LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP
Who: FC Cincinnati (USL) vs. Indy Eleven (NPSL)
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: The University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium
Tickets: $5 for college students, $10 for "The Bailey" passionate fans section, $12 youth/clubs, Zone 1 $20, Zone 2 $25. Club seats available through season ticket sales only.
Parking: $10 in campus garages, some limited to passes only
TV/radio: None. Follow correspondent Laurel Pfahler on Twitter at @LaurelPfahler for in-game updates.
FC Cincinnati proved itself against some higher-level competition in the preseason when it beat Major League Soccer’s New York City FC en route to claiming the IMG Suncoast Classic title.
Now, the club has a chance to show it can compete with the best American teams of all levels as it takes a brief break from its United Soccer League slate to open Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play.
Cincinnati enters the Open Cup in the second round and hosts the Indy Eleven of the National Premier Soccer League at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Nippert Stadium. Indy Eleven beat the Player Development League’s Cincinnati Dutch Lions in the first round to advance.
“It’s awesome competition,” FC Cincinnati midfielder Jimmy McLaughlin said. “The history behind it is incredible. It allows teams in the lower leagues to make a statement. We can show everyone we’re a great team and we can play against everybody.”
Dating to 1914, the U.S. Open Cup is one of the oldest cup competitions in the world. It is a single-elimination, 90-game tournament hosted by the U.S. Soccer Federation and open to all soccer teams of any division in the United States.
All Major League Soccer, North American Soccer League and USL teams not affiliated with MLS clubs automatically qualify, while fourth- and fifth-tier teams from the NPSL and PDL had their own qualifying tournament in the fall.
The tournament started May 11 with the top 14 amateur teams and 32 semi-pro teams (14 NPSL and 18 PDL) competing in the first round. The 17 USL teams enter in the second round Wednesday, the nine U.S.-based NASL clubs join in the third round June 1 with the FCC-Indy Eleven winner set to play the Tampa Bay Rowdies in Florida.
The 17 MLS clubs begin competition June 15 in the fourth round, and winners will be divided geographically into four groups to determine the eight quarterfinalists. The final is set for Sept. 21.
Major League Soccer teams have dominated the U.S. Open competition since the league began in 1996, as no lower division team has won the Cup since the USL side Rochester Rhinos claimed the trophy in 1999.
Still, the U.S. Open Cup has seen its share of Cinderella runs.
FCC coach John Harkes said his team will approach Cup play just like a USL game.
“We want to take it seriously,,” Harkes said. “It’s a challenge for us and a chance to see how we size up against some of the bigger clubs that maybe present themselves in different rounds. That’s for sure a priority how we approach that game.”
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