2019 U.S. Open Cup


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 84 entrants included the 21 American clubs from Major League Soccer and 25 non-affiliated American clubs in the USL Championship. The new USL League One entered its six non-affiliated clubs. The qualification tournament, held in 2018 and early 2019, determined seven teams from local amateur leagues. The 10 entrants from the USL League Two and the 14 from the National Premier Soccer League were determined based on results achieved in those leagues in 2018. Finally, beginning this year, the reigning champion of the National Amateur Cup, Milwaukee Bavarian SC, was invited to the tournament.
Houston Dynamo were the defending champions but were eliminated in the round of 16 by Minnesota United FC.
Atlanta United FC won their first Open Cup title, defeating Minnesota United FC 2–1 in the final.

Qualification

A total of 34 states and the District of Columbia are represented by clubs in the Open Cup this year.
StatesNumberTeams
1California11Academica SC, Cal FC, El Farolito, FC Golden State Force, Fresno FC, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Orange County FC, Orange County SC, Sacramento Republic FC, San Jose Earthquakes
2Texas9Austin Bold FC, Brazos Valley Cavalry FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, FC Dallas, Laredo Heat, Midland-Odessa Sockers FC, NTX Rayados, San Antonio FC, Houston Dynamo
3Florida6Florida Soccer Soldiers, Lakeland Tropics, Miami FC, Orlando City SC, Tampa Bay Rowdies, The Villages SC
3Pennsylvania6Erie Commodores FC, Philadelphia Lone Star FC, Philadelphia Union, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Reading United AC, West Chester United SC
5Colorado3Colorado Rapids, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, FC Denver
53Atlanta United FC, South Georgia Tormenta FC, South Georgia Tormenta FC 2
5New Jersey3FC Motown, New York Red Bulls, New York Red Bulls U-23
5Ohio3Columbus Crew SC, Dayton Dutch Lions, FC Cincinnati
5Tennessee3Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Memphis 901 FC, Nashville SC
10Massachusetts2Black Rock FC, New England Revolution
10Michigan2AFC Ann Arbor, Lansing Ignite FC
10Minnesota2Duluth FC, Minnesota United FC
10Nevada2Las Vegas Lights FC, Reno 1868 FC
10New York2New York City FC, New York Cosmos B
10North Carolina2Charlotte Independence, North Carolina FC
10Oklahoma2Oklahoma City Energy FC, Tulsa Roughnecks FC
10Oregon2FC Mulhouse Portland, Portland Timbers
10South Carolina2Charleston Battery, Greenville Triumph SC
10Virginia2Richmond Kickers, Virginia United FC
10Wisconsin2Forward Madison FC, Milwaukee Bavarian SC
21Alabama1Birmingham Legion FC
21Arizona1Phoenix Rising FC
21Arkansas1Little Rock Rangers
21Connecticut1Hartford Athletic
21District of Columbia1D.C. United
21Illinois1Chicago Fire
21Indiana1Indy Eleven
21Iowa1Des Moines Menace
21Kansas1Sporting Kansas City
21Kentucky1Louisville City FC
21Maryland1FC Baltimore
21Missouri1Saint Louis FC
21New Mexico1New Mexico United
21Utah1Real Salt Lake
21Washington1Seattle Sounders FC

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

Brackets

Match details

All times local to game site.

First Round

The First Round of the Open Cup took place on May 7 and 8. There were 19 games between eight local qualifiers, 14 NPSL, 10 League Two, and six League One teams. The teams were paired geographically. The pairings were announced on April 10.

Second Round

The Second Round was played on May 14 and 15. 22 games were played between the 19 Round 1 winners and 25 USL Championship teams. Each Round 1 pairing was matched to a Championship team, and the six remaining Championship teams were paired against each other. Pairings were made geographically, and announced on April 17.

Third Round

The Third Round was played on May 28 and 29. 11 games were played between the winners of Round 2. Pairings were made geographically, and announced on May 14.

Fourth Round

The Fourth Round took place on June 11 and 12. The Fourth Round consisted of 16 games between the 11 Third Round winners and the 21 American MLS teams. The teams were divided into eight regional groups of four, with either one or two Third Round teams. Pairings were drawn from the eight groups and announced on May 30.

Round of 16

The Round of 16 took place June 18, 19, and 20. The Round of 16 draw took place on June 13. The Fourth Round winners were divided geographically into four groups and pairings were determined within those groups. A fixed bracket for the rest of the tournament was established.

Quarterfinals

The quarterfinal matches took place on July 10.

Semifinals

The semifinals took place on August 6 and August 7. The hosts of the semifinals were drawn on July 11.

Final

The hosts were decided on July 11.

Top goalscorers

Updated through SF

Broadcasting

On April 5, 2019, U.S. Soccer announced a 4-year deal with ESPN to broadcast the Open Cup. The entire tournament, from first round to final, will be carried exclusively on the ESPN+ streaming service; in previous years, ESPN networks had only broadcast marquee matches such as the final.