this month to qualify for their first US Open Cup. Likewise, AS Frenzi won the 2023 UPSL Spring Championship to qualify for 2024, becoming the first club to reach the First Round via this method.
Two other Open Division national leagues will bypass qualifying and enter in the First Round as well, using 2023 season results to determine entrants. USL League Two (USL-2) and National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) will each receive their own slots in the competition. UPSL, although meets Open Cup national league status, chose not to go down this qualifying route. Instead, it let each team in the league choose on its own if they want to participate or not in local qualifying.
The number of slots going to the Open Division qualifying track and the two national leagues is proportional to the number of clubs in each league or pool of teams. Based on the qualifying track receiving 11 slots for their 109 clubs, we can determine a rough estimate for the total number of Open Division qualifiers for the First Round next March.
As of publication of this article, US Soccer is planning for 34 to 36 total slots for the Open Division. This number will be adjusted as the professional leagues finalize their rosters of teams for the 2024 season. The reason it is a range is because the math works out for 34, 35, and 36 teams to result in 11 local qualifying slots for the 109 teams in that pool, which is the known value.
Here’s how it would work out if US Soccer has 34 slots for the Open Division in 2024.
- SC MesoAmerica (Amateur Cup)
- AS Frenzi (UPSL Spring Champion)
- 11 Local Qualifying out of 109 teams
- 9 NPSL out of 92 teams
- 12 USL League Two out of 120 teams
If there are 35 teams, there would be 10 NPSL teams instead of 9. If there are 36 teams, there would be 10 NPSL teams instead of 9 and 13 USL League Two teams instead of 12. As the slots move up or down going into 2024 based on the professional leagues finalizing their teams for next season, those slots will be given to or taken away from the combined pool of the two national league track leagues, NPSL and USL League Two. Local Qualifying will remain at 11 slots permanently for 2024 and the two other qualifiers from the Amateur Cup and UPSL will also remain.
Here are the entries for the 2024 Open Division Local qualifying tournament:
ALABAMA (1)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* FC Birmingham; Fultondale, Ala.
ARIZONA (3)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Coronado Athletic Club; Hereford, Ariz.* SC Union Maricopa; Gilbert, Ariz.Southwest Premier League (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* Sporting Arizona FC; Phoenix, Ariz.
CALIFORNIA (21)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Elk Grove Blues; Elk Grove, Calif.* Escondido FC; Escondido, Calif.* FC Folsom; Folsom, Calif.* Irvine FC; Irvine, Calif.* Irvine Zeta; Irvine, Calif.* Laguna United FC; Laguna Niguel, Calif.* Murrieta Soccer Academy; Temecula, Calif.* Rebels Soccer Club; Chula Vista, Calif.* Santa Monica Surf; Santa Monica, Calif.* Trojans FC; Los Angeles, Calif.* Valley 559 FC; Fresno, Calif.NISA Nation (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* Bay Area United FC; Oakland, Calif.* Capo FC; San Juan Capistrano, Calif.* Jasa RWC; Redwood City, Calif.* Temecula FC; Temecula, Calif.San Francisco Soccer Football League (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* International SF; San Francisco, Calif.* SF Vikings SC; San Francisco, Calif.* The Olympic Club; San Francisco, Calif.National Soccer League (United States Specialty Sports Association-Soccer)* Marin County Union SC; San Rafael, Calif.* Real San Jose; San Jose, Calif.West Coast Soccer Association (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* UC Davis Club; Davis, Calif.
COLORADO (5)Colorado Premier League (United States Specialty Sports Association-Soccer)* Azteca FC; Denver, Colo.* Colorado Rovers; Golden, Colo.* FC Denver; Denver, Colo.* Harpos FC; Longmont, Colo.Mountain Premier League (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* Peak Eleven Football Club; Broomfield, Colo.
CONNECTICUT (1)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Ole Football Club; Ansonia, Conn.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (3)American Premier League (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* Aegean Hawks FC; Washington, D.C.* Yinz United; Washington, D.C.DC Premier League (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* DCFC; Washington, D.C.
FLORIDA (18)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Chargers Soccer Club; Clearwater, Fla.* Dade County FC; South Miami, Fla.* Deportivo Lake Mary FC; Lake Mary, Fla.* Florida Premier FC; Odessa, Fla.* Harbor City FC; Melbourne, Fla.* Leg-AZ World FC; Gainesville, Fla.* Parkland Soccer Club; Parkland, Fla.* Royal Palms Soccer Club; Palm Coast, Fla.United States Soccer League (United States Specialty Sports Association-Soccer)* CFL GOSA Spurs; Sanford, Fla.* City Soccer FC; West Palm Beach, Fla.* Florida Brothers; Dania Beach, Fla.* Hodler Miami FC; Doral, Fla.* Miami Soccer Academy; Miami Beach, Fla.* Miami United FC; Miami Beach, Fla.* Orlando FC Wolves; Longwood, Fla.* O’Shea’s FC; West Palm Beach, Fla.* Soccer Paradise FC; North Miami Beach, Fla.Florida Gold Coast League (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* Hurricane FC; Boynton Beach, Fla.
