2022 U.S. Open Cup Explained

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Year:	2022
Country:	United States
Num Teams:	103
Champions:	Orlando City SC (1st title)
Continentalcup1:	2023 CONCACAF Champions League
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:	Orlando City SC
Matches:	87
Goals:	283
Top Goal Scorer:	Rodrigo López Lucky Mkosana Facundo Torres (4 goals each)
Player:	Rodrigo López^[1]
Prevseason:	~~2021~~
Nextseason:	2023

The 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was 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.^[2] The 2022 field features 103 clubs, 71 of them fully professional—both modern-era records.^[3]

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.^[4]

For the first time since 2017, multiple leagues from the same division competed in the Open Cup. USL League One, of Division III, competed 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 are eligible for the Open Cup.

Atlanta United FC were the defending champions, having won the 2019 tournament, but were eliminated in the Round of 32 by Nashville SC.

Orlando City SC won their first Open Cup title, defeating Sacramento Republic FC 3–0 in the final.

Schedule

Schedule for 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup^[5] ^[6] ^[7]
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 19–20, 2022	31 winners from Second Round 17 MLS teams	95
Round of 32	April 21, 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	May 12, 2022	June 21–22, 2022	8 winners from Round of 16
Semifinals	June 23, 2022	July 27, 2022	4 winners from Quarterfinals
Final	June 23, 2022	September 7, 2022	2 winners from Semifinals

Teams

See main article: 2022 U.S. Open Cup qualification.

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).

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 U23s 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

Bold denotes team is still active in the tournament.
$: Winner of $25,000 bonus for advancing the furthest in the competition from their respective divisions.
$$: Winner of $100,000 for being the runner-up in the competition.
$$$: Winner of $300,000 for winning the competition.

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.

	Number	Teams
1	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	8	City Soccer FC, Inter Miami CF, Miami FC, Miami United FC, Orlando City SC, Orlando FC Wolves, Tampa Bay Rowdies, The Villages SC
2	8	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	6	AC Syracuse Pulse, Flower City Union, Lansdowne Yonkers FC, New York City FC, Oyster Bay FC United, Rochester New York FC
5	4	Azteca FC, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
		Charlotte FC, Charlotte Independence, North Carolina FC, North Carolina Fusion U23
		Chattanooga FC, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Memphis 901 FC, Nashville SC
8	3	Phoenix Rising FC, FC Tucson, Valley United FC
		Atlanta United FC, Georgia Revolution FC, South Georgia Tormenta FC
		Brockton FC United, New England Revolution, Western Mass Pioneers
		FC Motown, New York Red Bulls, Ocean City Nor'easters
		FC Cincinnati, Cleveland SC, Columbus Crew
		Philadelphia Union, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, West Chester United SC
		Charleston Battery, Greenville Triumph SC, SC United Bantams
		Lynchburg FC, Northern Virginia FC, Richmond Kickers
16	2	Hartford Athletic, Hartford City FC
		Chicago FC United, Chicago Fire FC
		Detroit City FC, Michigan Stars FC
		Minnesota United FC, Minneapolis City SC
		FC Tulsa, Tulsa Athletic
		Portland Timbers, Portland Timbers U23s
		Las Vegas Lights FC, Las Vegas Legends
		Park City Red Wolves SC, Real Salt Lake
24	1	Birmingham Legion FC
		D.C. United
		Indy Eleven
		Des Moines Menace
		Sporting Kansas City
		Louisville City FC
		Maryland Bobcats FC
		Southern States Soccer Club
		St. Louis City SC 2
		Union Omaha
		New Mexico United
		Seattle Sounders FC
		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, Las Vegas Legends
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 was playing their first Open Cup match was paired with another team also playing their first Open Cup match. An exception was made if there were no other teams that were geographically close in order to prevent excess travel.
Random pairings were done in cases where three or more teams were from the same general area.
In cases where a geographical fit didn't exist, a random selection occurred.
Pairings between clubs and their parent clubs, clubs with shared ownership, or other clubs using the same technical resources was avoided in geographic selections and random pairings until the final. For 2022, these pairings included: 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).

Matches

Single-game-knockout format with two 45-minute halves and stoppage time.
Tied matches are sent to two 15-minute extra-time halves with stoppage time.
Matches tied after extra time will be settled with a penalty shootout.
Home teams are determined by a random selection among teams that apply to host. Teams that meet minimum tournament standards will be given priority over others in their pairing.
Five substitutions during regulation time over three substitution windows and halftime.
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.
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.

First and Second rounds

In the First round, teams (local, National Amateur Cup, NPSL, & USL2) were paired in a geographical manner, pitting teams closer together against each other. Once the First round pairings were made those pairings were 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 remained unmatched were matched together, again geographically, avoiding any same-division matching (e.g., no II vs II or III vs III).

The complete draw for the First round, including match dates and times, was announced on February 2, 2022.^[8] Draws for the Second round were announced on February 11; match dates and times were announced on February 28.^[9] ^[10]