GEORGIA (4)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Kalonji Pro-Profile; Dacula, Ga.* North Georgia United; Calhoun, Ga.Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* Majestic Soccer Club; Atlanta, Ga.* Terminus FC; Atlanta, Ga.
ILLINOIS (5)Midwest Premier League (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* Berber City FC; Chicago, Ill.* Chicago House AC; Chicago, Ill.* Edgewater Castle Football Club; Chicago, Ill.United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Chicago Strikers; Chicago, Ill.* Wisloka Chicago; Chicago, Ill.
MASSACHUSETTS (4)Bay State Soccer League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* CD Faialense; Cambridge, Mass.* FC Omens; Boston, Mass.United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Boston Street FC; Revere, Mass.* Brockton FC United; Brockton, Mass.
MARYLAND (3)Maryland Super Soccer League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* Christos FC; Gambrills, Md.* Steel Pulse FC; Windsor Mill, Md.United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* MoCo 1776 FC; Gaitherrburg, Md.
NORTH CAROLINA (1)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Mint Hill FC; Mint Hill, N.C.
NEW JERSEY (3)Eastern Premier Soccer League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* Real Central NJ Soccer; Lawrenceville, N.J.Garden State Soccer League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* SC Vistula Garfield; Garfield, N.J.United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* New Jersey Alliance FC; Lyndhurst, N.J.
NEW MEXICO (1)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* UDA Soccer; Las Cruces, N.M.
NEVADA (1)NISA Nation (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)* BattleBorn FC; Carson City, Nev.
NEW YORK (9)Eastern Premier Soccer League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* Lansdowne Yonkers FC; Yonkers, N.Y.* New York Greek American SC; Astoria, N.Y.** New York Pancyprian Freedoms; Astoria, N.Y.^* Zum Schneider FC 03; Roosevelt Island, N.Y.United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* New York Braveheart SC; Central Islip, N.Y.* NY Renegades FC; Hicksville, N.Y.* Sahara Gunners FC; Buffalo, N.Y.Cosmopolitan Soccer League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* Manhattan Kickers FC; Flushing, N.Y.Rochester District Soccer League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* IASC Boom; Rochester, N.Y.
OHIO (1)Ohio Valley Premier League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* Valhalla FC; Cincinnati, Ohio.
PENNSYLVANIA (6)United Soccer League of Pennsylvania (US Adult Soccer Assn)* Colonial SC; Plymouth Meeting, Pa.* Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals; North Wales, Pa.*** United German Hungarians; Ambler, Pa.* Vereinigung Erzgebirge; Warminster, Pa.Eastern Premier Soccer League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* Kensington Soccer Club; Philadelphia, Pa.* Philadelphia Heritage SC; Philadelphia, Pa.
SOUTH CAROLINA (1)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* South Carolina United Heat; Lexington. S.C.
TENNESSEE (1)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Tennessee Tempo FC; Nashville, Tenn.
TEXAS (9)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Alamo City Soccer Club; San Antonio, Texas* Foro SC; Dallas, Texas* Tenfifteen FC; Dallas, TexasAustin Men’s Soccer Association (US Adult Soccer Assn)* Austin Longhorns; Austin, Texas* Austin Thunder; Austin, TexasGulf Coast Premier League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* Central Texas Lobos; ; Austin, Texas* Daggers CTX; Fort Hood, TexasUnited States Soccer League (United States Specialty Sports Association-Soccer)* Athletic Katy FC; Katy, Texas* Houston FC; ; Pasadena, Texas
UTAH (1)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Provo Athletic Club; Provo, Utah
VIRGINIA (4)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Arlington SA; Arlington, Va* VA Revolution Pro; Leesburg, Va* Villarreal CF Virginia; Springfield, VaEastern Premier Soccer League (US Adult Soccer Assn)* NoVa FC; Centreville, Va.
WASHINGTON (3)United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)* Bellevue Athletic FC ; Snohomish, Wash.* Holac FC; Seattle, Wash.Recreational Adult Team Soccer (United States Specialty Sports Association-Soccer)* Sharktopus Football Club; Seattle, Wash.
* Four-time U.S. Open Cup Champion (1967-69, 1974)^ Three-time U.S. Open Cup Champion (1980, 1982-83)** Four-time U.S. Open Cup Champion (1960-61, 1963, 1966)
Again, the match-ups and schedule for the first two qualifying rounds can be found HERE.
FACTS AND FIGURES
- 25 different leagues represented
- 23 different states plus the District of Columbia represented (two less than 2023 qualifying)
- Four (4) teams have entered all five previous years of Open Division local qualifying: Colorado (2): Colorado Rovers, Harpos FC; New York (1): New York Pancyprian Freedoms; Pennsylvania (1): Vereinigung Erzgebirge
